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] 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.