Category: gender & sexuality

There are so many ‘layers’ to this dreaded headscarf discussion (and the dreaded word ‘debate’) (and even the dreaded ‘layers’ pun). I am constantly on the edge of flipping off every conversation surrounding it. I cringe in public (real and virtual) settings that mention the word ‘hijab’, seconds from theoretically and literally puking. F*** it all is what my philosophy usually is when it comes to the headscarf debates. I am intrinsically, from deep within myself turned off, and yet desperately plugged in to conversations that directly impact my life. Continue reading “I am not a hijabi” →

This morning, these blogposts left me feeling… uplifted, elevated, and relieved as one can be when someone says for them what they wished they could say themselves, and in doing so, unlock the pain and allow it free by acknowledging what one knew all along:

• Love Thyself (Inshallah) by Zainab Chaudary 
• And the blogpost Zainab cites, Growing Up Brown: Desexualized and Hyper-sexualized by Zoya Haroon 

If you don’t already, I would recommend following the blog Love InshAllah on which Zainab Chaudary’s piece was published.

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Definitions:

1. Unruly
2. Female Unruliness: independent thinking women, not letting the patriarchy define them.

When is the last time that someone – a female – offended you with her expression, or ‘failure’ to ‘express’, her ‘femininity’ (as you and I, and the greater body of collective consciousness around us, perceives it)?

I have: been offended, been asked to be offended, been offensive, and have been a privy ear to the vocalized offense people have experienced at the beholding of various women.

The Unruly Woman could be discussed in light of the way Women, and in more of my personal experiences, Muslim Women, are ‘policed’ by those around them, and are learned to police themselves. (‘Police’ meaning: A group that admonishes, cautions, or reminds)  Continue reading “On the Unruly (Muslim) Woman” →