Building on the perception that mainstream literature on gender, feminism and sexuality in the MENA region is all too often loaded with orientalist misconceptions, the journal aims to contribute to the production of knowledge by providing a platform for independent, non-exoticizing research.

The team prides itself in cultivating its cultural and linguistic ties with the MENA region : Kohl is based in Beirut and Arabic is considered a legitimate working and publication language. Content is also available in French and English.

Its latest issue on incarceration, surveillance and policing discusses the role of the state in shaping and perpetuating patriarchal control mechanisms in the MENA region. The issue tackles a wide range of topics, from moral panics and masculinity in post-2011 Egypt to pinkwashing in zionist discourse.

¹ The modern meaning of the term ‘orientalism’ is usually attributed to Edward Said and his seminal piece of work, Orientalism (1978). The term nowadays refers to a way of thinking about the Orient which assumes an ‘ontological and epistemological’ distinction between the East and West or Orient and Occident (Said, 1978). Building on the work of Foucault, Said argued that orientalism was a discourse of domination shaping power relations, and thus having facilitated Western domination over the Orient.