"Muslim Hipsters" and the diverse representation of Muslim women
I live in Edgewater and do a lot of my shopping in Rogers Park, so I see more Muslim women on day-to-day basis than people in most Chicago neighborhoods. Refugees and immigrants from Iraq, Syria and other Middle Eastern countries, dressed in more traditional clothes. Muslim women from African countries, dressed in bright dresses and head coverings. African-American Muslim women. Young women who wear modern American fashions - if it weren't for the fact that they wear headscarves and don't show much skin, you wouldn't be able to tell them apart from their non-Muslim peers. And, of course, women who are Muslim but don't get immediately pegged as Muslim because they don't wear headscarves or other form of dress traditionally associated with Muslims.
Like every other minority groups, Muslims tend to get reduced to stereotypes. To narrow images. And that narrowness blinds people to the fact that there's more than one kind of Muslim - and there's more than one way to be Muslim.
Late last year, a group of Muslim women put together a video... Well, the title says it's about Muslim hipsters. But as one of the co-creators, an Iraq-American architect Layla Shaikley, makes it clear in her piece for the Atlantic magazine, it is, first and foremost, about showing that she and her friends may not fit the stereotypes, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. The fact that, yeah, a lot of them could be described as "hipsters," is secondary.
In her article, Shaikley revealed that the video caused mixed reactions in the Muslim communities. But I think some of the people who responded to the video missed an important point. The women who were involved in this video weren't trying to represent all Muslim women, or even all Muslim women in America. They are just being themselves. And hopefully, that will get more people to look beyond stereotypes and see Muslim women as, well, people.
Or at least enjoy a fun video.
(Edited to add): And, on a related note, I recently came across a post where a Muslim girl was asking for advice on how she can be an Elegant Gothic Lolita without showing her hair. I wouldn't have thought that a Muslim girl would be interested in a fashion style that seeks to emulate 19th century Europe... which just kind of underscores the message Shaikley and others were trying to send. And it goes to show that nobody is ever completely immune to the allure of stereotypes. Not even me. :)
(h/t ohnotheydidnt, egl )
Like every other minority groups, Muslims tend to get reduced to stereotypes. To narrow images. And that narrowness blinds people to the fact that there's more than one kind of Muslim - and there's more than one way to be Muslim.
Late last year, a group of Muslim women put together a video... Well, the title says it's about Muslim hipsters. But as one of the co-creators, an Iraq-American architect Layla Shaikley, makes it clear in her piece for the Atlantic magazine, it is, first and foremost, about showing that she and her friends may not fit the stereotypes, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. The fact that, yeah, a lot of them could be described as "hipsters," is secondary.
Click to viewIn her article, Shaikley revealed that the video caused mixed reactions in the Muslim communities. But I think some of the people who responded to the video missed an important point. The women who were involved in this video weren't trying to represent all Muslim women, or even all Muslim women in America. They are just being themselves. And hopefully, that will get more people to look beyond stereotypes and see Muslim women as, well, people.
Or at least enjoy a fun video.
(Edited to add): And, on a related note, I recently came across a post where a Muslim girl was asking for advice on how she can be an Elegant Gothic Lolita without showing her hair. I wouldn't have thought that a Muslim girl would be interested in a fashion style that seeks to emulate 19th century Europe... which just kind of underscores the message Shaikley and others were trying to send. And it goes to show that nobody is ever completely immune to the allure of stereotypes. Not even me. :)
(h/t ohnotheydidnt, egl )