{"id":8251,"date":"2011-05-25T09:01:14","date_gmt":"2011-05-25T16:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/muslimahmediawatch.org\/?p=8251"},"modified":"2011-05-25T09:01:14","modified_gmt":"2011-05-25T16:01:14","slug":"sexism-and-islamophobia-an-under-reported-link-in-strauss-kahn-coverage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2011\/05\/sexism-and-islamophobia-an-under-reported-link-in-strauss-kahn-coverage\/","title":{"rendered":"Sexism and Islamophobia: An Under-Reported Link in Strauss-Kahn Coverage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

This was written by Kevin Healey and originally published on the USC blog Trans\/Missions<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

Dominique Strauss-Kahn\u2019s religious identity has made news since 1991, when the Jewish Tribune reported <\/a>that each morning he asks himself how he can be \u201chelpful to the state of Israel.\u201d He should have refuted the quote, he says, since it has only emboldened critics who deride him as \u201ca leading French Jew\u201d and a \u201cdevout Zionist.\u201d Such views, coupled with allegations of aggressive womanizing, would surely trouble his political future. Just a few weeks before his arrest on rape charges, he told Liberation <\/a>that he anticipated three problems for his Presidential bid: \u201cMoney, women, and my Jewishness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, after his arrest French officials argued that \u201cthe thought of a trap<\/a>\u201d or \u201csmear campaign<\/a>\u201d could not be ruled out. Columnists suggested <\/a>anti-Semitism might be a factor, citing comments from right-wing opponents like the National Front\u2019s Marine Le Pen, who condemned <\/a>his behavior as \u201cpathological.\u201d Noting the relative lack of concern for Strauss-Kahn\u2019s accuser, The New Yorker\u2019s Philip Gourevitch quipped<\/a>, \u201cIt seemed a good measure of the depth of France\u2019s political malaise that it took a Le Pen to show solidarity with the working woman against the Socialist Party\u2019s favorite son.\u201d<\/p>\n

And what about that \u201cworking woman\u201d? Mainstream sources offer mostly brief descriptions: She is a 32-year-old, French-speaking immigrant from Guinea, a single mother living with her teenage daughter. Many reports mention her religious background but only in passing, describing her as a \u201cgood Muslim<\/a>,\u201d a \u201cdevout Muslim<\/a>,\u201d who \u201cwears a headscarf.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as her neighbors and family invoke her religion in her defense, online discussions seethe with sexism and Islamophobia. At Free Republic<\/a>, alongside discussion of whether his alleged victim is attractive, one commenter suggests \u201cStrauss-Kahn should insist on Sharia rules. Four male witnesses or it never happened\u2026\u201d Another asks rhetorically, \u201cWould a muslim [sic] lie to bring down one of the most powerful infidels on earth?\u201d Indeed one commenter argues <\/a>that \u201cthe maid might be in the employ of\u2026 some Muslim extremist group\u201d that wants exploit escalating tensions by keeping Sarkozy in power.<\/p>\n

As media coverage shifts to the rising backlash<\/a> against the chauvinism of Strauss-Kahn\u2019s defenders, journalists should remember that in France, as in the U.S., sexism is rarely separable from racial and religious prejudice. While journalists rightfully dismiss conspiracy theories from anonymous bloggers, they would do well to heed the insights of scholars <\/a>and op-ed writers<\/a> who highlight the relationship between male chauvinism and anti-Muslim prejudice in French culture.<\/p>\n

Joan Scott, author of The Politics of the Veil, argues that it is misguided to cite the \u201cheadscarf ban\u201d as evidence of French commitment to gender equality, as one columnist does in a retort<\/a> to Gourevitch\u2019s above-mentioned quip. In fact, French elites have often rejected feminism as a \u201cforeign import,\u201d arguing that women\u2019s power lies in their willing sexual objectification. Proponents of this view see \u201cthe sexual modesty implicit in the headscarf as proof that Muslims can never become fully French,\u201d says Scott<\/a>. Thus the headscarf ban encapsulates both misogyny and anti-Muslim prejudice, not their opposites. \u201cHow ironic, then, that the victim of Strauss-Kahn\u2019s alleged sexual assault was a Muslim,\u201d Scott writes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is understandable that media coverage should expound on the implications of the demise of Strauss-Kahn, an international figure, for French politics and for Jewish communities<\/a> around the world. But it would only compound the tragedy of this working woman\u2019s fate if coverage ignores the link between sexism and Islamophobia that his alleged attack has thrown into sharp relief.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This was written by Kevin Healey and originally published on the USC blog Trans\/Missions. Dominique Strauss-Kahn\u2019s religious identity has made news since 1991, when the Jewish Tribune reported that each morning he asks himself how he can be \u201chelpful to the state of Israel.\u201d He should have refuted the quote, he says, since it has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[370,613,658],"class_list":["post-8251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-dominique-strauss-kahn","tag-imf","tag-islamophobia"],"yoast_head":"\nSexism and Islamophobia: An Under-Reported Link in Strauss-Kahn Coverage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This was written by Kevin Healey and originally published on the USC blog Trans\/Missions. 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