Shameful Desire? Homoeroticism in Ilmann Bel’s Un Mauvais Fils Cover Image

Désir honteux? L’homoérotisme dans Un Mauvais Fils d’Ilmann Bel
Shameful Desire? Homoeroticism in Ilmann Bel’s Un Mauvais Fils

Author(s): Gibson N’Cube
Subject(s): Islam studies, French Literature, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Sociology of Culture, Migration Studies
Published by: Editura Universităţii »Alexandru Ioan Cuza« din Iaşi
Keywords: shame; homoeroticism; Islam; Ilmann Bel; “beur” literature;

Summary/Abstract: This paper sets out to analyse the literary construction and representation of homosexuality in Ilmann Bel’s novel Un Mauvais Fils. The overarching argument herein is that shame is an integral element in the deconstruction of homoeroticism, a subject area that remains taboo in Arab-Muslim communities (in Europe or elsewhere). Drawing on Maria Pia Lara’s theoretical writings, this paper argues that shame, as a discursive concept, possesses an “illocutionary force” that has the potential of destabilising the monolithic conception of homoeroticism and thus leading to a creation of a new found appreciation of otherness and difference.

  • Issue Year: 13/2014
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 9-16
  • Page Count: 8
  • Language: French