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Title Cosmo-Feminism or Feminism-lite?: Postcolonial Visibility Politics Behind The Portrayal of Muslim Women in Contemporary Graphic Novels

Author(s) SAHAR MUSTAFA

Abstract Title: Cosmo-feminism or Feminism-Lite?: Postcolonial Visibility Politics Behind the Portrayal of Muslim Women in Contemporary Graphic Novels This study is a postcolonial critique of three graphic novels; Persepolis: The Story of Childhood (2003) by Marjane Satrapi, Habibi (2011) by Craig Thompson, and Lissa: A Story about Medical Promise, Friendship, and Revolution (2017) by Sherine Hamdy and Coleman Nye. As all the selected works are published in the West and, in one way or another, advocate Muslim women's rights, the researcher has analysed the postcolonial gender concerns presented by the authors. Lila Abu Lughod’s postcolonial gender debates are used as a primary lens to scaffold the theoretical underpinnings of the study. Furthermore, to analyse the authenticity of these gender concerns, the theory of cosmo-feminism is adapted by contrasting it with the feminism-lite concept. This cosmo-feminism vs. feminism-lite debate is used as a touchstone to decode writers' portrayal of postcolonial visibility politics. The research methods of Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA), Comparative Analysis, and Biographical techniques are used to analyse the selected hybrid texts. The researcher also adopted the codes from Raina (2009), which helped form the criteria for the analysis. As the writers of the selected works belong to different milieus, it is found that each novel implicitly presents a different image of female Muslim characters. The cosmo-feminism vs. feminism-lite debate shows that the portrayal of a Muslim woman in Habibi (2011) is inclined to feminism-lite agendas and indirectly promotes the idea of ‘sexualization of the Orient’. Whereas the depiction of female Muslim characters in the other two novels adheres to the true spirit of cosmo-feminism. The distinctive histories and sociopolitical situations create the lived experiences of Muslim women. Hence, it important to understand the complexity of Muslim womens’ problems while advocating their rights. The adaptation of the cosmo-feminism vs. feminism-lite concept can be refined and exploited in future research.

Type Thesis/Dissertation

Faculty Languages

Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2023-07-10

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