Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir

Hijab Butch Blues is a memoir written under a pseudonym or fictitious name—Lamya H. Authors may use pseudonyms for a variety of reasons. For example, in the 19th century, female authors would use pen names to obscure their gender because books by women were often rejected for publication or not considered authoritative by audiences, as in the case of novelist Mary Ann Evans, who published under the pseudonym George Eliot. Author Lamya H. uses a pseudonym to protect herself. As she explains in the final chapter of Hijab Butch Blues, “[My pseudonym] allows me to save my energy for curious, kind dialogue and to support those I love—instead of fighting to fend off racists, sexists, homophobes, transphobes, Islamophobes who could look up where I live, where I work, who and what I hold dear” (277). Put another way, Lamya uses a pseudonym to avoid “doxxing”—a practice in which someone’s private details are intentionally made public as a target for harassment. As a queer Muslim person, Lamya recognizes that she is particularly vulnerable to prejudiced attacks.

Although it is a pseudonym, Lamya H. expresses rather than obscures the author’s