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Family and nation as thought and lived by young LGBQ+ adults in Lebanon

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dc.date.accessioned 2022-06-15T07:46:49Z
dc.date.available 2022-06-15T07:46:49Z
dc.date.issued 2022-06-15
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/41508
dc.title Family and nation as thought and lived by young LGBQ+ adults in Lebanon en
ethesis.faculty Humanistinen tiedekunta fi
ethesis.faculty Faculty of Arts en
ethesis.faculty Humanistiska fakulteten sv
ethesis.faculty.URI http://data.hulib.helsinki.fi/id/4c936847-0cd8-46d4-b842-e9ebb8670ab7
ethesis.university.URI http://data.hulib.helsinki.fi/id/50ae46d8-7ba9-4821-877c-c994c78b0d97
ethesis.university Helsingin yliopisto fi
ethesis.university University of Helsinki en
ethesis.university Helsingfors universitet sv
dct.creator Menard, Haru
dct.issued 2022
dct.abstract Abstract Faculty of Arts Master’s Programme in Area and Cultural Studies, Middle Eastern Studies Haru Menard Family and nation as thought and lived by young LGBQ+ adults in Lebanon Master’s thesis May 2022 48 pages Keywords: Lebanon, family studies, post-colonialism, LGBTQ Supervisor: Hannu Juusola Abstract: While the idea of the Middle Eastern family is often invoked as an orientalist stereotype, the local everyday family practices are less examined. Similarly, a wealth of literature on Middle Eastern nationalisms and nation-states exists (from ‘women’s’ perspectives and otherwise). Yet ethnographic research on how local people negotiate identity and belonging in their daily interactions vis á vis the state has remained scarce until recently. This empirical research contributes to the growing body of research on contemporary everyday practices of family and kinship in the Middle East. In this thesis I study the Middle Eastern family and nation in Lebanon as conceptualised and practiced by local young adults who identify as LGBQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Queer or other). I focus on the family and nation as historically constructed (tradition vs. present), politically applied (East vs. West) and yet corporeally and socially lived everyday practices. Family as a social category both maintains and has the power to challenge the social order. I approach “family” and “nation” from the vantage point of marginalised LGBQ+ persons in Lebanon, because I argue that they inhabit the double position of being rooted in the local socio-political order, while also resisting and reformulating it from the inside. Guided by postcolonial theory and methodology, my methodological aims are to reflexively explore how researcher positionality informs my research. Theoretically I aim to shed light on the young Lebanese LGBQ+ adults’ ways of negotiating everyday family and national belonging in Lebanon, as well as analyse at how they actively construct their future in Lebanon. My data consists of thirteen ethnographic conversations with Beirutian LGBQ+ young adults. Methodologically, the conversations were informed by post-colonial approaches to knowledge production and researcher positioning, while the data was analysed using a narrative method. In our conversations the participants described their social lives from multiple perspectives, including personal reflections about Lebanese sectarianism, norms and values as well as the recent developments in Lebanese society. They highlighted the need for a more just society that would be freed of sectarian loyalties as a basis for material wellbeing and civil rights. They often positioned themselves in places of in-betweenness, both in terms of personal identity constructions and politically, as this allowed them room to navigate the diverse and ever-changing socio-material circumstances. They creatively and in a multi-sited fashion engaged with the social and material resources available to them in the Lebanese state by refusing to identify with discourses of cultural authenticity as well as those of the “gay international”. en
dct.subject Lebanon
dct.subject family studies
dct.subject post-colonialism
dct.subject LGBTQ
ethesis.language.URI http://data.hulib.helsinki.fi/id/languages/eng
ethesis.language englanti fi
ethesis.language English en
ethesis.language engelska sv
ethesis.supervisor Juusola, Hannu
ethesis.thesistype pro gradu -tutkielmat fi
ethesis.thesistype master's thesis en
ethesis.thesistype pro gradu-avhandlingar sv
ethesis.thesistype.URI http://data.hulib.helsinki.fi/id/thesistypes/mastersthesis
dct.identifier.ethesis E-thesisID:24f9071d-102e-4756-8a75-9ac2290624d6
ethesis-internal.timestamp.reviewStep 2022-05-17 10:08:32:398
dct.identifier.urn URN:NBN:fi:hulib-202206152674
dct.alternative Perheen ja kansalaisuuden saamat merkitykset ja eletyt käytännöt nuorten libanonilaisten LGBQ-aikuisten kokemana fi
ethesis.facultystudyline Lähi-idän, islamin ja juutalaisuuden tutkimus fi
ethesis.facultystudyline Middle Eastern, Islamic and Jewish Studies en
ethesis.facultystudyline Mellanösternstudier, islamstudier och judaistik sv
ethesis.facultystudyline.URI http://data.hulib.helsinki.fi/id/SH40_070
ethesis.mastersdegreeprogram Alue- ja kulttuurintutkimuksen maisteriohjelma fi
ethesis.mastersdegreeprogram Master's Programme in Area and Cultural Studies en
ethesis.mastersdegreeprogram Magisterprogrammet i region- och kulturstudier sv
ethesis.mastersdegreeprogram.URI http://data.hulib.helsinki.fi/id/MH40_012

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