Sa'ed Atshan

Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

"This book traces of the rise, international growth, and plateau of the LGBTQ movement in Palestine. Sa'ed Atshan argues that queer Palestinian activists, even as they critique empire, are themselves subjected to an empire of critique. Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique calls for a return to Palestine and ethnography, attention to the queer Palestinian experience on the ground in Palestine/Israel, and a greater awareness of the heterogeneity of LGBTQ Palestinian voices"--

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Stanford University Press
• Seitenzahl: 296
• Erscheinungstermin: 26. Mai 2020
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 231mm x 157mm x 25mm
• Gewicht: 590g
• ISBN-13: 9781503609945
• ISBN-10: 1503609944
• Artikelnr.: 57167578

Autorenporträt

Sa'ed Atshan is Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Swarthmore College. He is the coauthor of The Moral Triangle: Germans, Israelis, Palestinians (2020).

Inhaltsangabe

Contents and Abstracts
Introduction: "there is no hierarchy of oppressions"
chapter abstract
This introductory chapter foregrounds Audre Lorde's words that "there is no
hierarchy of oppressions." It extends this thesis to the central question
at the heart of this book, which is how transnational progressive social
movements are able (or not) to balance struggles for liberation along more
than one axis at once. The focus here is on the global queer Palestinian
solidarity movement, revealing its original aim to empower queer
Palestinians to achieve national and sexual freedom. The chapter defines
the critical concepts that help account for the rise of this movement in
Palestine and globally. These concepts include the empire of critique,
radical purists, discursive disenfranchisement, movement plateau,
pinkwashing, pinkwatching, ethnocracy, homophobia, Zionism,
ethnoheteronormativity, and the white gaze. This chapter also
contextualizes this project within the intellectual genealogy of which it
is a part.
Chapter 1: LGBTQ Palestinians and the Politics of the Ordinary
chapter abstract
Chapter 1 traces the rise of the LGBTQ Palestinian movement in
Israel/Palestine, also known as Israel and the Occupied Palestinian
Territories or as historic Palestine. The first section delineates an
ethnographic approach to social movement theory as the conceptual framework
through which to understand this movement. The next section outlines the
heterogeneity of queer Palestinian subjects, and the following section
provides an overview of Palestinian homophobia. I then account for the
emergence of the LGBTQ movement in Palestine and follow that with a
discussion of queer Palestinian epistemologies and a section on the rise of
radical purists in the movement. I conclude with examples of queer
Palestinian subjectivities. I argue that queer Palestinian life and
resistance derives its power from ordinary acts in extraordinary contexts
under ethnoheteronormativity. This chapter furthers the case for attention
to affect and more pluralism and inclusivity within the movement.
Chapter 2: Global Solidarity and the Politics of Pinkwashing
chapter abstract
Chapter 2 applies conceptions of victims and saviors to the debates on
pinkwashing and pinkwatching. It explicates four examples of pinkwashing. I
then provide an overview of homophobia and LGBTQ rights in contemporary
Israel, recognizing the elision of Israeli homophobia and elevation of
Israeli queer empowerment in pinkwashing discourse. The final section of
this chapter offers an analysis of hegemonic critiques of the use of the
terms pinkwashing and pinkwatching in the contexts of (a) the charge of
singling out Israel for criticism, (b) the invocation of the presence of
queer Palestinians in Israel, and (c) debates surrounding the salience of
the Israeli occupation. It is in the interplay between pinkwashing and
pinkwatching that the queer Palestinian movement has catalyzed global
solidarity.
Chapter 3: Transnational Activism and the Politics of Boycotts
chapter abstract
The first section of chapter 3 traces how the conflict over boycotts maps
onto successive Tel Aviv Pride parades. It examines queer Palestinian calls
to boycott Tel Aviv Pride, decisions to participate in the parade by queer
antioccupation activists, and the emergence of resistance to the Israeli
state by mainstream LGBTQ organizations in Israel. The chapter then focuses
on two cities that emerged as early epicenters of the pinkwatching and
boycott debates. The next section examines the politics of boundary
policing as they played out on multiple fronts. The chapter then turns to a
critical moment in the summer of 2017 when conflict between pinkwashers and
pinkwatchers came to a head and surged into the national media spotlight.
This chapter demonstrates that we are equipped, from social theory and
peace and conflict studies, with conceptual tools to transcend the present
impasse animating boycotts in the context of queer Palestinian
transnational activism.
Chapter 4: Media, Film, and the Politics of Representation
chapter abstract
Chapter 4 examines the relationship between the global queer Palestinian
solidarity movement, representations of queer Palestinians in film and
journalism, and the significant mistrust of the global mainstream media
that has arisen among movement leaders. The chapter opens with a
description of how the mainstream Western press tends to prioritize the
most sensational stories about queer Palestinians. The second half of the
chapter outlines the movement's critique of pinkwashing films produced by
Israelis and internationals and the movement's attendant calls to boycott
those films. This chapter delineates examples of cinematic tropes that
clearly reinforce pinkwashing as well as others that are more nuanced. It
also analyzes films that feature queer love between Israelis and
Palestinians. In addition, I discuss a number of queer Palestinian films,
highlighting their importance and controversy. The chapter concludes with
the story of an as-yet-unreleased documentary on the first US LGBTQ
delegation to Palestine.
Chapter 5: Critique of Empire and the Politics of Academia
chapter abstract
Chapter 5 examines two theoretical frameworks elaborated by Western-based
scholars-the Gay International by Joseph Massad and homonationalism by
Jasbir Puar-as they have been applied to the global queer Palestinian
solidarity movement. I reveal the debilitating effects that these academic
critiques have had on the Queer Palestine movement and the possibility for
academics and activists to formulate a new mode of scholarly engagement
aimed at supporting queer social movements in Palestine and across the
Middle East. As in previous chapters, I compare contributions that are
corrosive, placing activists in the cross-fire between left- and right-wing
criticisms of their efforts, to those that raise difficult intellectual,
ethical, and practical questions while protecting from paralysis those who
struggle for justice.
Conclusion: "we were never meant to survive"
chapter abstract
Just as the introduction foregrounded words of Audre Lorde, this concluding
chapter does so as well, with attention to Lorde's call for racialized
queer subjects to speak in the face of attempts to undermine their
survival. The conclusion conceptualizes how scholars and activists can
distinguish between critique and criticism. Drawing on Jose Muñoz's notions
of queer futurity and utopia, I outline my vision and road map for the
global queer Palestinian solidarity movement. This is done with an eye to
transcending the empire of critique and the movement's current plateau so
it can become a more democratic and pluralistic movement that can resume
growing.