Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Arabizing “Masculinity”

2016; Indiana University Press; Volume: 12; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1215/15525864-3637653

1558-9579

Ebtihal Mahadeen,

Translation Studies and Practices

Gender-sensitive currents in the Arab world, such as feminist and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) movements, continue to be challenged by questions of language. If these currents are truly organic products of Arab thought, shouldn’t this allow for the seamless coinage of new terms or indeed a move to appropriate and remodel old ones? And how do we ensure that these concepts remain rooted in and relevant to Arab sociocultural life?Arguably one of the most central concepts in feminist thought, gender has been variably translated into Arabic as al-nawʿ (kind, species), al-jins (sex), and al-nawʿ al-ijtimaʿi (social kind), reflecting deeper conceptual problems and obscuring its meaning for nonacademics (Mehrez 2007, 110–17). Similarly, while Arabic engagements with masculinity have existed since the 1970s (Al-Saadawi 1973; Tarabishi 1997), Arabizing the term masculinity continues to pose challenges. Masculinity is traditionally translated as a singular noun rujula (manliness) to differentiate it from dhukura (maleness). According to the Dictionary of Contemporary Arabic Language, rujula denotes the maturing of the male individual or the completion of his dhukura (maleness) by reaching a certain biological age. This definition maintains that rujula can also be used to denote nonbiological attributes such as bravery, authority, and control of women (Omar et al. 2008, 864–65). I contend that this sign does not convey masculinities in their plural, competing, and situational forms. It does not communicate the historically variable, layered, and contradictory meanings of lived masculinities.An alternative to rujula is marjala in Modern Standard Arabic, which I contend is more amenable to the flexibilities and pluralities of gender and sexuality and may be found in the Arabic vernacular (ʿammiyya) of several countries. As a vernacular Arabic word, it is pronounced differently, for example, as marjaleh in the Levant region and marjala in the Arabic-speaking Gulf countries. Marjala, I argue, incorporates bodily, affective, socially constituted, symbolic, and performative dimensions of masculinity. It surpasses rujula by emphasizing social dynamics and allowing for pluralization, marajil, to denote various coexisting masculinities.If we agree that the authenticity and reach of neologisms depends on their grounding in Arab sociocultural life, then the potential for marjala is vast. The word is commonly used in daily language and Arabic cultural productions from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq. A quick search for the term online, for example, yields a large number of results demonstrating its various uses: Saudi poems, the 2012 Saudi comedic web series The School of Masculinity Sciences (Madrasat ʿulum al-marjala), Jordanian and Syrian TV dramas (including the hit TV series Bab al-hara and Maraya), songs by the late Lebanese artist Wadiʿ al-Safi and the young and popular Palestinian singer Mohammad Assaf, and Iraqi chants.In these examples, marjala is used to denote characteristics attached to hegemonic and nonhegemonic forms of masculinity. For instance, the School of Masculinity Sciences series, produced by Telfaz11, a Saudi entertainment production and distribution network, focuses on transforming into “real men” young, educated, urbanized Saudi men who do not conform to prevailing definitions of hegemonic masculinity. Because the 2012 series is a comedy, it illustrates through caricature and exaggeration the performative and even drag nature of masculinities. The men in the series are sent to a desert camp, since the school is in a large tent, to be rehabilitated by two mustachioed and traditionally dressed men who teach them the etiquette of serving Arabic coffee to guests, how to use guns, and how to perform traditional dances. These and other skills are presented as vital to a successful and convincing performance of marjala in Saudi Arabia. Upon their completion of the program, the students are tougher, more confident and assertive, and better equipped to function as “real men.” Marjala in this account is the performance of an “authentic” masculinity in line with dominant social codes and expectations in Saudi Arabia.In other examples, marjala expresses characteristics of hegemonic masculinity, such as domination, aggression, sexual jealousy, and even violence, while also allowing for nonhegemonic expressions, such as emotional intelligence, communication, and cooperation. In the Jordanian series Hal al-dunya (The Way Things Are), broadcast on Jordan TV in July 2013, an episode titled “Marajel” (the plural form of marjala) revolves around the wildly different marital lives of two sisters. One sister is married to a violent and abusive man who typifies hegemonic masculinity, and the other is married to a considerate and kind man who enjoys cooking and cleaning. The irony is that the wife of the considerate man, who performs a nonhegemonic version of masculinity, initially complains that he is “not man enough.” That the episode title is in the plural points to the term’s flexibility in expressing a variety of masculinities, some of which the episode presents. It also becomes clear that the episode favors the nonhegemonic iteration of marjala.Marjala can convey positive characteristics associated with hegemonic and nonhegemonic masculinities such as bravery, protection of the weak, and generosity. For instance, in an essay for Al-Riyadh newspaper, a columnist argues that marjala is “a general term denoting noble traits” (Al-Humaidhi 2013; my translation). The writer also emphasizes the social performativity of marjala, arguing that it “does not exclusively belong to those of the male sex, but is rather linked to behaviors and characteristics whether they come from a man or a woman” (ibid.). This is an unusual recognition of the performativity and plural possibilities of masculinities not linked to particular bodies.It was not my purpose to demonstrate that marjala is used to exclusively represent either negative or positive masculine traits but to argue for its potential as a more suitable term than rujula to express diverse masculinities. Certainly, as evidenced by these examples of its current use, the flexibility, authenticity, and wide circulation of this term should allow for its seamless integration into academic Arabic and for a smoother transmission of the concept outside the academy.