The “Somewhere in America #Mipsterz” video is a video posted on YouTube highlighting trendy, fashionable, hijabi Muslim women. This video sparked controversy within the Muslim community for various reasons, ranging from the women’s clothing, actions, and the hip-hop music the video was set to. This is evidenced by the many articles written and posted online in response to it. Some of these articles include Sana Saaed’s “Somewhere in America, Muslim Women Are ‘Cool’”, Rabia Chaudry’s “Somewhere on the Internet, Muslim Women are being Shamed”, Aminah Sheikh’s “Why I Participated in the ‘Somewhere in America’ #Mipsterz Video”, and Yasmine Hafiz’s “Why Islam Needs More ‘Mipsterz’”. These articles cover the topic very well and offer the main arguments for both those for and against the video’s message.
Those against the video’s message essentially argue that these women are not behaving in a Muslim way and are therefore sending the wrong message to both young Muslims and non-Muslims. Sana Saaed, in her “Somewhere in America, Muslim Women Are ‘Cool’” article, begins by revealing the message opposite hers: the Mipsterz video is a successful attempt to break down the hateful hijabi Muslim American stereotypes. Unlike most Americans’ viewpoint, they can be hip, trendy, and “normal” while staying devout to their religion. While she understands this message, Sana does not agree with this video’s portrayal of it. She believes that the video is actually objectifying these Muslim women by only showing images of the physical female form. She supplies evidence for this by revealing that each of these women contributes to her respective community, yet they are labeled as just “models” in the video credits. Since Muslims are supposed to focus on th...
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...bia Chaudry and feels that it is not acceptable to judge Muslim women to the extent of body shaming and accusing them of being “not Muslim enough”. Yasmine personally relates to these women because she dresses this way and feels like these women perfectly represent her own attitudes and culture. She disagrees with the trend that modesty should be a defining characteristic of a Muslim woman. Yasmine ends her article with the powerful statement that since Muslims are supposed to believe that God is their only judge, they need to actually practice it.
This whole argument shows that there is no single way a Muslim woman should look and behave. It is entirely subjective based on how a person was raised and what that person was taught. Each of these four women come from different backgrounds and therefore have different opinions of how Muslim women should look and behave.
The article “My Body Is My Own Business” by Naheed Mustafa is about an Islamic women’s principle that putting on her usual headscarf, or Hijab, actually empowers her as a female, contrary to the popular principle that the hijab represents male oppressiveness. She ex...
Ariana Donaville’s article “Muslim American Women on College Campuses” was published in Fashionista on May 13th, 2017. In this article, Donaville explains the changes that Muslim American women on campuses had to face prior and post 9/11. She explained how the Muslims students on college campuses were treated prior to 9/11 and post 9/11. She also elaborates on how most Muslim American women on campus have to hide their true/real identity to “Fit in” with other college students from different races. She also states a proposal/what can be done to make college life safer and more enjoyable for Muslim American students. This article was published by Fashionista, an independently owned magazine that is available to many journalists in the world. Dovaville is currently a college student at the University of Oregon who wants to help the Muslim American women at that institution to have a voice. This article will help me explain a proposal/provide a solution on how to make campuses more comfortable for Muslim American women.
For some women wearing a veil is not something that is forced on them but rather a choice of their own. Martha Nussbaum and Maysan Haydar are both authors that try to explain their reasoning that veiling isn't an oppressive tool used against women. Martha Nussbaum's article “Veiled Threats”, is a political and philosophical take on why banning the burqa is a violation of human rights. On the other hand Maysan Haydar’s article “Don’t Judge a Muslim Girl by Her Covering”, is a more humorous and personal take on why veiling shouldn't be as judged or stereotyped. Though Nussbaum and Haydar have equal goals this essay is being used to understand the main argument, claims and whether or not each article has any weaknesses.
Furthermore, Haydar expresses that she has been able to embrace the modesty in veiling and that it allows her to be seen as a whole person. She addresses the fact that “many Americans see veiling as an oppressive tool forced on Muslim women by the men in our culture” (414). Yet, Haydar informs the readers that veiling isn’t specific to the Islam culture and is also a choice for many women. She even points out that many other religions promote and advocate for modesty in
She makes the case that Western feminists have radically misinterpreted the veil. For many Muslim women, the veil acts as a divide between the public and private. The veil may actually liberate women from “the intrusive, commodifying, basely sexualizing Western gaze”. The veil frees women from the oppressive hyper-sexualization of found in Western culture. Reducing the veil to a symbol of oppression disregards the possibility of female agency outside a Western feminist paradigm. The veil has the potential to liberate women in the public space. Projecting our Western notions of sexuality and gender roles denies the possibility of different forms of sexual
This documentary brings attention to events that have been occurring in France since September 2004. The law that prohibits Muslims from wearing headwraps in school is an undemocratic form of islamophobia. The documentary was created to help display the frustrations, hopes, as well as political ambitions of the next generation of the French Muslims, people who were born as French citizens and who make explorations of their potentials to change the national identity of France.
