I Am You (<i>Ana Hiya Anti</i>): A Novel on Lesbian Desire in the Middle East by Elham Mansour. Translated and Edited with an Introduction by Samar Habib
Powered By Xquantum

I Am You (Ana Hiya Anti): A Novel on Lesbian Desire in the ...

Chapter :  Introduction
Read
image Next

This is a limited free preview of this book. Please buy full access.

Mansour, however, does not ignore the fact so readily acknowledged in other novels on the subject: that is, that a considerable number of homosexual relations do in fact stem from restrictions imposed on heterosexual activity, whether through the shame and sinfulness attached to fornication, or the unavailability of members of the opposite sex due to segregation or restrictions.6 Not to mention what a refusal to discuss matters of the sexual ilk will lead to in terms of fulfilling desires on either side and improving erotic techniques for application in a heterosexual context. It is through the character Mimi and her widowed neighbour, the “old hag,” that Mansour explores the trope of lesbian-by-circumstance, where (in Mimi’s case) a potentially bisexual character could have remained exclusively heterosexual in practice had it not been for her inability to communicate her desires to her husband, who now repulses her, and whose sexual techniques, evidently, leave a lot to be desired.

I wonder if all married women are in my position? What do they do when their husbands don’t satisfy them? Sometimes, I go to the bathroom after having sex with him and I satisfy myself because I feel that my body is awake and refuses to relax and refuses to sleep. As for him, he turns his back to me and falls asleep, thinking that I went to the bathroom for a shower. Why don’t I tell him the truth? Do feelings of this kind get expressed to the husband? Perhaps…but I couldn’t; it’s a matter that embarrasses me a great deal. (emphasis in original, page 58–59)
If I may be completely honest with you, sexual relationships with women are more pleasurable than they are with men. There are no inflexible gender roles in such relationships, every one searches for her own pleasure with the other—there are no power relations and no disgusting ejaculation, as though the woman was no more than a receptacle for receiving their filth. (page 152–153)