Last year did a paper that covered how the lack of positive attention in the media and leisure coverage affected hijabi women and even people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds. I know this paper is long, but I highlighted the section that pertains solely to this class. By reading the whole thing, you'll have a day in the life of a hijabi woman on 9-11.
In February 2012 I became a Muslim and converted to Islam. In Islamic faiths and countries, it is very common for a woman to wear a hijab (a scarf that a woman wears on her head to cover her hair, ears, neck and chest). In some Islamic countries, by law, women are required to wear a niqāb (a garment that is worn with a hijab that covers the face leaving an area for a woman to see) or burqa (a garment where a woman is covered head to toe and the head piece has a mesh space that woman can see through). In most countries women have the choice of wearing at least a hijab and it is understood to be the woman’s choice socially. In heavily Islamic populated countries, it is required that a woman wear at least a hijab because a man is forbidden to gaze upon a woman other than his wife. If a woman were to go uncovered, a man could unintentionally commit a sin. A woman’s choice to wear a hijab in areas where it is not required stems from her commitment to the religion and the belief, respect for her body and a sura (verse) that specifically says for women to cover themselves.
In America, especially after the September 11 attacks, women who wear hijabs are often discriminated against, judged, thought to be unpatriotic in American standards, socially alienated and in extreme situations physically violated. Since my conversion to Islam I have only publicly worn a hijab without going to a masjid (mosque) once. I not only fear alienation and degradation from my peers, I also fear physical harm. I chose this act of deviance not only to understand the deviance behind a hijab in or any other culturally different garment, but to experience adorning one myself as I’ve been contemplating making the change. The choice of wearing a hijab poses no physical danger to anyone, especially those who do not wear one themselves. If this is so, why is it reacted to negatively and considered deviant in America?
Deviance is an action or a thought process that differs from the norms of society. Norms are socially constructed rules that have no formal consequences or punishments. Norms can change or cycle through as they are fluid and not static. Sometimes, an action that was once considered deviant loses its deviant title and is even adopted into a norm. Similarly, norms can become acts of deviance. Slavery, for example, was once considered a norm. It is no longer socially normal or accepted and is now not only deviant but also a crime.
In the 1800’s, women openly covered their heads in church and even in everyday situations. “The materials available often dictated what women wore upon their heads. Hence, during the early 1800′s cloth bonnets were in fashion. As greater variety of materials became available and affordable, the early 1900′s saw large, elaborately decorated hats” (La Vista Church of Christ). As World War II approached, women were more in tune to their personal freedoms. This became true in areas such as sex, religion, style of dress, feminism and political involvement. As women gained more freedoms, their style of dress changed. Being fully covered from head to toe was no longer appealing. Women wanted to embrace their feminism and sexuality. In the Bible, 1 Corinthians 11:3-6 reads:
Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head-it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head.
This verse became ignored as it was no longer socially appealing to fashionable women. New age women enjoyed their new found freedoms and appreciated being seen as beautiful creations. As society progressed, being fully covered became less popular and churches no longer held to this practice.
As women began to embrace their feminism, beauty and style became a huge part of the female society. Thinking of this phenomena in sociological terms, the term state self-objectification comes about. State self-objectification is defined as temporarily viewing one’s body as an object for sexual pleasure. It manifests in situations that emphasize the physical appearance of the body (Fredrickson:1998). According to objectification theory, women are culturally conditioned to orient to body-related stimuli when in an objectified state (Fredrickson 1998). To not dress in a way to enhance the beauty of ones self was considered abnormal. As well as dressing to appease themselves, women began to dress for reactions from others.
The more the expensive or sexier the clothes, the more accepted women were, at least by men. While some did not accept nor conform to this new found norm, they were considered “squares” or social outsiders. In “that swimsuit becomes you: sex differences in self-objectification, restrained eating, and math performance,” it is stated that women are at risk of developing high levels of trait self-objectification, defined as an enduring psychological state characterized by an over emphasis of physical appearance in appraisals of self worth. (Fredrickson:1998) Women’s self esteem was starting to no longer be self imposed, but socially constructed by critiques or compliments.
