Fashion and Muslim Traditional Dress - Essay Example

Fashion and Muslim Traditional Dress Table of Contents Introduction 2 The Burqa in UK Society 3 Fashion as a ment 4 Muslim Female Fashion and the Male Gaze 6 The Muslim Female 8 Reconstructing ‘the Veil’ 9 Conclusion 10 Bibliography 12 Fashion and Muslim Traditional Dress Introduction Fashion is a cultural form of communication that gives signals to other people about membership and belief systems. As globalization introduces people of different cultures to one another around the world, dress is a way in which differentiation is both significant and can create barriers. One group that is having a difficult time in becoming a part of the globalized world is found in Muslim women who must endure both condemnations from worldwide beliefs that they are being oppressed and the issue of staying modest yet relevant in modernized and emerging societies as those societies are creating interdependency on globalized economies. Muslim women are trying to be saved by both external and internal cultures. Western society seeks to liberate Muslim women from the shackles of oppression and bring them into a world where they have opportunities, but would be vulnerable without the protections offered in Muslim culture. Muslim cultures are attempting to shield women from Western values that objectify the body and strip from them their protections that define their status in Muslim society. Clothing is an integral part of how women are defined by both societies. Western societies see ‘the veil’ as a symbol of oppression while a Muslim woman who is inappropriately dressed loses respect and status within her community. The following paper will examine the position of Muslim female dress in modern contexts. The development of fashion that is acceptable outside of the Muslim community comes into conflict with the purpose of dress within that community. Through innovative and creative design, fashion for Muslim women is becoming modernized while retaining its modest purpose. In defining female dress for modern contexts, the nature of fashion and Muslim tradition comes together to place women of Muslim into relationship with modern ideals while retaining elements of tradition that are important for Muslim identity. The Burqa in UK Society While female Muslim dress has a specific purpose as a representation of faith and adherence to tradition and law, in Western society it is a method of creating differentiation so that Western cultures cannot infiltrate and corrupt Muslim practice. Gilliat-Ray (2010, p. 231) writes that “the effort to shape public space through space can thus be read as an active ‘performance of difference’…by British Muslims whereby symbols and codes embedded in Islam are adopted to signify resistance to the subjugation of Muslims in the Western world”. Gilliat-Ray (2010, p. 231) discusses the nature of female Muslim dress in immigrants to the UK as a way of resisting the corruption of the West even though geographically located in a Western society. The act of wearing Muslim clothing in public is a way of rejecting that culture as well as proselytizing to it. Tarlo (2010) observes, however, that women who are living in Western cultures such as in the UK are working towards creating a connection to their surrounding culture by continuing to wear garments that are based on traditional ideas of Muslim female dress but are adorning them with more colour and decoration as a way of adapting to Western fashion culture. In creating garments that have high end details, charming additions, and in colours other than black, women who are Muslim find a way to assimilate without abandoning the spirit and definition of modesty dress that has been traditional to their belief systems (see Figure 1). Cutting through the stereotypes that have placed women out of context with modernity, Tarlo (2010) shows that being a Muslim woman does not have to mean being oppressed, but can mean making choices that honor both cultures and helps them to fit into Western and Muslim life. Figure 1 Modern Female Muslim Dress (Central Fashion 2012) Fashion as a Statement Fashion is a way of creating identification with social groups and cultures. How a person dresses reflects belief systems, personal identity, and social identity. Bennett (2005, p. 115) writes “Fashion (is) a key resource through which individuals in late modernity construct their identities and position themselves in relation to others”. What a person wears is far more than simply functional. It can identify what a person does for a living, what religious affiliation that they have, and how they defy established norms. Clothing is one of the first ways that people impress themselves on others. When wearing specific clothing a person will communicate to others something about their nature. Women in Muslim cultures wear specific garments that establish their role as Muslim women. There are a variety of different types of clothing