Queer Beirut Sofian Merabet is an English-language study book that focuses on gender and sexual identity in the context of the Arab world. The book offers an in-depth ethnographic analysis of queer lives in the city of Beirut and is intended for students in higher education.
This work discusses the complex formation of gender and sexual identity in the Middle East, with the role of urban spaces and social structures at the center. Merabet draws on field research between 1995 and 2014 and examines how homosexuality and queerness in Beirut are experienced and expressed, with attention to religion, colonial history, and class differences. The book positions Beirut as an example of the broader dynamics surrounding gender rights and citizenship in the region.
Queer Beirut offers valuable insights for disciplines such as Middle Eastern studies, gender and queer studies, and urban sociology, and contributes to understanding LGBTQ+-related themes in the context of the Middle East.
Topics: LGBTQIA+ Studies, social sciences, gender studies, gay and lesbian studies.