Embodied Defeat: Abortion and Emasculation in two stories by Ghāda al-Sammān
Columbu, A. 2026. Embodied Defeat: Abortion and Emasculation in two stories by Ghāda al-Sammān. Contemporary Women's Writing.
Columbu, A. 2026. Embodied Defeat: Abortion and Emasculation in two stories by Ghāda al-Sammān. Contemporary Women's Writing.
| Title | Embodied Defeat: Abortion and Emasculation in two stories by Ghāda al-Sammān |
|---|---|
| Type | Journal article |
| Authors | Columbu, A. |
| Abstract | This article explores how Syrian author Ghāda al-Sammān’s short stories interrogate the intersection of gender, nation, and trauma in the wake of the 1967 Arab defeat (al-Naksa). Focusing on two stories, “The Grey Danube” and “Honour Killing”, both from her 1973 collection Raḥīl al-Marāfiʿ al-Qadīma, I argue that al-Sammān resists the “inward turn” of earlier Arab feminist writing by embedding women’s struggles within broader political disillusionment. Illuminated by the work of Nira Yuval-Davis and Lila Abu-Lughod as well as through R. W. Connell’s theory of hegemonic masculinity al-Sammān’s early fiction reveals how national trauma is inscribed on both male and female gendered bodies, challenging patriarchal and nationalist paradigms while anticipating themes central to her later novels. |
| Journal | Contemporary Women's Writing |
| ISSN | 1754-1484 |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) |
| Accepted author manuscript | File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Publication dates | |
| Published | 2026 |