Wearing hijab helps body confidence
Wearing hijab helps body confidence
British Muslim women who wear the hijab feel generally better about their body image than those who don’t wear the hijab suggests research published in the British Journal of Psychology today.
The research, conducted by Dr Viren Swami from the University of Westminster and colleagues looked at body image issues amongst British Muslim women.
Dr Swami explained: “In the West anxiety about body image, for women, is so prevalent it’s considered normal. This study aimed to explore how these attitudes differ within a British Muslim community.”
...
Participants undertook a number of questionnaires that asked them to rate their own feelings of body dissatisfaction, how much pressure the media put on them to be attractive and how religious they were. They were also asked to match their own figure to a set of female silhouette images that ranged from emaciated to obese.
The results showed that women who wore the hijab generally had a more positive body image, were less influenced by the media’s beauty ideals and placed less importance on appearance.
http://www.bps.org.uk/news/wearing-hijab-helps-body-confidence
= new reply since forum marked as read
Oh, wait...
Young ladies in Iran get in trouble all the time for their form-fitting manteaus. In summer they DARE to show their arms from the elbows down--at no small risk to themselves.
The manteau is a newer form of covering, like a "car coat" -- it is supposed to be worn with pants, and it is supposed to be loosely tailored and hit around the knee or sometimes a bit lower, but the young in Tehran wear them tight and short, with skin tight pants and high, high heels.
They're only doing that in northern Tehran, in packs, in the expensive areas, where the baseej are less likely to make a stink, but they're doing it. They're pushing the envelope, and they aren't fans of hijab. The young kids want to wear whatever they'd like and not be forced into a "street uniform" by stupid old men with issues. They even hassle the boys for wearing tee shirts, so it's not just the girls who get a bit of guff, though the girls get the bulk of it.
A variation of the old "transparent chador" (made of material from India/Pakistan, very gossamer) is the "transparent hijab." You see those now and again, of course, women are taking a bigger chance with those--if they're smart they'll have an opaque backup in their pack or purse.
What the ulema want (but cover that damn hair!!!)
What the young girls wear when the baseej aren't chasing them around beating on them.
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What the brave fashion-forward young ladies are wearing....
I have seen tons of Muslim exchange students wearing the hijab and tight jeans and a t-shirt. not revealing by our standards, but way over the sexy line by muslim fundie standards (I assume these young women are non-fundie muslims).
They are bald under those wigs because their faith requires them to shave their heads after marriage.
And there is some talk of repression of women in that community. They even made a movie about it.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120793/
And one of those repressed women wrote a pretty scathing book about it:
http://shine.yahoo.com/love-sex/unorthodox-womans-journey-repression-freedom-201000868.html
At 17, Feldman's grandparents pushed her into an arranged marriage with a virtual stranger, but she had never even heard the word "sex" spoken or learned about the very basics of human reproduction. Once married, she was expected to shave her head and wear a wig—something she rebelled against after a year because she found it so depressing. Seven years later, despite the fact she knew she would be hated as a pariah, she abandoned her community and started life over.
You might be surprised that Feldman didn't grow up in a far away country with repressive laws against women, but in an ultra-conservative Jewish enclave in New York City. "They've passed more laws from out of nowhere, limiting women—there's a rule that women can't be on the street after a certain hour," Feldman told the New York Post describing the Hasidic Satmar community in which she was raised. "We all hear these stories about Muslim extremists; how is this any better? This is just another example of extreme fundamentalism."
Feldman explained the roots of Satmar Hasidism to the Daily Mail. She describes a Jewish sect that has largely turned its back on the modern word, which she says is, "a reaction to the atrocities of Holocaust." Most of the members are descendants of Holocaust survivors who fled from Hungary and Romania during the Second World War. She continues, "Hasidic Jews in America eagerly returned to a heritage that had been on the verge of disappearing, donning traditional dress and speaking only in Yiddish, as their ancestors had done." The community emphasizes family life and reproduction in order to, as Feldman puts it, "replace the many who had perished and to swell their ranks once more. To this day, Hasidic communities continue to grow rapidly, in what is seen as the ultimate revenge against Hitler."
A rather famous Jewish celebrity quite recently had something to say about subjugation of women by the orthodox (hate this word because it is over-used, but it fits) patriarchy:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0618/Barbra-Streisand-Women-shouldn-t-sit-in-back-of-bus-in-Israel-video
American entertainer Barbra Streisand on Monday took a swipe at Orthodox Jews in Israel who compel women to sit in the back of buses and assault them for following religious rituals traditionally reserved for men.
