{"id":13865,"date":"2013-08-21T02:00:15","date_gmt":"2013-08-21T06:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/?p=13865"},"modified":"2013-08-20T21:57:27","modified_gmt":"2013-08-21T01:57:27","slug":"pink-burqas-gagas-and-madonnas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2013\/08\/pink-burqas-gagas-and-madonnas\/","title":{"rendered":"Pink Burqas, Gagas and Madonnas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

It gets me every time\u2026 it makes me upset and irrationally angry. The stereotyping, the orientalist exoticism and the appropriation are only some of the things that go on when niqab, hijabs and \u201cMuslim clothing\u201d in general is used for profit by non-Muslim Western stars.<\/p>\n

Today M.I.A., who was once described by Time Magazine<\/a> as wearing \u201cone of the most controversial garments of our era\u201d while wearing a niqab, is no longer \u201cunique.\u201d\u00a0 In early July, Madonna published pictures of herself wearing a chain-niqab<\/a> and with the caption \u201c\u2018The Revolution of Love is on\u2026Inshallah.\u201d According to the British Metro<\/a>, the picture is part of a broader project with photographer Steve Klein, which has yet to be revealed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Madonna wearing a chain-niqab.- Via the Huffington Post.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Just a few days later, Lady Gaga was all over<\/a> Western media sites wearing a pink burqa made out of a sheer material<\/a> and leaving fans to wonder about her new \u201cburqa song<\/a>.\u201d Lady Gaga, who had worn a niqab-like costume to Fashion Week in 2012<\/a>, caused controversy once more this year.<\/p>\n

Particularly in Lady Gaga\u2019s case, discussions swung back and forth, some finding it less troubling than others. Some, like Myriam Fracois Cerrah<\/a>, saw Gaga\u2019s choice as a revelation of \u201ca double standard far more concerning than the absurdity of a transparent burqa.\u201d Others, like Callie Beusman<\/a>, see it as problematic and culturally irresponsible. Some more thought of Lady Gaga as a for-profit culture jacker.<\/a><\/p>\n

But when does it stop? And where does it lead?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Unlike Cerrah, I do not smile at how these outfits bring out double standards. I actually don\u2019t think they do\u2026 Famous, white and orientalist women hardly compare to non-famous, non-white and religious women elsewhere. If French officials don\u2019t go after Gaga\u2019s burqa is not only because she is famous and ridiculously rich, but also because she is not a Muslim practitioner; she is a non-Muslim white western woman playing with the politics of gender and religion.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lady Gaga\u2019s pink burqa.- Via PolicyMic.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While M.I.A.\u2019s Muslim and Middle Eastern imagery have been described as \u201ccontroversial<\/a>\u201d and \u201cthought provoking,\u201d MMW writers and readers<\/a> expressed their feelings towards M.I.A.\u2019s outfits and videos<\/a> in two separate occasions. The issue continues to be the same: the big intersection between orientalism, exoticism, cultural appropriation, profit and some kind of twisted sense of solidarity<\/a> and controversy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
M.I.A wearing niqab.- Via The Guardian<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, I am not a purist. I do not get scared of sheer burqas (like the ones featured in Submission<\/em><\/a>) and I am not longer surprised by the fact that orientalism is not over\u2026 it is just changing. I am not offended about these women wearing pseudo-burqas and niqabs per se<\/em>. But it is rather what it comes out of it and how we perceive it.<\/p>\n

Why is it controversial to see Madonna wearing a chain-niqab? It is not. She is playing with people\u2019s sensibilities (and not only Muslim ones) for the sake of profit. She probably couldn\u2019t care less about the significance of niqab or the meaning of the word \u201cinshallah,\u201d but we see it as controversial, transformative and discursive. And that\u2019s where the profit is.<\/p>\n

Lady Gaga wearing a pink burqa does not do anything for Muslim women. The problem is that we are the ones facing the day-to-day orientalist exoticism coming out of a hyper-sexual outfit worn by a woman who decided to profit out of it.<\/p>\n

The fact that these acts are described as transformative just puzzles me\u2026 they for sure make people talk, but there is nothing relevant or significant coming out of it. Take M.I.A.\u2019s so-called protest against the French ban on niqab, for example\u2026 well, it looked good in picture for a little while but it made me wonder, what kind of solidarity is this? Cultural appropriation does not equal solidarity. You want to support Muslim women\u2019s causes around the globe, then go and support the groups working around real initiatives or write a letter to the Prime Minister\u2026 don\u2019t wear a shinny burqa and call it \u201ccontroversial\u201d or \u201csupportive.\u201d At the end of the day, French officials couldn\u2019t care less and women are still fined for wearing niqabs and burqas.<\/a><\/p>\n

