Abstract
ABSTRACT In 2017, the porn film Refugee’s Welcome was released, directed by Canadian pornographer Bruce LaBruce. Using the ‘Refugees Welcome’ slogan popularized in Germany following the arrival of a growing number of refugees, LaBruce individualizes the narrative through the fictional story of Moonif, a young gay Syrian refugee who explores his sexuality upon arrival in Berlin. Indeed, a broader porn genre has emerged involving the depiction of refugees. In this article, I argue that Refugee’s Welcome perpetuates the trope of queer refugees having a sexual awakening upon migration, whereby the West is positioned as liberating refugees from the alleged homophobic Global South. Not only does this trope allow the film to directly focus on saviourism, but the queer refugee becomes imagined as inherently vulnerable by contrasting them to the imagined hypermasculinity of heterosexual Arab refugee men. This article thus explores the obscenity of demanding queer refugees only becoming intelligible through narratives of liberation.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
