Lena Muhsen (any pronouns-interchangeably) is a junior studying International Economics at Georgetown University in Qatar with a minor in History. Lena is a Palestinian who was born and raised in Qatar. They are passionate about cultivating their culture and introducing it to new people. They mainly admire the wide collection of Palestinian thobes, with detailed, colorful, floral embroidery, and the sense of national identity they give them. Lena hopes to one day visit Palestine in her Palestinian thobe, near Gaza’s beach, where she and her family can sit, enjoy Palestinian music, and savor their cuisine.
Research Project: The Implications of Israel’s Pinkwashing on the Queer Palestinian Diaspora: Navigating the Intersection Between Colonialism, Queerness, and the Palestinian Diaspora
The research on the implications of pinkwashing in the context of Israel and Palestine on the Queer Palestinian diaspora looks at the intersectionality of issues such as gender, apartheid, and diaspora communities. Pinkwashing is a term used to describe Israel’s pro-LGBTQ+ claims intended to gather support from the LGBTQ+ community for Israel and against Palestine. This is done by persuading the globe to believe that Palestine would not treat members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community as Israel would. Israel’s populist gay-friendly claims are to sway LGBTQ+ members and allies into supporting and normalizing Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Additionally, these claims paint Palestine and the Middle East as homophobic, contrary to Israel which is allegedly the only democratic pro-LGBTQ+ state in the region, hence, further legitimizing the occupation of Palestine and re-framing it as the continued ‘civilization’ of the Middle East. While the existing literature discusses pinkwashing in the context of Israel’s colonization of Palestine, it does not discuss the intersection between pinkwashing as a colonial tool and the queer Palestinian diaspora. This research will fill those gaps through literature reviews and interviews, adding a human element. Israel’s pinkwashing strengthens its apartheid on Palestinian land, affecting Queer Palestinians in Palestine and the Queer Palestinian diaspora. While Queer people work on creating spaces for themselves as a marginalized group, Queer Palestinians are usually alienated from these spaces due to Israel’s pinkwashing. Israel’s pinkwashing led to the shrinking of the spaces the Queer Palestinian diaspora can occupy in either Palestinian or LGBTQ+ spaces, further normalizing Israel’s apartheid and alienating the queer Palestinian diaspora. Israel weaponizes the perceived idea of its state being a gay-friendly one to ensure that queer Palestinians are not only alienated from their homeland but also their queer community.