that women wear in order to establish this identity. The hijab is “a square or rectangular piece of fabric which is folded, placed over the head, and fastened under the chin as a head scarf. Depending on the style and location, this may also be called a shaylah or tarhah” (Huda 2012). Women in Muslim cultures wear a variety of different styles of coverings all with the intention of giving modesty and concealment so that they are not within the male gaze and its objectification (see Figure 2). Hijab Abaya Chador Jilbab Niqub Burqa Figure 2 Examples of Muslim Modesty Dress for women (Huda 2012) Contemporary modesty dress is now being influenced by couture fashions that are offered to allow a Muslim woman to appear modest, but to still be visually received into non-Muslim cultures. As shown in Figure 3, modesty dress is being interpreted in ways that adhere to traditional values but also allow for entrance into modern society. Figure 3 Dubai Fashion Week 2011 (Hafeez, 2012) Muslim Female Fashion and the Male Gaze The issue of the male gaze is problematic as it places women outside of human existence. The concept of the ‘male gaze’ is defined through the idea that women are made objects that can be gazed upon by men. They are no longer human, but representational. The female object becomes passive and disempowered. Her position in the world is not one of human emotion and subjectivity but one of possession and usability (Edwards 2010, p. 73). Edwards (2010, p. 73) defines the idea of the male gaze as being critically and most famously discussed in the article by Laura Mulvey in her work Visual Pleasures and Narrative Cinema. The theory presented by Mulvey is that Hollywood has created women as objects in order to fulfil the visual preferences of men. In creating this object for male gaze, the identity of women has been reformed. This framework has infiltrated society and created a culture in which women are constructed and construct themselves with the intention of pleasing the male gaze (Hein 2008, p. 3). The Western perspective on female Muslim dress is based upon the idea that ‘freedom’ comes from being able to sexually express herself through fashion, but Muslim women feel freed from the oppression of the male gaze by not expressing sexuality in dress. Bullock (2003, p. 186) discusses the male gaze and its place in Muslim culture. The hijab can be presented as a means Figure 4 Beautiful and Modest (Abaya Style 2012) to freeing women from oppressive constructions of Western consumerist culture and the way in which women are objectified. In Western media In Western culture that imitates media, the female body is presented as an object for use, specifically sexual use. In Muslim culture the female body is taken out of the male gaze in public. The feminist concern of objectification and commoditisation along with the promotion of the beauty ideal is solved through modesty dress in Muslim culture. Muslim culture recognizes that the female body is relevant in public spaces (Bullock 2003, p. 202). The Muslim Female An alternate perspective on the Muslim female could emerge through defining her place in the world through traditional conditions while assuming roles in opportunities that most Western women would agree are equitable and modern. Many Muslim women have the opportunity to be strong women in their roles as they are educated, autonomous and devoted to their beliefs. Denying women the right to choose Islam is as much oppression as insisting that they adhere to patriarchal societies in which they are treated like objects. The difference that should be discussed is that women of Muslim faith should be understood for their desire for modesty and not confused for political structures where oppression is either politically or socially constructed. The capacity to be strong in one’s faith as a Muslim woman and adhere to those practices that make her feel safe and protected should not be confused with public policies in states that oppress women at an intellectual level. In 2012 when Malala Yousefzai was shot in the head and the neck by the Taliban, she was attacked because at the age of eleven she had become an activist. When she was shot at the age of fourteen she was known for her beliefs which included Muslim faith along with fighting for the right for women to be educated. In the same time period the Pakistan government was investigating the trade of seven girls ages 4 to 13 to another tribe in order to settle a conflict. The trade of girls for settling disputes between tribes has long been against the law, but also has long been a tradition among conservative tribal regions (Associated Press 2012). These are examples of public policies and authoritarian abuses, not of the Muslim female role in her faith. Reconstructing ‘the Veil’ The reconstruction of the ‘veil’ and creating versions through details and colors that can contribute to inclusion into UK society is part of the social construction of