This essay is included in the book in English, Arabic, and French. It concerns itself not with homosexuality as a “problem” but with the articulate and literate voices of the women themselves that shine through the writings, even when mediated through male authors. These voices describe the pleasures and attractions of “grinding” as well as speaking to the social context in which it occurred.
Arabic
This tag is primarily used when discussing Arabic-language texts when the specific cultural context is either unclear or has broad geographic scope. See also Islamicate and specific countries/regions that have historically been Arabic-speaking.
LHMP entry
Chapter 4: A close reading of Aĥmad Ibn Yusuf Tifashi’s Nuzhat al-Albab - Toward re-envisioning the Islamic Middle East
Part III: The history and representation of female homosexuality in the contemporary Middle East
Chapter 5: Contemporary representations of female homosexuality in Arabic literature and criticism
Chapter 2 - Constructing and deconstructing sexuality: New paradigms for “gay” historiography
Part I: Introducing studies on female homosexuality and contemporary critical theory
Chapter 1: Introduction - Contemporary views of female homosexuality in the Middle East
Part II: The history and representation of female homosexuality in the Middle Ages
Chapter 3: An overview of Medieval literature concerning female homosexuality
As a a methodology article, Murray begins with the usual discussion of the problems of data on this topic, in particular the double-whammy by which women's history sidelines homosexuality, and the history of homosexuality sidelines women. Having gotten past the problems of definitions and theory, the article presents a survey of types of historic data on women's affectional, erotic, and sexual relations with each other. The material contrasts with Bennett's survey article (Bennett 2000) in that it focuses more broadly on literature and legal theory rather than specific individuals.
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