Ordinary fashion choices become racial markers on hijabi bodies

Evidence

Maham dresses like many other American women who live in an urban area like Chicago—­she wears black or darker colors. She feels her black hijab matches the colors of her clothes. Black is not an unusual aesthetic for individuals who live in large cities. (In fact, in a 1994 New York Times article on fashion, John Tierney theorizes about the affinity New Yorkers have for black clothing.5) But Maham is not seen or treated like any ordinary American citizen who prefers to wear black. The hijab marks her as someone who is morbid. The librarian tried to explain that she was assuming this was a cultural practice of Maham’s, regardless of the fact that she was wearing jeans and a black sweater that day. Cultural practices like wearing the hijab are viewed as unattractive and as an eyesore in American society. Muslim women are repeatedly told that beauty is equated with showing more of one’s body and the practice of wearing the hijab is beneath American standards of beauty. It creates assumptions of what constitutes American beauty and situates Muslim women outside of this norm. Thus through a rejection of American cultural norms such as beauty, the hijab works as a racializing agent on Muslim women’s bodies. — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 412

Categorization

• XREF: The plain-clothing irony parallels how innocuous behavior reads as threat for other racialized groups. — connects to: Racial identity shapes whether the same clothing provokes bans — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 381; The hijab functions as Islam’s most provocative symbol in Western public discourse.; Cultural and religious practices can racialize a body just as skin tone does — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 89 (+20 more)

Broader Connections

• The hijab functions like skin tone by marking bodies as racial others #corroborates (0.85)
• Wearing the hijab shifts how Muslim women are racially perceived and treated #expands (0.75)
• Wearing the hijab strips Arab women of their perceived whiteness #exemplifies (0.70) — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 145
• The hijab functions as a racial marker that triggers airport surveillance #exemplifies (0.70) — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 224
• Wearing the hijab is read as surrendering whiteness and citizenship standing #corroborates (0.70)
• Arabs classified as white lose that status upon wearing the hijab #epitomizes (0.70) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 201
• Cultural traits like language, clothing, and religious practice can racialize a group. #expands (0.65)
• Converting to Islam or wearing the hijab causes loss of whiteness privileges #corroborates (0.65) — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 261
• The hijab rather than skin tone triggers racializing surveillance of Muslim women #responds-to (0.60) — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 292
• The hijab triggers routine searches while skin tone only does in crises #corroborates (0.60)
• Removing the hijab restored women’s ability to pass for white #contradicts (0.55)
• Lighter skin and Westernized names let some Muslims pass as white #qualifies (0.50)