“The Fetish of Staring at Iran’s Women”
“Ever since the hijab, a generic term for every Islamic modesty covering, became mandatory after the 1979 revolution, Iranian women have been used to represent the country visually. For the new Islamic republic, the all-covering cloak called a chador became a badge of honor, a trademark of fundamental change. To Western visitors, it dropped a pin on their travel maps, where the bodies of Iranian women became a stand-in for the character of Iranian society… We are now witnessing another shift in Iran’s image. It shows Iran “unveiled” — a tired euphemism now being used to literally undress Iranian women or show them off as clotheshorses.”
so many feelings upon reading this woman’s experience of being fetishized by Western media.
Looking at the comments (why do I ever do this??), there is just so much defensive and paternalistic we’re-liberals-so-we’re-trying-to-help cultural imperialism. For example, the featured comment at the time I was reading: “When we look at the silent women in their chadors we are not fetishizing. We are trying to listen.” (great response: “The chador is not the burka. The chador does not cover the face, and most Iranian women wear the head scarf and the coat to cover up. At least try to be accurate.”). There is a woman using words to try to communicate with you, featured commenter, try to listen to her and not to your own entrenched perceptions.
Is “westernsplaining” a thing?
