Women's Studies Essay on the Role of Dress as a Means of Women’s Oppression and Liberation

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The Role of Dress as a Means of Women’s Oppression and Liberation Sareen Khatchadourian SN# 210245538 March 4, 2010 Leyna Lowe WMST 1500 6.0 Essay March 4, 2010 Dress is an important factor to consider when analyzing power, oppression, and liberation of people. When seeing someone for the first time, our first impression of them is based solely on what how they look, because how they choose to present themselves -- their dress and style -- is their own personal choice and depiction of their character. Because of this, people in society are prone to making judgements, or stereotyping, a man or woman based on how they appear. Through the readings Listening to the Voices of Hijab, Chappals and Gym Shorts: An Indian Muslim Woman in the Land of Oz, and the film Under one Sky: Arab Women in North America talk about the Hijab, we can see how the role of appearance - specifically dress and clothing - is a dominant factor in how women are perceived, which ultimately leads to both women’s oppression and liberation. In the article Listening to the Voices of Hijab, there were interviews held on two types of Muslim women: those who chose to wear the Hijab and those who chose not to. A hiijab, traditionally, is a head covering worn by Muslim women because of their cultural or religious practices. A hijab, for Muslim women, is used to hide their bodies from the sight of men, in hopes of not tempting them, but gaining a man’s respect. In the reading, it was established that to Muslim women, wearing the hijab is a sense of security, a mark of Muslim identity, and protection. The hijab, in a sense, is a shield or mask from the outside world, where men specifically will not have lust towards them or will not objectify them; it will not show men their true beauty or “ornaments.” Wearing the hijab

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