Construction and Deconstruction of Hegemonic Masculinity in The Arab of the Future 1: Youth in the Middle East (1978-1984) by Riad Sattouf

Abstract

Through the analysis of the graphic novel L’Arabe du future 1. Une jeunesse au Moyen-Orient (1978-1985) by the Franco-Syrian cartoonist Riad Sattouf, this contribution aims to investigate the construction of hegemonic masculinity in Gaddafi’s post-colonial Libya and Hafez al Assad’s Syria. First, this study intends to track the stages of Riad’s journey towards the achievement of hegemonic masculinity. In this context, a special focus will be laid on the construction of the mother’s character through that of the father, thereby showing how the female character takes shape from the male perspective. Second and finally, it attempts to analyse how the author implements a deconstruction path of hegemonic masculinity by using certain rhetorical devices, namely irony, stereotype repetition and the adoption of his own perspective as a child.