"It's distressing to read about women in Israel being forced to sit in the back of a bus or... having metal chairs hurled at them when they intend to peacefully and legally pray. Or women being banned from singing in public ceremonies," she said. .... A public bus system operating in some Israeli cities forces gender segregation in deference to ultra-Orthodox rabbis who have long wielded political power in the Jewish state.
Some of these clerics are also battling against a women's prayer group seeking to liberalize worship at the Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites. The women wear prayer shawls and read aloud from the Jewish scriptures there, defying a tradition that only men should do so.
Streisand starred in a 1983 film "Yentl" which explores the yearning of Jewish women for religious equality with men.
The Catholic Church also discriminates against women by not allowing them to be priests--something the Pope recently said is "non-negotiable."
Religion, in general, wants women to put a nickle in the box so they will be saved, but if they aren't doing that, they want them to shut up. It's an unfortuate reality and it does not matter if you are talking about the ulema, the rabbis, or the priests.
This isn't just a Muslim problem, but they do have the worst track record--no doubt. They still continue to push back against/ignore laws against child marriage; it's one of the (many) reason that people are annoyed with the MB in Egypt.
To get back to the larger issue of clothes, though, I think people should wear what is comfortable within the bounds of taste. I don't want to see acres of skin on ANYONE, male or female, except at the beach. A lot of times, despite all this talk about "low self esteem" and "body shame," there are plenty of people out there who think they look better than they actually do, and they should put some damn clothes on.
That said, in a professional setting, such as a medical facility, a certain type of clothing (too little, too sloppy, too "unique to show my special PERSONALITY"
tends to make one think that the wearer is either excessively self-involved or unserious.They have this vibe going on, only with long sleeves :
Interesting article on the whole modesty topic, here, very much worth a glance:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/nyregion/16shun.html?_r=0
According to the police, Mrs. Greenberg said she was singled out because she chose to wear denim skirts, long, natural-looking wigs made of human hair, and stockings without a visible seam — traditionally worn because they show that women’s legs are not bare.
The incidents offered a rare glimpse into the strict social dynamics that govern life in this village of 20,000 people, an hour from Manhattan and not far from West Point. It is a place where television and the Internet are forbidden and women do not drive, restrictions intended to provide a haven from the temptations of the outside world.
Occasionally someone defies the social mores — whether it is a young man frequenting bars in the nearby village of Monroe or a woman dressing inappropriately or flirting. That is when the “vaad hatznius,” the rabbinically appointed modesty committee that enforces the village’s rules of behavior and appearance, intervenes.
“If we find they have a TV or a married woman won’t wear a wig, we will invite them to speak with us and try to convince them it’s unacceptable, or next year we will not accept their children into the school system,” said David Ekstein, the vice president of the village’s leading congregation, Yetev Lev, and one of eight men who make up the committee, hand-picked by Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, the town’s spiritual leader.
Right? Burqua is full on - and head covering is just the head and shoulders. Eh? I don't believe in wearing one's religion/spirituality - it's a non starter for me. So I certainly wouldn't adopt another faith's declaration of belief in spirit. Besides! I'm 40 and fabulous. It's true - you hit that number and suddenly you just drop the dang rope and get to living. 
Everyone with a brain covers up because the sun beats down terribly. Only recently (well, relatively so) have sunglasses come into vogue as well, to protect against the sun's rays. There's a lot of eye disease in the Middle East, much of it down to too much sun exposure.
The full bore "thobe" is more covering than an Iranian woman in a manteau and scarf might wear.
That said, they like the women in those heavy, lined abayas, sometimes with the face cover or the lace veil.
And for the men, even though many wear it, it's OPTIONAL.
Not the case with the women.
Hell, the French are the MASTERS of the artfully worn scarf. Hermes, anyone??
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ban_on_face_covering
The French ban on face covering (French: Loi interdisant la dissimulation du visage dans l'espace public, "Act prohibiting concealment of the face in public space"
is an act of parliament passed by the Senate of France on 14 September 2010, resulting in the ban on the wearing of face-covering headgear, including masks, helmets, balaclava, niqābs and other veils covering the face in public places, except under specified circumstances.[1] The ban also applies to the burqa, a full-body covering, if it covers the face. The bill had previously been passed by the National Assembly of France on 13 July 2010.[2]
The key argument supporting this proposal is that face-coverings prevent the clear identification of a person, which is both a security risk, and a social hindrance within a society which relies on facial recognition and expression in communication. The key argument against the ban is that it encroaches on individual freedoms.[3]
As of 11 April 2011, it is illegal to wear a face-covering veil or other mask in public places such as the street, shops, museums, public transportation, and parks. Veils such as the chador, scarves and other headwear that do not cover the face, are not affected by this law and can be worn.[4]
