Marketing an imagined Muslim woman: Muslim Girl magazine and the politics of race, gender and representation

Abstract

This article examines the magazine Muslim Girl (started publication 2007) and explores how the representations on the magazine's pages construct a particular type of identity for Muslim women: an ‘idealized’ Muslim woman who is both North American/Western and Muslim. Such a woman is portrayed as liberal, educated, fashionable, a ‘can-do’ woman, who is also committed to her faith. This ‘ideal’ woman is situated squarely as a neo-liberal subject in an increasingly consumerist world: she is ‘marketable’ (and marketed) as the ‘good Muslim’ (Mamdani, 2004) and is positioned as the ‘familiar stranger’ (Ahmed, 2000) in North America. This so-called ‘modern’ Muslim (read: ‘good Muslim’) is juxtaposed both against the ‘fundamentalist’ Muslim (read: ‘bad Muslim’) and the ‘normalized’ white North American subject. Against the discourse of post 9/11 nationalism and within the context of (gendered) Orientalism, this article argues that such idealized representations present easily recognizable tropes, which serve important political, ideological and cultural purposes within North American society. An analysis of these representations – and the purposes which they serve – provides an important window into the nuances of the structured discourses that seek to control and discipline the gendered Muslim body. On the one hand, the representations in Muslim Girl focus on the so-called ‘integrated North American Muslim’ – a ‘modern’ or ‘good’ Muslim – within the context of the multicultural, neo-liberal and post 9/11 nation-state. On the other hand, these representations also highlight examples of Muslim women, who seemingly remain committed to their faith and community. Such representations of hybridized North American Muslims speak powerfully to the forces – ideological, cultural, political and social – that are at play in the post 9/11 world. In analyzing the representations found in Muslim Girl, this paper provides an insight into some of these forces and their implications.

Keywords:

• Muslims post 9/11
• race
• representation
• gender
• citizenship
• nation-building

Notes

1. Muslim Girl ceased publication in 2009, within three years of its launch. From the information available at the time of writing, the magazine had lost financial support from its (unnamed) benefactor. The magazine had not developed a solid advertising base (either through omission or commission) and its subscription rates were relatively low ($20/year). In this context, the loss of financial support seems to be the primary reason behind the cessation of publication of Muslim Girl. I am not aware of any evidence that suggests that the magazine ceased publication due to the loss of interest of its readers and/or subscribers.

2. In quoting from Muslim Girl, I have cited the author's last name, the name of the magazine, date, and the page number. In the References section, I have not cited each author individually but have listed the entire magazine.