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Abstract
Discrimination and exclusion because of body size and race is endemic in the globalized fashion industry and its media, despite that consumer activism on both fronts has led to some progress in market offer, industry practice, and regimes of representation. That both size and race inequities are present in the Muslim modest fashion industry and media is not surprising; the niche modest fashion industry cross-faith will inevitably reproduce some components of wider societal division and tension. Distinctive is how these often intersecting forms of discrimination are experienced and judged in a fashion industry and media focused on serving—and creating—a multi-ethnic and supra-national consumer demographic defined by Muslim religious identity and cultures. The challenges of fostering size and racial inclusivity demonstrate the extent to which normative modesty ideals are predicated on bodies that are non-“fat” and often non-black. The ways in which large and/or racialized bodies are judged to have failed in achieving preferred versions of modest embodiment reveal wider fault-lines in the affective affiliation to the umma, the imagined global community of Muslim believers.
Notes
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to Laura Thornley for excellent research assistance on this article, and to Lipi Begum and Sarah Cheang for their advice. The comments of the anonymous peer reviewer helped immensely in tightening up my argumentation.
Notes
1 I am indebted to Lipi Begum for insights on the routinization of this process in the fashion context.
2 Piety is not the only reason why Muslim might wear a head-covering; for some it is part of the cultivation of a pious disposition (Mahmood Citation2005); for others it marks accommodation of community or family convention; for others it may be a political choice to reclaim a stigmatizing garment in the securitizing context that has surrounded Muslims in many contexts post-9/11 since 2001 (Tarlo 2010). Women from other religious backgrounds will similarly adopt forms of modest presentation for a variety of personal, spiritual, social, and political reasons.
3 See for example the #ourchoicenotyours campaign; https://sosspeace.org/support-choice-not-campaign/ accessed 18-10-18.
4 Margari Aziza, “The politics of black hair and hijab” Dec 2, 2015, http://www.altmuslimah.com/2015/12/10365/ accd 21 jan 2018
5 e.g. in khalijee or Gulf fashion cultures young women may puff up their hijab with faux buns or large hair clips, while in Turkey also pads to augment natural hair volume. The characteristically crisp frame around the face was at one point achieved by folding the scarf over a strip of Xray plastic or other stiffening material.
6 On national and regional differences in moral attitudes to the wrapping of hair and body, and resultant silhouette, in Muslim dress cultures, see Bucar Citation2017.
7 Najma Sharif, interviewed by Reina Lewis, New York 26 February Citation2018.
8 Hijabi Life, ‘Racism in Islam’ posted August 20th 2014, retrieved on 10 February 2018, at https://hijabilife.com/2014/08/20/racism-in-islam/
9 Muse Gold Instagram, posted 5 March 2017, retrieved 26 January 2018 at https://www.instagram.com/p/BRRCdRIA-GQ/?hl = en
11 rabina.chowdhury, commenting on Muse Gold, retrieved on 26 january 2018 at https://www.instagram.com/p/BRRCdRIA-GQ/?hl = en
12 https://hijabilife.com/2018/01/09/diversity-in-modest-fashion/
Posted 9 January 2018, accessed 7 February 2018
13 Hijabi Life, “Diversity in Modest Fashion?”, posted 9 January 2018, retrieved on 7 February 2018 from https://hijabilife.com/2018/01/09/diversity-in-modest-fashion/
14 At present, Minara el Rahman has stepped back from blogging to spend more time developing offline relationships and forms of community contribution.
15 On the “complicit resistance” of social media strategies in fat activism, see Zanette and Brito (2018).
16 Najma Sharif “Modest Fashion” posted on EqualityforHer.com, 23 April 2017. The article is no longer available on the site and I am grateful to Najma Sharif for sending me a copy,
17 Minara el Rahman, interviewed by Reina Lewis, skype London: San Francisco, 30 November 2018.
18 Comparable here would be how Leah Vernon’s preference for turbans as hijab situates her within traditions of African-American style
19 Zubaida Abdul-Hakim interviewed by Reina Lewis, telephone London-New Jersey, 21 February 2018.
20 Carmen Muhammad, interviewed by phone Los Angeles: London, 4 May, 2018.
21 The particular style of headscarf worn by women in the Nation is not available for non-members. Carmen Muhammad will, on request, provide a length of cloth suitable for head covering to be purchased in most fabrics.
22 Nzinga Knight, interviewed by Reina Lewis, New York, 11 November, Citation2016.
23 Figures from January 2018, in D’Alessandro Citation2018.
24 See https://www.instagram.com/p/BcfFwQbAymK/, accessed 18 October 2018.
At present, the Curve Edit on the Modist site does not appear to show garments on visibly plus-size bodies, but the range of models has not to date generated commentary.
25 Such as might be seen in the “queer” fashion market and media where histories of exclusion fuel inflated expectations of welcome and personally meaningful imagery and representation.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Reina Lewis
Reina Lewis is Centenary Professor of Cultural Studies at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London. Her books include: Muslim Fashion: Contemporary Style Cultures (2015), Rethinking Orientalism: Women, Travel and the Ottoman Harem (2004), and Gendering Orientalism: Race, Femininity and Representation (1996). She is editor of Modest Fashion: Styling Bodies, Mediating Faith, (2013). in 2018 she was consulting curator on the exhibition Contemporary Muslim Fashions at the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco (touring 2019–20). Reina is a frequent media commentator – most recently for the New York Times, le Monde, BBC World, BBC Radio, CBC radio, The Guardian, The Times, Marie-Claire magazine, Elle Brazil, Businessoffashion.com, Fortune.com, and Huffington Post. Reina Lewis convenes the public talk series Faith & Fashion at the London College of Fashion, see http://www.arts.ac.uk/research/research-projects/current-projects/faith-and-fashion/. [email protected]
