The caption reads:
Sama Wareh walks along the sand dressed in swimwear designed for Muslim women, Newport Beach, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007. Muslim girls and women are increasingly participating in athletic activities, especially as second and third generation children of immigrants grow up surrounded by American influences. But doing so requires them to overcome a seemingly large obstacle: Islam's traditional emphasis on modest dress. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
I am kind of fed up with these "watch Muslims woman do normal things" kinds of stories and images. Maybe it's because I grew up being beaten by covered girls in foot races, I am just not impressed that a m'hajibiyya does things that others do. The only way this is interesting is if you subscribe to the notion that all covered women are treated as sub-humans with no agency -- a common, ignorant perception in the United States, and one that spawns stories like this one.
They make it seem like being Muslim and modest is a barrier to participation, when quite clearly, it happens all the time. That said, there are repressive forces, of course, but they can be overstated in the American media and imagination.
Should I attribute this to cultural chauvinism or sexism? After all, it is not as if the American model of female presentation offers liberation. Though it grants agency to women to choose, boundless pressures push women in a way that can be very damaging. The AFP reported about a new study on the damage of the pervasive sexualized images in US media:
Inescapable media images of sexed-up girls and women posing as adolescents can cause psychological and even physical harm to adolescents and young women, a study in the US has warned.The study found that sexualization occurs when "a person's value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior," when sexuality is inappropriately imposed, or when a person is sexually "objectified."
The pressure of what experts call "sexualization" can lead to depression, eating disorders, and poor academic performance, said the report, released Sunday by the American Psychological Association.
Sexism is the main problem, but it is not total in its oppression. Religious women can still empower themselves with modesty just as some others can empower themselves by owning their sexuality -- both can defy the respective pressures and images around them though these cultural norms weigh heavily.
13 comments:
"The only way this is interesting is if you subscribe to the notion that all covered women are treated as sub-humans with no agency -- a common, ignorant perception in the United States, and one that spawns stories like this one. "
Are you for real? That is the only way that someone could find this story interesting? While I can see where you're coming from with the 'oh, lets watch them do normal things and marvel at it', let's not get carried away here. Not everything is a fight Will, stop lookin for one at every turn...
The person that commented above has it all wrong. When you point out something that is wrong in a society you are not fighting it. I completely agree with Will. As a Muslim Hijabi, I go through that OMG you do that thing everyday of my life. Whether it is from my coworkers or other students at school or just the average joe at the supermarket, it pisses me off when someone comes up to me and makes a comment like "oh you do that?" Its like wearing hijab warps you into a different species. You are no longer a woman, who has feminine tendencies, aspirations, or feelings. You become dehumanized in the eyes of the "other" and I'm sick of making excuses for them. I don't think Will is looking for a fight. But more like hes saying that they should stop looking at us like we are being normalized by "Western" society and that we should look at them as not being normal for thinking about us in that way.
What should be done to the Palestinian terrorists who kidnapped 3 American women in Ramallah yesterday?
Should the bomb HAMAS? Or will HAMAS arrest and charge the perpetrators?
The penalty for kidnapping is death.
I think they should give the kidnapper the medicine he asked for, and put those who imposed sanctions on the people on trial.
Besides, it was 1hr 20 min, that hardly qualifies for fauls imprisonment.
Should we ask the three ladies if they like to press charges, or if they even wish to leave Palestine ofter thier "ordeal"?
if this ignorance as pervasive as you claim, then don't articles like this do some good?
perhaps the next time someone hears that you do something such as rollerblading, perhaps they wont be so surprised as a result of reading this article.. thus sparing you the "oh, you do that?"
what ya think?
Well, since under 50 people frequent this blog a month, I highly doubt it will affect many people. Today at a coffee shop in the metro detroit area, I actually drank a coffee next to a Hijabi and her children and was almost going to ask, "You drink coffee!?!?" It was cool to see her drive a car though! Only in America they say! So here's a question for you other immigrants out there like me. I moved to America because I wanted to be an American and I wanted to live in the greatest country in the world because I embraced Western values, including freedom to wear a Hijab, but more importantly, the freedom to walk around like uncoverd meat ready to spoil. Why did you or your parents move here? I consider it the rudest and most disengenuous act to poo poo a place that accepted you and blessed you with the opportunities that no other place could afford.