In an opposing opinion, difference can be seen as strength. To stand against a crowd or a norm takes a lot of courage. To follow a societal norm takes no extra effort. Before September 11, Muslim women were still given stares and looks, being made fun of and still received questions from those who were inquisitive and wanted information. Since then, the stigma of the hijab has worsened. Now, the hijab is no longer perceived as a weird head piece but conceived as a deviant symbol or terrorism and creates fear.
STIGMA AS A THEORY
Stigma is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as a mark of shame or [a] discredit. A better definition of stigma is typically a bad label placed on an individual, a group of people or a practice/action. For someone or an action to be given a stigma, they have to deviate from the norm (a socially accepted way of doing things acknowledged by the majority of society). It is possible to have a divided world where in one setting an individual may be seen as deviant (defiant to norms) and in another the same individual is considered to partake in the norms of society.
The theory of stigma is a collaborative effort, but most of the theory is based on Erving Goffman’s Stigma (1963). In Stigma (1963), Goffman draws attention to a distinction for those with a stigma. A discredited stigma is a flaw that is unknown to others while a discreditable stigma is a flaw that has yet to be discovered. Another aid to the theory of stigma was Howard Becker with the labeling theory. In Outsiders(Becker 1963) similarly had categories of labels. One was secret deviance, acts that go without labeling, and false accusations, acts that are mislabeled as deviant. Labeling theorists attempted to state that, “declaring that what deviants did was much less important than societal reaction, yet focus[ed] most of their work on describing deviants’ actions” (Best:2004). While that fact validated Goffman’s theory stating that “negative reactions [and] the efforts to sanction to impose social control allow us to identify instances of deviance,” (Goffman) it discredited Becker’s theory. For there to be a deviant person, there has to be an action, attribute or attitude deemed deviant by society. Without the action, a person cannot be deviant.
The last and most important part of Goffman’s theory on stigma was “spoiled identities”. A spoiled identity is when a person knows they are seen in an inferior way by others and attempt to cope with their stigma or hide it. Where some people have stigmas that are discredited such as hijabs, physical handicaps, mental handicaps or even rapists who have to reveal their deeds to those they live around, hiding is not an option so coping is key. For someone with a concealable stigma, it is ideal to keep it hidden.
SOCIAL CONTROL
As eleven years have passed since the terrorist attacks on New York, the extremes of hijab hatred have died down but certainly still exist. From searches at airports to not seeing many Muslimahs in everyday situations, Muslims are continuously being seen through a stigmatized lens.
Transportation Security Agency (TSA) and Hijabs
TSA has been cracking down on searching everyone due to terrorist attacks, terrorist planning and various other terrorist activity. While many Americans feel intimidated and feel as though their rights are being encroached on by TSA policies, Muslimahs are being targeted more heavily.
According to a post on PR Newswire, on January 6, 2012, a Muslimah was asked to remove her hijab by a Washington Dulles International Airport TSA personnel. When asked to remove her hijab and refused, she was subjected to a full-body pat-down search. For keeping to her religion, this woman was violated for many to see. “Does this new policy apply to all those who wear religious head coverings, such as Sikh men, Catholic nuns and orthodox Jewish women, or will it apply exclusively to Muslim travelers? If the issue is concealment of potentially dangerous items, the clothing worn by travelers of all faiths, such as skirts, loose pants and sweatshirts, has more areas to hide items than [a] hijab.” (PR Newswire) It is rare to hear of other groups that wear religious clothing being searched in this way. Indeed, the hijab has a negative stigma. In the same light, a nun’s habit (a nun’s traditional clothing) has a stigma as well. While the nun’s habit does not have a negative stigma, it has a respected stigma because it is more familiar and accepted in the American culture. This is not to say a nun can go about without getting strange looks, but fear normally does not arise when a woman in a habit walks by.
One can even see nuns on television freely. Movies commonly shown on television such as Sister Act or The Sound of Music display nuns. Television series even have nun appearances whether they be serious or in a joking matter. In America, it is rare to see a Muslimah on television unless you are watching the news or the National Geographic channel. Ironically, the news being displayed is normally about a terrorist attack or a social disruption in an Islamic country. So not only does the lack of airtime including Muslimahs falter, but when they are seen on television, they are usually angry or displayed in a negative light.
