Please help donate to my indigenous activist friend who is currently battling Cancer. she’s not only trying to cover her medical bills, but also building a movement to fight against the medical atrocities and neglect that other indigenous women/woc and working class women in New Orleans are facing. Please share her story ❤️
Didn’t really think of any narrative for this one🤔 wanted to do something Moroccan cuz pattern is super amazing in their architecture! #celinekim #Morocco #illustration
God remember when u were 12 and you would just Make Art on like spare copy paper with crayola markers and an old pencil and even though you didn’t know anything about anatomy or perspective or anything you were jus happy to b Making Art and u didn’t constantly belittle your own efforts or feel like ur drawings weren’t good enough
I just found the funniest fucking thingGGGGG it’s a website where you make fake simpsons synopsises and compile screenshots from the show that fit the plot, which is simple enough but this is the first one I found
There aren’t many muslim wlw books out there so getting these books was a struggle lmao anyways, I will be updating this list as i read more books.
I have made a rec list of f/f books w/out muslim wlw rep, you can check it out here
Rughum & Najda by Samar Habib
Summary: RUGHUM & NAJDA is a love story set in the
Islamic Golden Age of 9th century Baghdad, at the end of the caliph
Al-Ma’mun. Rughum is a devout Muslim while Najda is a Manichaean.
Okay a little background. According to Samar Habib who is a
professor in Arab history and civilization with particular focus on homosexual
women in the middle ages:
“This story is based on a couple referenced in an actual 9th
century source, there is a little story about them called “Najda and Rughum” we
know they actually existed but we don’t have their story. It was one of about
12 similar narratives that were about two women lovers. There was about 12
different books of that kind circulating, none of which survived. The only thing
that survived to tell us what the story of Rughum and Najda is, is in the 9th
century source that I had found. I used that to basically base the story in
Baghdad of the 9th century on them. Then I used the other bits of
information that I had gathered through my research to bring that period to
life.”
So, basically this is a ficto-history novel. The novel is
historically accurate and grounded in social realities of that time, the
lesbian subculture, the terms they use to identify each other, the way the
characters debate and talk about same sex love are all historically accurate. What made the book very exciting for me was knowing that the women are actually
recorded in a 9th century source, like one of the characters, poet
Bathal who changed the words of a popular song to sing in praise of the love of
women in front of the caliph actually existed. Mind blown. You will get
introduced into a world of muslim wlw at that time, there are several love
stories but that of Rughum and Najda is central.
This book was so great to read, it has everything and more that
I want in f/f romance. Strong independent women, sword fights, cross-dressing, travel,
love, sex and a lot of suspense. The language used is beautiful sort of like medieval
Arabic poetry, and y’all know I love poetry lmao I felt like I was transported
into a world of Arabian tales. I loved the characters, their similarities and how
they navigate their differences– I honestly didn’t want the story to end. After
I finished reading, I was shook and speechless. The last chapter, let me not get
into it– the story really touched me and got me thinking about life and bigger
things, the story is more than a tale of forbidden love. The author often goes
out of the story to give some historical facts which was a bit distracting but
I honestly didn’t mind because I was curious about that period and the
historical context of the story.
This is a must read, I am sure I will read it again to
digest everything.
Moon at nine by Deborah Ellis
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Farrin has many secrets. Although
she goes to a school for gifted girls in Tehran, as the daughter of an
aristocratic mother and wealthy father, Farrin must keep a low profile. When
Sadira starts attending the school they become inseparable and fall in love.
The book is set in 1980s Iran, after the Shah was overthrown, it’s a true story.
A little background. According to the author:
“At the beginning of the summer of 2013, I met a woman who
told me about her early years in Iran, a story that eventually became this
book. She wanted to share her experience, but she needed to keep her identity
secret to protect the members of her family who are still in Iran. Some of the
details have been changed, but this story is essentially hers.”
Where should I even begin with this book, you guys I have
never cried reading a book. This story made me cry so hard and my heart
physically ached, because of the truth of this story and what the consequences
of being gay could be— this book really hit me hard, it forced me to look at the ugly reality. Even tho this is a YA
story, I wouldn’t recommend it for lgbt people below 15.
It’s fast paced, kept
me guessing till the last pages, I think everyone should read it.
Bareed mista3jil – True stories published by meem
A little background:
Bareed mista3jil (Arabic) translated into English means “Mail
in a hurry”. So this book is basically is a non-fiction. It is a collection of 41
true and personal stories of lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning
women from all over Lebanon. There are both English and Arabic versions of this
book but the book was originally written in English in 2009.
What I really like about this book is the diversity in the
stories. The book doesn’t focus on a specific experience or voice rather it is
a collection of stories written by the women themselves from all over the
country, so they have different religions, sects, backgrounds, social status etc
This book will make you look at LGBT outside the western
construct (since that’s where we mostly get our lgbt rep) and learn what having
different sexual/gender identities is like in the Arab world. The different
themes in the stories include coming out, discrimination, family, self-image,
relationships, sexual diversity, religion, self-discovery, emigration, activism
and community.
Everyone should read this book.
I couldn’t find this book anywhere, thankfully I was able to
find a scanned copysomeone shared. The copy is clear and was easy to read on my computer.
Nightingale by Andrea
Bramhall
Summary: Hazaar Alim comes from a Muslim Pakistani
background and her parents are devout traditionalists, Hazaar is gay, she falls
in love with Charlie (a white woman) and has to choose between her
tradition/family and Charlie.
So this book is like a fusion of romance and thriller. It’s
a fast read. I really enjoyed reading the romance between Hazaar and Charlie. However,
there are things that made me uncomfortable while reading this book. The “white
savior” stuff is strong in this one, the part about Islam and Pakistani community
made me roll my eyes cause it was just so stereotypical. I wonder if the writer
has actually gotten feedback from an actual Pakistani during the review
process. Even tho I have been reading f/f romance for years now, this is the
first f/f romance book I have read with a muslim character—which was at the end
of 2017 I believe. It made me start looking for more muslim wlw rep in books and
now here we are lmao
Loving you wasn’t enough by Fatima Warsame
Summary: Ebyan is a Somali American, a devout muslim, loves her
family and culture and is proud of her African roots. She meets Noreen a girl
from a muslim Indian background in uni, Ebyan’s heart is ignited the moment
they lock eyes. They grow very close and fall in love.
I read somewhere that the writer wrote this to open
conversation on same sex love in the muslim community. The writer herself is a
Somali American muslim. There are things I didn’t quite agree with in this book
but I won’t get into that here. I have written a review on this book, so you
can check it out if you want. This book is filled with so much angst and moral
conflict/struggle, I really enjoyed reading about Noreen and Ebyan’s
relationship especially the first half when they were getting to know each
other and stuff and I also enjoyed reading about their differences, whats with
me and loving stories about people with different beliefs/background lmao. I got
frustrated towards the end.
I have the ebook versions of these books, you can dm me if you can’t find the books. btw i would love to hear your thoughts on these books after you read them.
Hey friends! My friend helped me make a GoFundMe to help raise funds for me splitting off from my abusive family + starting HRT. It would mean the world to me if u all could help donate and/or share ;;;; <333 I put in more info/clarification in the link itself as to why I need help and what my situation is, but the gist is that I’m trans and Muslim and in a really abusive Hindu conservative family that’s trying to get me arrange-married off to a guy I don’t know and don’t want to marry so that I’ll be forced to “stay as a girl.” Please help a bro out <333
