An interesting look at Muslim gothic lolitas and cosplayers
Two years ago, I mentioned post in egl community where a Muslim girl asked for some advice on how she could get into the style while still following her faith's modesty rules. And, last week, I came across a 2015 Geek & Sundry article that showed that she was far from unique, nor was she the first Muslim girl to ask these kinds of questions. And it touched on something I never really thought of before - how would a Muslim female cosplayer depict her favorite characters while still following the modesty rules (in short - it requires some creativity, but it can be done).
As I've written before, I live in a neighborhood where Muslims aren't exactly rare. Different women from different cultures interpret the modesty rules differently, which isn't surprising, since Quaran only calls for women to dress modestly. Just how that manifests has more to do with cultural traditions than anything that the holy text says. The only thing that seems consistent is that most of the skin can't be exposed (and even then, I've seen some variations).
As someone whose view of the faith is peripheral at best, I'm not exactly the best person to say what Muslim women should and shouldn't wear. But, with that said, I don't see the conflict. So long as the outfit doesn't expose too much skin, why not experiment a little? Especially since lolita fashion draws on conservative Victorian traditions and encourages elegance and modesty. And, ultimately, everybody should be able to enjoy doing what they love the way they are most comfortable with. Women should be able to be as sexy as they want, or as modest as they want - it's two sides of the same coin.
As a bit of a bonus - I originally found out about this article thanks to... Well, the best I can tell, it's some kind of a magazine design project by design student Roma Menon. Since the design, not the text, was what was important, it took a bunch of existing articles and illustrations - and the Geek & Sundry article became a cover story. I thought Menon did a pretty good job with it.
As I've written before, I live in a neighborhood where Muslims aren't exactly rare. Different women from different cultures interpret the modesty rules differently, which isn't surprising, since Quaran only calls for women to dress modestly. Just how that manifests has more to do with cultural traditions than anything that the holy text says. The only thing that seems consistent is that most of the skin can't be exposed (and even then, I've seen some variations).
As someone whose view of the faith is peripheral at best, I'm not exactly the best person to say what Muslim women should and shouldn't wear. But, with that said, I don't see the conflict. So long as the outfit doesn't expose too much skin, why not experiment a little? Especially since lolita fashion draws on conservative Victorian traditions and encourages elegance and modesty. And, ultimately, everybody should be able to enjoy doing what they love the way they are most comfortable with. Women should be able to be as sexy as they want, or as modest as they want - it's two sides of the same coin.
As a bit of a bonus - I originally found out about this article thanks to... Well, the best I can tell, it's some kind of a magazine design project by design student Roma Menon. Since the design, not the text, was what was important, it took a bunch of existing articles and illustrations - and the Geek & Sundry article became a cover story. I thought Menon did a pretty good job with it.