So, after this rant that I have been holding on to since Ramadan, I am still wondering: When do we realize that controversy for the sake of profit is not really transformative?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It gets me every time\u2026 it makes me upset and irrationally angry. The stereotyping, the orientalist exoticism and the appropriation are only some of the things that go on when niqab, hijabs and \u201cMuslim clothing\u201d in general is used for profit by non-Muslim Western stars. Today M.I.A., who was once described by Time Magazine as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":171,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,1785],"tags":[242,563,2143,2187,989],"class_list":["post-13865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culturesociety","category-fashion-2","tag-burka-woman","tag-hijab","tag-lady-gaga","tag-madonna","tag-niqab"],"yoast_head":"\nPink Burqas, Gagas and Madonnas<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It gets me every time... it makes me upset and irrationally angry. The stereotyping, the orientalist exoticism and the appropriation are only some of the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2013\/08\/pink-burqas-gagas-and-madonnas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pink Burqas, Gagas and Madonnas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It gets me every time... it makes me upset and irrationally angry. The stereotyping, the orientalist exoticism and the appropriation are only some of the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2013\/08\/pink-burqas-gagas-and-madonnas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Muslimah Media Watch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-08-21T06:00:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-08-21T01:57:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/mmw\/files\/2013\/08\/1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"eren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"eren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2013\/08\/pink-burqas-gagas-and-madonnas\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2013\/08\/pink-burqas-gagas-and-madonnas\/\",\"name\":\"Pink Burqas, Gagas and Madonnas\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-21T06:00:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-08-21T01:57:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/#\/schema\/person\/636658a31270870c3fa05f46e0b515d4\"},\"description\":\"It gets me every time... it makes me upset and irrationally angry. The stereotyping, the orientalist exoticism and the appropriation are only some of the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2013\/08\/pink-burqas-gagas-and-madonnas\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2013\/08\/pink-burqas-gagas-and-madonnas\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2013\/08\/pink-burqas-gagas-and-madonnas\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pink Burqas, Gagas and Madonnas\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/\",\"name\":\"Muslimah Media Watch\",\"description\":\"Looking at Muslim women in the media and pop culture\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/#\/schema\/person\/636658a31270870c3fa05f46e0b515d4\",\"name\":\"eren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e73fd91348d0da057d83b90e95de4b9f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e73fd91348d0da057d83b90e95de4b9f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"eren\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/author\/eren\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pink Burqas, Gagas and Madonnas","description":"It gets me every time... it makes me upset and irrationally angry. The stereotyping, the orientalist exoticism and the appropriation are only some of the","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2013\/08\/pink-burqas-gagas-and-madonnas\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pink Burqas, Gagas and Madonnas","og_description":"It gets me every time... it makes me upset and irrationally angry. The stereotyping, the orientalist exoticism and the appropriation are only some of the","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2013\/08\/pink-burqas-gagas-and-madonnas\/","og_site_name":"Muslimah Media Watch","article_published_time":"2013-08-21T06:00:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-08-21T01:57:27+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/mmw\/files\/2013\/08\/1.jpg"}],"author":"eren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"eren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2013\/08\/pink-burqas-gagas-and-madonnas\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2013\/08\/pink-burqas-gagas-and-madonnas\/","name":"Pink Burqas, Gagas and Madonnas","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-08-21T06:00:15+00:00","dateModified":"2013-08-21T01:57:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/#\/schema\/person\/636658a31270870c3fa05f46e0b515d4"},"description":"It gets me every time... it makes me upset and irrationally angry. The stereotyping, the orientalist exoticism and the appropriation are only some of the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2013\/08\/pink-burqas-gagas-and-madonnas\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2013\/08\/pink-burqas-gagas-and-madonnas\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2013\/08\/pink-burqas-gagas-and-madonnas\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pink Burqas, Gagas and Madonnas"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/","name":"Muslimah Media Watch","description":"Looking at Muslim women in the media and pop culture","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/#\/schema\/person\/636658a31270870c3fa05f46e0b515d4","name":"eren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e73fd91348d0da057d83b90e95de4b9f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e73fd91348d0da057d83b90e95de4b9f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"eren"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/author\/eren\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/171"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13865\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}