Between the stigma placed on Muslims from the 9/11 attacks to seeing intense searches at airports involving Muslims, this sends a message that Muslims should be feared. Even if a Muslim makes it through TSA without being searched a little more than the other passengers, people tighten up when they see a Muslim walk on board. Whether it be a glance shared with the same thought between two strangers or prayer for protection from harm being sent as a Muslim walks by to their seat, the stigma gains reaction from society both privately and publicly.
Corporate America and Hijabs
This is a two part problem, one part being with Muslims and the other with non Muslims. In the Muslim faith, the wife has the choice to work or stay home and take care of the children by Qur’anic verse. To be able to be married, the man must be able to take care of the woman and children whether the woman decides to work or not. A lot of women choose to stay home with the children or keep to communities that understand Islamic practices and are, too, Muslim. Muslimahs often mention that corporate America is not accommodating or mention the stigma placed on the hijab. The more women that come forth and wear their hijab as a badge of honor, the more non Muslims will become familiar with it and fear it less. We cannot claim to be excluded when we exclude ourselves a majority of the time due to fear of discrimination.
The main three reasons people fear the hijab is because they do not understand what it is or why wear it, secondly because it is not common in most places to see a woman wearing a hijab and thirdly because many think it is an attempt to hide our identities. While the second thought is somewhat true, it is not that the Muslimah is attempting to get away with being known, it is just a modest precaution. As the hijab is not custom American clothing, some may feel it is out of line to gain insight to the Islamic custom while others are too apathetic to ask questions.
The second issue is that the negative stigma carries over to the work place. This puts Muslim women in a place where they have to choose to stick to the Qur’an and the Hadith collection (a help aid to the Qur’an) or conform to the norms of society. The Muslimah may choose to conceal her stigma by dressing as the people around her do or still dressing to Qur’an approved standards but omitting the hijab.
Some jobs do not offer the choice of wearing a hijab as it often times conflicts with the company’s dress code. Last year, according to a blog entry on Jihad Watch, a Muslimah sued Disney because they would not allow her to wear her hijab to work. As their idea of a compromise, they told Imane Boudlal that she could wear a hat in place of a hijab. Offended, Boudlal turned down the compromise because she felt that is was a mockery to her religion as well as it looked silly and made her stick out more. One can any wonder if she would be permitted to wear a hat, why could she not wear a hijab?
Boudlal did not start working for Disney wearing her hijab because she did not think she was allowed to until she started studying for her U.S. citizen exam. Boudlal was an on-stage performer two and a half years. When she expressed her interest in wearing her hijab, Disney gave her the options to either go home or take the hijab off. Later, this statement from Disney was released, “we were trying to accommodate her with a backstage position that would allow her to work. We gave her a couple of different options and she chose not to take those” (Disney agent).
A backstage position is exactly why the stigma of the hijab still exists. The more Muslimahs conform or hide from mainstream society, the less they are socially accepted and understood. Between Muslims and non Muslims alike playing into these social controls, Muslims will not be able to break from their negative stigma.
MY ACT OF DEVIANCE
One morning, without paying attention to what day it was, I dressed myself in a black hijab, a black cardigan, a mauve undershirt and dark jeans and headed to school. Looking back on the outfit, one could think I was wearing all black if they just glanced at me. I walked strongly and proudly around campus, as normal, adorning headphone earbuds tucked neatly underneath my hijab. Upon arriving to my 11 A.M. class and removing the earbuds, I learned what day it was. It happened to be September 11, 2012. I sunk into my desk thinking that everyone around me must think that I was being an insensitive protestor trying to get a raise out of everyone. This was a deviance project and I most certainly felt deviant.
For the first 15 minutes of class I did not look at anyone and stared at my hands. This was weird, for one, because this particular class was a 4000 level discussion class. After getting myself into a stage of comfortability, I started to raise my hand and participate as usual. My teacher glanced in my direction to allow me to speak and as I spoke, she did not keep eye contact with me. For the first time, when I spoke, there was complete silence. Everyone else’s eyes were locked on me as I spoke staring ahead at the teacher. I spent the rest of the day keeping tabs on facial expressions, people going out of their way to accommodate me, the exchanges between other Muslimahs and the murmurs of those I bypassed.
