Orientalism and X-Men: a review of the character Dust’s representation

Abstract

It aims to analyze the presence of the character Sooraya Qadir, also known by the alias 'Dust,' in the comic book New X-Men, written by Grant Morrison. It seeks to understand how her inclusion in the story is related to the historical context of the comic’s original publication, marked by the 09/11 terrorist attacks and the United States' declaration of the War on Terror. The main concept utilized is Orientalism, created by Edward Said, which exposes the existence of discourses based on asymmetrical power relations that are employed to justify domination and violence exerted upon Another. Following this logic, the main objective is to understand if the way the character in question is portrayed reproduces certain negative conceptions about the so-called Orient in general, and muslim women, in particular.