identity into a new environment. Eicher (1995, p. 296) writes that there are four ways in which that identity is created. The four ways are through social construction, patterns of social interaction, as a subjective experience related to identity, and in fixed patterns of emotions and behaviour. One of the ways that Muslim women are expressing their beliefs by reconstructing their fashion is through wearing modern dress with the head scarf. This allows them to develop social interactions while maintaining aspects of the traditional that are important for faith based living. An example of this can be seen in Figure 5 where modern design has been combined with traditional head scarves. The design appeared in a fashion runway show for a design house called Up2date in Indonesia in order to express Muslim traditions with modern interpretations. Figure 5 Up2date Fashion (Jakarta Globe 2009) In order to assimilate into society young Muslim women are wearing bold colours and modern clothes, combined with the headscarf to create surprising and creative interpretations of her environment and her role within society. Interpreting her role in society in context with both her religious faith and traditions and her public position allows the Muslim female to express both worlds in a relationship that helps to establish and communicate her identity. Figure 6 Modern Clothing with Head Scarf (Religion Nerd 2013) Conclusion The development of new ideas about female Muslim fashion in the UK is constructed in order to create inclusion while still honouring traditional female dress. Where strictly traditional dress in black and with traditional design elements reveals a rejection of their current environment, creating clothing choices from available modern clothing that is combined with beautifully crafted head scarves allows young Muslim women to express their duality within the UK culture. The nature of Muslim dress, though often misunderstood, has begun to emerge as a modern statement of both faith and belonging. Women who embrace modesty and traditional elements of female Muslim worship are not confined to deny culture and this allows them to find ways in which to show their inclusion in UK social construction. The element of the male gaze has been rejected by the tradition of Muslim clothing allowing for Muslim women to be freed from its intentions. No longer objectified, the female is allowed subjectivity in her own life. Oppression should not be symbolized through Muslim clothing choices, but should be defined by politicized religious construction that is not related to the choices of Muslim women to be modest and appropriate. Designers are recognizing these differences and beginning to emerge with lines that reflect the modern Muslim woman. The Muslim woman has the opportunity in UK society to express her religious faith through dress and to define herself as modern and included. \ Bibliography Abaya Style. (2012). [Online] Retrieved from http://fashiondesignslatest2012. blogspot.com/2012/10/colorful-abaya-style.html Accessed 25 February 2013. Associated Press. (9 October 2012). Pakistani teen girls’ activist Malala Yousufzai shot on school bus by Taliban gunman. CBS News. [Online] Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/830 1-202_162-57528637/pakistani-teen-girls-activist-malala- yousufzai-shot-on-school-bus-by-taliban-gunman/ Accessed 24 February 2013. Bennett, A. (2005). Culture and everyday life. London: SAGE Publ. Bullock, K. (2003). Rethinking Muslim women and the veil: Challenging historical & modern stereotypes. Herndon, VA: International Institute of Islamic Thought. Central Fashion (1 April 2012). [Online] Retrieved from http://www.wujs.org/islamic-fashion- clothing.html/islamic-fashion_1 Accessed on 25 February 2013. Edwards, T. (2010). Fashion in focus: Concepts, practices and politics. London: Routledge. Eicher, J. B. (1995). Dress and ethnicity: Change across space and time. Oxford u.a: Berg. Gilliat-Ray, S. (2010). Muslims in Britain: An introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hafeez. (2012). Dubai Fashion Week. Fashion Franky. [Online] Retrieved from fashionfranky.com Accessed 25 February 2013. Hein, C. (2008). Laura Mulvey, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH. Huda. (2012). Islamic Clothing Glossary. About Islam. Retrieved from http://islam.ab out.com/od/dress/tp/clothing-glossary.htm Accessed 5 November 2012. Jakarta Globe (8 November 2009). Indonesian fashion house showcases Muslim clothes with style. [Online] Retrieved from http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/culture/indonesia- fashion-house-showcases-muslim-clothes-with-style/340331 Accessed on 25 February 2013 Religion Nerd. (21 September 2010). Titillating Islamic fashions [Online] Retrieved on http://religionnerd.com/2010/09/21/titillating-islamic-fashions/ Accessed on 25 February 2013. Tarlo, E. (2010). Visibly Muslim: Fashion, politics, faith. Oxford: Berg. Read More