There's a fascinating discussion going on at Academichic about slogan T's and wearing your politics as a part of your fashion choices. This is interesting, and as you can probably tell, I wear my politics pretty openly. I know folks have different opinions about that. I used to wear more slogan and message Ts, everything from anti-Bush, anti-war, pro-union types things, especially when I spent more of my time as an activist. To me, it wasn't about necessarily starting fights with strangers, but rather as a way to express myself.
That said, I am wearing the tricolour today as a way to express a political concern about what's going on in France recently, about the politics of women's clothing. Specifically, the lower house passed a bill (still needs to go through the upper house) banning all facial coverings, in a move that's specifically geared to outlawing the burqa.
Martha Nussbaum recently said it much better than me, but here are my additional thoughts:
I don't defend or reject the burqa, but rather I think it's important to think about what it means to live in a liberal democratic society (small "l" liberal, as in we care about individual liberties and freedoms, not the dictates of a king or a religious figure). It's true that "western" women in certain Muslim dominated countries must conform to their clothing norms (see What I Would Have Worn), but the point of a liberal democratic society is that we have few constricting norms on self expression, except those that might threaten other people's safety/liberties. If a society, France or otherwise, defines itself by liberal democratic values, it must uphold itself to it's own principles. Reciprocity does not apply.
Secondly, I dislike harmful cultural practices against women, but we should be aware that there are plenty of harmful cultural practices against women that we actively engage in, reproduce, and encourage. If we really care about stopping harmful practices against women, we should address them all, not the specific, limited ones that only seem to apply to a group of economically and politically marginalized populations. Sheila Jeffreys has done a much better job documenting this than I can attempt to in this space. Extreme dieting, risky plastic surgeries, precarious 4" heels, tanning- all of these represent a form of potential violence against women. Even though these are not as directly enforced, it is wrong to claim that there are not strong social sanctions against women who do not conform to certain ideals- in terms of their earning potential, career advancement, and life partner prospects. And most terrifying is the ways in which in this and other "western" countries, those women and men who violate gender norms in a way that is threatening have met with direct violence. Brandon Teena's death was not long ago. Violence against women (sexual or otherwise), and gendered violence* continues to be a reality in so many women's lives. And we know that what women wear in the West can become a liability in domestic violence cases (like the skinny jeans rape defense in Australia), showing how we continue to regulate and control what women should wear, while claiming that we have so much freedom.
Again, this is not to defend harmful cultural practices in one context because of the presence of some on our own, but rather to create a space to consider how claims of "safety" and "oppression against women" are used to obscure racist and fear-driven intentions. I may be super sensitive, as the sister-in-law of an amazing woman of the Islamic faith, but as a person interested in politics and fashion, and one who must carefully navigate strongly anti-Muslim sentiments in a classroom from a post 9/11 New York kids (who sit several yards away from their Muslim fellow students), it's an important subject for me.
I'd love to hear your thoughts about the politics of fashion.
Edit: Here's the outfit deets:
Top: Rodarte for Target
Skirt: UO
Shoes: BC Footwear (they are falling apart too)
Belt: off of a vintage dress
*There's a brilliant woman at my school who studies sexual violence against men and boys, so I don't want to make it seem like this is something that only women are the object of. The interesting thing about her research is she argues that these acts are deeply embedded in fraught norms of masculinity.
That said, I am wearing the tricolour today as a way to express a political concern about what's going on in France recently, about the politics of women's clothing. Specifically, the lower house passed a bill (still needs to go through the upper house) banning all facial coverings, in a move that's specifically geared to outlawing the burqa.
Martha Nussbaum recently said it much better than me, but here are my additional thoughts:
I don't defend or reject the burqa, but rather I think it's important to think about what it means to live in a liberal democratic society (small "l" liberal, as in we care about individual liberties and freedoms, not the dictates of a king or a religious figure). It's true that "western" women in certain Muslim dominated countries must conform to their clothing norms (see What I Would Have Worn), but the point of a liberal democratic society is that we have few constricting norms on self expression, except those that might threaten other people's safety/liberties. If a society, France or otherwise, defines itself by liberal democratic values, it must uphold itself to it's own principles. Reciprocity does not apply.
Secondly, I dislike harmful cultural practices against women, but we should be aware that there are plenty of harmful cultural practices against women that we actively engage in, reproduce, and encourage. If we really care about stopping harmful practices against women, we should address them all, not the specific, limited ones that only seem to apply to a group of economically and politically marginalized populations. Sheila Jeffreys has done a much better job documenting this than I can attempt to in this space. Extreme dieting, risky plastic surgeries, precarious 4" heels, tanning- all of these represent a form of potential violence against women. Even though these are not as directly enforced, it is wrong to claim that there are not strong social sanctions against women who do not conform to certain ideals- in terms of their earning potential, career advancement, and life partner prospects. And most terrifying is the ways in which in this and other "western" countries, those women and men who violate gender norms in a way that is threatening have met with direct violence. Brandon Teena's death was not long ago. Violence against women (sexual or otherwise), and gendered violence* continues to be a reality in so many women's lives. And we know that what women wear in the West can become a liability in domestic violence cases (like the skinny jeans rape defense in Australia), showing how we continue to regulate and control what women should wear, while claiming that we have so much freedom.
Again, this is not to defend harmful cultural practices in one context because of the presence of some on our own, but rather to create a space to consider how claims of "safety" and "oppression against women" are used to obscure racist and fear-driven intentions. I may be super sensitive, as the sister-in-law of an amazing woman of the Islamic faith, but as a person interested in politics and fashion, and one who must carefully navigate strongly anti-Muslim sentiments in a classroom from a post 9/11 New York kids (who sit several yards away from their Muslim fellow students), it's an important subject for me.
I'd love to hear your thoughts about the politics of fashion.
Edit: Here's the outfit deets:
Top: Rodarte for Target
Skirt: UO
Shoes: BC Footwear (they are falling apart too)
Belt: off of a vintage dress
*There's a brilliant woman at my school who studies sexual violence against men and boys, so I don't want to make it seem like this is something that only women are the object of. The interesting thing about her research is she argues that these acts are deeply embedded in fraught norms of masculinity.
