Author: Mina Khan
Abstract
This research paper investigates the visual representation and narrative trajectory of female same-sex relationships on Pakistani screens, particularly in light of two recent screen texts: an episode called Chewing Gum (dir. Angeline Malik, 2017) from the Hum TV anthology series Kitni Girhain Baaki Hain/How Many Knots Are Left to Untie, and the web series Churails/Witches (dir. Asim Abbasi, 2020). It also engages with two other screen texts from the Global South that deal with lesbian representation: Dedh Ishqiya/One and a Half Passionate (dir. Abhishek Chaubey, 2014), a Bollywood film and Sukkar Banat/Caramel (dir. Nadine Labaki, 2007), a Lebanese film. By employing a comparative lens, this paper draws parallels between these screen texts as they are all set in predominantly Muslim contexts, that is, the location of the screen text is that of a Muslimmajority country (like Pakistan in the case of Churails), or the cultural setting of the screen text is based on Muslim or Islamicate practices, historical traditions, or values (like the culture of Urdu poetry in the case of Dedh Ishqiya). They are also all heavily coded in their depiction of female same-sex relationships. This approach brings to light the ways in which Pakistani lesbian screen texts can be understood, given the lack of research regarding this subject from a Pakistani viewpoint. The selected screen texts employ subtle visual cues and coded elements to represent lesbian relationships. A closer examination finds that the line between homosexuality (romantic and/or sexual same-sex relationships) and homosociality (platonic same-sex relationships) becomes blurred in these texts. Finally, this paper argues that narratives which naturalize and normalize lesbianism by allowing it to co-exist within a fictional world without disruption to the main plot are just as empowering as those that radicalize lesbian relationships to actively disrupt patriarchal norms.
Keywords:
Pakistani Cinema, Lebanese Cinema, Bollywood, Global South,Lesbian Cinema, Queer Film Studies, Homosociality, Homosexuality
