Topic: Gender Performance in Children’s Literature and Media in the Middle East.
Overview: As a writer with an MA in film production, I have explored the child’s perspective in both fiction and screenplays. For the past year, I’ve been engaged with a body of fantasy fiction where the story is told through the eyes of an eleven-year-old girl living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The heroine strives to reconcile certain systems and doctrines in her environment with what she sees in the magical worlds that she travels to. This work brings to my attention the need for a closer look at how Arab children’s identities are shaped by the storytelling that they consume, be it offered by close loved ones or the media machine.
For more information on Maram’s books and short films, check out her website at https://www.maram-taibah.com/