At a recent talk at New York University under the title: “ Whatever Happened to Masculinities Studies?” Michael S. Kimmel, who has written extensively on Masculinity mostly, but not exclusively, within an American context, spoke about the current state of Masculinity studies in the American academy. To my mind there seems to have been a euphoric moment in the Nineties when Masculinity studies was embraced as the de rigueur area of intellectual curiosity. Studies on manliness, manhood, and masculinity in art, literature, sociology, and anthropology abounded. Relatively speaking the study of masculinity within the Middle Eastern context remained sparse compared to other geographical areas like North and Latin America. Furthermore, most work done on looking at Middle Eastern art from a gender perspective remains bound up and influenced by the expectations of a North American reception environment—one that is insatiably interested in artwork done by Middle Eastern Women. This issue of ArteEast News comes as a much-needed intervention, not so much in shifting the attention from focusing at gender in its traditional sense (i.e. studying women), but more in expanding the analytical horizons of looking at art and gender by bringing in masculinities as an integral part of gendering art within a Middle Eastern context. It is my hope that this issue will be a small step in complementing and complicating our analytical frameworks that explore the connections between art and gender.
Sharif Waked’s video: Chic Point: Fashion for Israeli Checkpoints deftly draws the contours of the Palestinian Israeli quagmire on the male bodies of the models the fashion show that the video simulates, where Wakes explores visually the nexus of politics, consumption, and desire. The first piece in this issue celebrates the publication of a book documenting the project and the critical responses it has solicited. In this piece, excerpts from two pieces by Sherene Seikaly and Ariella Azoulay are selected to give the reader a critical glimpse of Waked’s fascinating project. The second piece is an analysis of the same video that I have written and where I offer a reading of the video that highlights the homoerotics of Waked’s checkpoints. In the piece entitled, “Manhood: Photographic Explorations of Iranian Masculinities,” Iranian artist Sadegh Tirafkan, introduces his photographic project that tackles the question of masculinities within the Iranian context. Through a discussion of his inspiration for the series, Tirafkan establishes connections between religion and masculinity and explores the homosocial world of sports and religious celebrations in Iran. As part of his MA thesis, Jordan Sundermann’s piece for this issue discusses Jean Genet and his encounters, both non-sexual and (homo)sexual, in North Africa. Sundermann’s piece gives up a glimpse into the homoerotic realm of Orientalist representation of North African Masculinity. Finally, Firat Yucel offers up an eloquent review of the Turkish film “ Yazi Tura” or “ Toss Up” in English. In “The Land of ‘Manly Men’: Masculinity, Nation, and War in a Turkish Film,” we see how the institution of heteronormative masculinity both produces and is constituted by the larger institution of the nation state and the army.
I hope the readers will find the pieces in this issue stimulating and informative. My hope is also that this issue will provide an intellectual opening that can reignite an interest in the topic of masculinities and art within the Middle Eastern context. Finally, I’d like to thank all the contributors for their effort and diligence. My gratitude also goes to all the people who made this issue possible especially Ekin Yasin who translated the Toss Up piece from the Turkish and Zeynep Dakak who introduced me to Firat Yucel and who helped me with editing the piece.
Happy Reading,
Karim Tartoussieh
Karim Tartoussieh is currently pursuing a PhD degree in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University. His research interests include gender and sexuality, Cultural studies, and Film studies.