THE MULTIPLE STIGMAS OF THE HIJAB
The Negative Reactions
As previously mentioned, stigma is typically a bad label placed on an individual, a group of people or a practice/action. While those who choose to wear hijabs can walk around with less fear than before, the stigma behind the hijab is still existent. While walking off of an elevator, I heard a girl passive aggressively whisper, “doesn’t she know what today is?” A hijab is to some Muslimahs is not an option, but a permanent piece of their attire. As I went through my day, the girl’s whisper continued to play in my head. It is as if the girl thought that I and others who wear hijabs should remove our hijabs for this day and show respect and humility for something we did not participate in. The other negative reactions were similar whispers and glares.
There was one instance of displeasure I will never forget. An adult learner dressed in an American flag shirt stood next to me waiting for the elevator. He looked at me for awhile and said, “God bless America and all of the God fearing people that inhabit it,” under his breath but loud enough for me to hear it. I refrained from saying anything, rode the elevator and went to my next class.
The Positive Reactions
While some people passively aggressively let me know that they did not approve of my hijab, others went out of their way to accommodate me. Some people glanced at me and smiled as if to say, “you’re strong”, “be proud” or “I accept you”. Others would walk ahead of me to hold the door open for me. If someone was a notable distance in front of me and was already at the door, they would stay longer to hold the door open for me. While this behavior is not normal, it was socially disruptive.
Social disruption on a small scale is an awkward moment shared between two social actors. One actor has to recognize that there is something different about another actor and acts on the difference without specifically saying it. In all, one actor has to acknowledge that there is label placed on another for the interaction to become awkward. The actor with the label can know and accept or disregard the label given, but to others, the label may still stand.
Reactions From Those Within Islam
As well as gaining reactions from those outside the Islamic community, I gained acceptance that I had not before within the community. A lot of people do not know I am Muslim unless I tell them. When anyone wears a religious garment or symbol such as a hijab, everyone knows your religious status. Every sister (how we refer to other women of the religion) I passed offered salams (when a member of the Islamic community greets another by saying, “as-salamu alaykum,” translating to ‘peace be upon you’) whereas I normally do not receive them. Walking to one of my classes, a sister locked eyes with me and offered salams with a tinge of weariness and solidarity in her voice.
My Reaction To My Hijab
Surprisingly, reflecting back on my day of being a hijabi, I noticed that I played into some of the stigma of the hijab without noticing it. I took caution of what I said by not cursing, not being quickly angered and being more silent than usual. When I got into my car that morning, I grabbed the tasbih (Islamic prayer beads) hanging on my rear view mirror and said a prayer to start my day where I normally do not.
On campus, I did not aimlessly walk around going wherever I ended up as I often do between classes. I caught myself avoiding eye contact and finding comfort in seeing other women wearing their hijabs. I took on an inferior role and played into the stigma without realizing it.
SOCIAL CONTROLS NOT APPARENT IN MOST EVERYDAY SITUATIONS
While the stigma behind the hijab had shown in various ways and through different people during my experiment, the social controls were not overtly obvious as they would have been years ago. The lack of those of the Islamic community, unless watching news coverage from another country, is what makes the social control exist. The social control is to ignore or eliminate anything non-American or what Americans have grown to accept. In America, the Islamic community is hidden and rarely paid attention to. Those of the community know where to look and how to find each other, but those outside of the community are rarely introduced unless they try to include themselves.
Thankfully, no highlight of Muslims were shown on television this day. The less media on those of the Islamic community, the less skepticism exists. In the same breath, the less coverage of those of the community, the less inclusion in the American lifestyle. While some Muslims see the stigma and the divide between those of the community and everyone else as a disadvantage, some Muslims see this divide to be advantageous for Muslims.
The term kafir is an Islamic term meaning disbeliever or infidel. Some Muslims go so far to claim that participating in elections, drinking, smoking, partying, pre-marital sex, listening to music and assimilation to American behaviors, customs and beliefs is kafir. These more extreme Muslims take pleasure in the almost leprous stigma and enjoy the exclusivity.
In all, there are three components in America that make the hijab deviant: members of the Muslim community who do not try to include themselves in everyday American life, the lack of positive media and shows including Muslims and hijabi women and the lack of Americans understanding Islamic culture. There may be a change in the future, but openness from both parties is a necessity.
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