And really, a feminism label at Kabombfest? LOL!
no shit.. some of these people should just get out of the usa if all they do is complain about how evil it is..
i know I wouldn't stay in a country that was as 'evil' as some of these kabobers make the US out to be..
living in ivory towers
maybe this sheds some light as to why stories like the one mentioned above make the papers
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1414137.ece
The only way this is interesting is if you subscribe to the notion that all covered women are treated as sub-humans with no agency
A ridiculous notion, since it is well-known that a substantial minority of Muslim communities treat their women merely as second-class citizens with most of the rights afforded to men.
Not in Iran Roy! Not in Iran!!! We're building a whole Island where spoiled meat can hang out together with beast men to exploit their rot!!!
But seriously folks, just ask russian physicians in Baku, Azerbaijan in 1979 about the fake hyman surgeries for Iranian women worried about being murdered for losing their virginity prior to the "revolution" and then having to stay in Iran afterward. I'd love to see the kabombers deny that and talk about the sanctity of the Muslim hyamn with regards to the beast man married to it.
Here's my advice to Hijabis: Chill with the paranoia. There are plenty of different looking people in America, whether you are Amish, Orthodox Jew, Mormon, Sikh, etc., yes you will stand out and yes some people may look at you. Who cares! It's not your job to educate the masses about your dress code, you are in a free country and no ones gives a shi'ite what shmata you throw around your head and why you do it. If everyone in your neighborhood gives you a hard time, then move out of the sticks to a real city. There is no rule that states people have to like you or agree with you, they just shouldn't harm you, and since you live in the greatest country in the world with virtually more Instant Jihadis like the Somali Cab Driver than Islamophobists, you have nothing to worry about.
Im split - Sama (the surfer and successful artist) and Shereen (the Splashgear founder, successful scientist) are remarkable for what theyve accomplished. The fact theyre Muslim Hijabis shouldnt make their success shocking but unfortunately, the sight of a Muslim woman with her hair covered incorrectly conveys the message of oppression to sooooo many Westerners. The fact that these articles are necessary to teach people that Muslim women are also feminists tells more about the people reading than the people theyre about. So on one level it's insulting to talk about Muslim women like theyve just landed here on Earth but at the same time, thank God someone's taking the time to help break the incorrect and pervasive image.
hrmmm....
it's easier said than done to ignore the jibes thrown at you. U try...and then...it can break u...up there...**tap-tap**
So...we live, and let live...
and...the conclusion: more news should be written OUT THERE by more hijabi women!
If education is needed..then educate!
pEaCe!!
Well to me, standards of modesty could be oppressive when a)Women are held to stricter standards then men, b)Modesty is is defined as not showing skin.
a)I think it's sexist when women are expected to live up to higher standards then men, and this goes for all beliefs, if a religion demands women to cover up, I believe the same should go for men.
b)Long clothings and head scarfs can get in the way of life, I've wore them for non-religious reasons and remember how my scalp felt awful when wind couldn't air the sweat out (I've won 'keychiefs' to keep my hair in place on windy walks to school), same goes for the rest of the body, and stuff gets tangled up. To this day I favour long skirts to short ones because I look good in them (hence, I'm not modest), and when I wear clothings like these, I'm aware of them all the time. Keep them off the steps, off the floor when I sit down, the /weight/ of them when I move. I've almost tripped before when someone stepped on the ends of my bellbottoms.
That said, I believe it is a good thing that women are participating in sports, more restrictive clothing or not, and if it works for them, good, if it doesn't and then they chose to wear something else, /equally/ good, as long as it is something they chose to keep or ditch after thought. ...and after all, 'modesty' is not necessary covering up, to me, the woman at the beach in sweats is much more modest than the woman in...a ball gown? Sweats in such a situation is wore because it's practical, not to vainly draw appreciative attention, therefore to me, it remains modest.
- Mercurial Georgia
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