A Girl Named Mahmoud
A Girl Named Mahmoud (Arabic: بنت اسمها محمود; Bint Ismaha Maĥmood) is a 1975 Egyptian comedy film directed by Niasi Mustafa.
Samar Habib, author of Female Homosexuality in the Middle East: Histories and Representations, wrote that the film "exploits the genre of transvestism as comedy" and that "several homoerotic images can be presented safely and innocently to mainstream audiences" through a female character pretending to be a male.[1] She explained that because no characters consciously desire those of the same sex and because Ĥamida is still a woman, the film puts the audience "at ease".[2] Habib added that "the question of [whether homoeroticism is forbidden in religion] does not surface so much as the issues of cultural belief, perhaps because the two can sometimes be interchangeable."[1]
Habib concluded that the film does not successfully thoroughly examine homoerotic desire and that the film "attempts to rationalize homosexuality as a form of transgenderism (women who desire other women must be essentially men)".[2]
Plot
Ĥamida (Suhair Ramzi) is the daughter of an illiterate widower, al-Ĥag Firghalee. Firghalee attempts to prevent his daughter from studying at a university, so the medical student Ĥassan helps her. After Firghalee reveals he will marry Ĥamida to a boy she dislikes, Ĥassan has her disguise herself as a man, Mahmoud. Ĥassan and his friends lie to Firghalee, telling him they performed transsexual surgery to change Ĥamida into a man.[1] Ĥamida's disguise has an effeminate appearance, and both male and female employees at Firghalee's furniture shop are attracted to "Mahmoud" and many conclude "he" is a homosexual.[3]
Firghalee's father mistakenly believes that "Mahmoud" is a homosexual when he sees "him" kiss Hassan. He arranges to have Lawaĥith, a cabaret entertainer, meet "Mahmood" to set "his" sexuality straight, but "Mahmoud" is not attracted to women and is unwilling to sleep with Lawaĥith.[3] One woman says that she has the child of "Mahmoud" and two women claim to be engaged to "Mahmoud". After a doctor mistakenly states "Mahmoud" is pregnant, Ĥamida reveals her true identity. She and Ĥassan marry.[4]
Characters
- Ĥamida, a young woman who disguises herself as Mahmoud - Suhair Ramzi
- al-Ĥag Firghalee, an illiterate widower. After Ĥamida re-appears as a boy, Firghalee is overjoyed to have a son, as he had always wanted one. He tells others that Maĥmood is a formerly-estranged son.[1]
- Habib describes Firghalee as "simple" and "traditional".[1]
- Ĥassan, a medical student who is in his final year of his coursework. He lives in the same building as Ĥamida.[1]
- Waĥeed, a male whom Ĥamida dislikes. Firghalee tries to get her to marry him.[1]
- Lawaĥith, a cabaret entertainer
- Souâd, an individual who desires a romance with "Mahmoud," but faints when "he" reveals himself to be a woman[4]