Movies, one can argue, are one of America’s greatest pastimes. Unfortunately, after 9/11, films have become increasingly prejudiced against American Muslims. In movies Muslims are frequently portrayed negatively. According to James Emery, a professor of Anthropology, Hollywood profits off of “casting individuals associated with specific negative stereotypes”. This is due to the fact that viewers automatically link characters with their clichéd images (Emery). For Muslims, the clichéd image is of the violent fundamentalist, who carried out the terroristic attacks on 9/11. As a result, the main stereotypes involved in movies display Muslims as extremists, villains, thieves, and desert nomads. An example of a movie that has such a negative character role for Muslims in film is Disney’s cartoon Aladdin, depict...
Do Muslim Women Really Need Savings? Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? by Lila Abu-Lughod describes Western feminist beliefs on Muslim women and their burqa/veil and how focusing on these misconceptions is doing far more harm than good.
Muslims, Sikhs, and many other religious affiliations have often been targeted for hate crimes, racial slurs, and misfortunate events. We are all different in our own ways some are good and some are bad yet one event changes everything for everyone affiliated with the group. The book The Politics of the Veil by Joan Scott a renowned pioneer in gender studies gives a detailed and analytical book of about the French views towards the Muslim females in France during 2004. The author talks about why the French governments official embargo of wearing conspicuous signs is mainly towards the headscarves for Muslim girls under the age of eighteen in public schools. The main themes of book are gender inequality, sexism, and cultural inequality historical schools used in the book are history of below, woman’s history, cultural history, and political history. In this essay, I will talk about why Joan Scotts argument on why the French government’s ban on wearing conspicuous signs was
Fatemeh Fakhraie’s essay “Scarfing it Down,” explains how Muslim women suffer because of what they wear. Fakhraie blogs about Muslim women in her website she explains; “Seeing ourselves portrayed in the media in ways that are one-dimensional and misleading." Several people judge Muslim's by their appearance because they assume they're a bad person. The author of this essay wants the reader to know that Muslim women wearing a hijab are not a threat to the world.
One of Sultana Yusufali’s strongest arguments in “My body is my own business” is her scrutinization of the exploitation of female sexuality. Initially Yusufali writes about the injudicious individuals that assume she is oppressed by her hijab. Thereafter, she describes them as “brave individuals who have mustered the courage to ask me about the way I dress”. Moreover, Yusufali’s word choice is intriguing as she utilizes the word “brave” when laymen hear this word they habitually associate the aforementioned with heroic, valiant and courageous. Consequently, Yusufali ensues to comprise her opinions on the hijab and how it carries a number of negative connotations in western society. Furthermore, Yusufali proceeds to strike on the importance
Lila Abu-Lughod’s article titled, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” takes a closer look at the problematic ethnocentric approach many have when trying to gain an understanding of another culture that may be foreign to that individual. In this analytical paper, Lughod looks at women in Islam, specifically the treatment of women and how it might be utilized as a justification for invading into a country and liberating its people. The country Lughod refers to in her article is Afghanistan, and Lughod points out the misunderstanding from the people to the Bush administration like First Lady Laura Bush who believed that intervention was necessary to free women from the captivity of their own homes. It is important to consider the role that different lenses play into all of this, especially when one’s lenses are being shaped by the media. Depictions of covered women secluded from society leave a permanent image in the minds of many, who would then later support the idea of liberation. This paper will discuss that the practice of using propaganda when referring to the lifestyle in the Middle East is not exclusive to the U.S; rather it has been utilized throughout history. Additionally, we will take a closer look on the importance of symbols, such as veils in this case; help to further emphasize the cause to liberate. Finally, we will analyze Lughod’s plea towards cultural relativism and away from liberal imperialism.
In the essay, the writer acknowledges the misunderstandings that come from media images by explaining the contrasts between these images and the teachings of the faith to support her claim that fear is the reason for this misconception. The conception that many people have of Muslims is that they are terrorists, anti-Semites, and fanatics. This conception exsists because television news and newspapers support that stereotype. The broadcast of such stereotypes encourages fear and accusations of the Islamic relegion's teachings. The writer explains that Islam teaches peace, tolerance, and equality. She further states that Muslims shown in the media have violated these teachings ...
299). The study consisted of having in-depth personal interviews to share their experiences of being a Muslim American woman (Anderson Droogsma, 2007, p. 300). Veiling to these women was a way of freedom while also having a Muslim identity (Anderson Droogsma, 2007, p. 301). It was also a source of behavior control, to not be sexually objectified, a way of commanding respect from others and even a source of checking their own behavior (Anderson Droogsma, 2007, p. 301). One of the women interviewed said, veiling to her was a way to feel connected to other Muslim woman who veil (Anderson Droogsma, 2007, p. 302). Veiling can be a way to feel connected to your religion and God as well as being connected to those who practice the same faith, it can be considered an act of membership. Many of the women interviewed noted they have been removed from planes, been treated unfairly, and have had strangers shout at them all for just being Muslim and being more visibly recognized from veiling (Anderson Droogsma, 2007, p. 303). This is an example of how media can affect the general population. When the media only shows radicals and compares all Muslims to being terrorist or dangerous they are actually putting Muslim people at risk of being assaulted in public. Muslim woman in particular are more at risk for being assaulted as they are more identifiable. So while veiling can be a source of empowerment and freedom for women it is a double-edged sword because it also puts them at further risk of being
... the film is another example of the ways in which Islam is distorted and constructed to incapacitate women.