Contemporary Appropriation
This tab analyzes how problematic references to Muslims/Arab clothing by popular Western music artists perpetuate Islamophobic stereotypes.
The Stupid and the SluttyWhile writer Jack Sahin has discussed stereotypes of Muslims constantly perpetuated in Hollywood movies, the images he discusses appear in other visual entertainment mediums. In the music video for "Get Low," artists Dillon Francis and DJ Snake dress in clothes resembling those worn in the Gulf. They carelessly throw around money and look intently at the female dancers' shaking backsides. In Shaheen's "Reel Bad Arabs," he discusses the image of the "sheikh": a stupidly rich and horny Arab man (Saheen 19). If a Muslim/Arab man is not a terrorist, he is a predator and consumerist. It is peculiar that the producers decided to dress the singers in thwabs despite the song not making any lyrical references to the Arab World. This demonstrates that Western media can falsely reinvent Arab fashion traditions for the purpose of offensive comedy/entertainment without fear of repercussion from audiences (thwabs are usually white in order to prevent absorption of heat). In addition, one can still see references to Arab/Muslim men as terrorists due to the other men on bikes wearing face masks. Arab/Muslim men continue to be shown mostly in these two negative lights, and it is sad movie stereotypes are seeping into newer forms of visual media.
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The video also perpetuates a dichotomy around Muslim women. In contemporary media and news reports about the Muslim/Arab world, women are displayed as "bundles of black" (Saheen 22). However, another prevalent image of Muslim women has historically existed in Western media: that of the sexual "maiden". In the music video, the "sheikhs" are surrounded by women dressed in very revealing, "Western" clothes. Even though the women are not specifically referred to as Muslim or Arab, there is a more subtle implication 2:30 minutes in. Two women are wearing lace veils while displaying their legs, backsides, and other areas, which implies Muslim women are exotic objects of desire. Therefore, if a Muslim woman is not wearing an abaya and nejab, she is wearing barely any clothes at all. This false dichotomy erases the diverse range of fashion and styles of dress wore by Muslim women around the world. As long as the media continues to use fashion as a way to only display a few, stereotypical images of Muslim women, it will continue to reduce them to objects: things that don't speak are are merely used for others' gain.
Female Appropriation
The otherization of Muslim women often stems from their choices of clothing. Their garb is perceived as a tangible manifestation of their feminine oppression and suppressed sexuality. The mass media portrays the veiled woman as a regression of the modern female, a step backward in gender progress. What this view omits is the conscious choice of millions of muslim women to don the veil and make a "deliberate adhesion...to their Islamic identity" (Navarro 99). This omission creates the image of not only a submissive and ignorant woman but also a sensual one who desperately needs to be liberated. This inaccurate symbol of exotic feminine sexuality is perpetuated through the celebrity appropriation of Muslim fashion. Celebrities wear variations of Muslim apparel to assume the sexual allure and deviant desire associated with the Orient. Thus the contemporary celebrity melding of Eastern and Western into a hyper-sexualized image obscures the religious importance and cultural significance of Muslim clothing.
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Lady Gaga: The Anglo Behind the BurqaLady Gaga is widely known for her outlandish clothing selections, but did she go too far this time? She has been sited stepping out in variations of Islamic apparel, most notably a sheer pink burqa. The outfit’s see-through material promotes the perceived duality of the Muslim woman, an individual whose outside layers draw attention to the dormant sexuality that lies underneath. The addition of the blindfold also mixes in the notion of Muslim women’s ignorance; they are blind to their oppression and require sexual liberation.
In her most recent album, the pop singer included a song entitled “Aura”; it revolves around the mystique of a Muslim woman. Throughout the song, Gaga describes the motivations of women to wear burqas while assuming the identity of a Muslim woman. She describes how she wears the burqa as a form of “protection for the gorgeousness” of her face. After asserting her beauty, she then belts out a chorus laden with recurring employments of sexual innuendos. She teases her fictional lover, asking him if he wants a “peek underneath the cover” to “see the girl who lives behind the aura”. Lady Gaga’s use of the burqa as a tool for the production of a sexual aura maintains the view that underneath Islamic fashion is an overtly sensual being desperate for empowerment. |
Rihanna: Barbadian Beauty Booted from MosqueSinger Rihanna incited controversy when she uploaded multiple snapshots from a photo shoot at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque to her instagram. In the images she is shown wearing an altered version of an abaya that has been adapted into a tighter-fitting garment. This modification of traditional Muslim clothing was made in order to better accentuate her figure. She also accessorizes with a large gold tassel necklace and matching gold slippers. The photo shoot features her making poses around the grounds of the mosque, and after she took these photos, the staff asked her to leave, stating that her high fashion shoot didn’t support the sanctity of the mosque. Rihanna’s shoot is an attempt to transform Islam into a trend, and, in the process, she diminishes the cultural and religious value of both the clothing and mosque.
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The alteration of traditional Muslim clothing into a "fashionable" ensemble, as well as the photo shoot itself, trivializes the experience of those who actually wear the traditional garb and worship at the mosque. Turning someone's belief and culture into a trend takes away from its significance and leaves behind an inaccurate portrayal. By posting this on social media, Rihanna's Islamic photos were shown to her millions of followers. In a way, her images displayed the commodification of a religion for the gain of followers and likes, an epidemic of the modern digital age.
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