FEMALE BODY IMAGES

[RV ME]

After reading this diatribe from NP(OS)R and getting mad that my tax $$ keep this organization going, I had an idea.  I thought that since I am not a woman, maybe they are right in their assertion.  So I am asking all women on DV to confirm or deny if they would feel better about their body image if they were covered head to toe in a hijab or what I like to call a progressive burka?

 

 

 

Islam-Indulging NPR Touts One Kind of Modesty: The Hijab 'May Aid Women's Body Image'

 

Some remember NPR as the network that happily hosted (fake) Muslim extremist funders and told them of how horrifying America’s Christian conservatives were. Or the network that fired Juan Williams for confessing on Fox News that people in Muslim dress scared him at the airport.

That Islam-indulging attitude also comes through in their “news” content. On September 15, NPR’s “Goats and Soda” blog carried this attention-grabbing headline: “Covering Up With The Hijab May Aid Women's Body Image.”

The author was NPR’s Michaeleen Doucleff, whose "FoodieScience" Twitter bio emphasizes “Masters in winemaking from UCD | PhD in biophysics | Stories about beer, bacteria, brains and dogs”. That doesn’t say “religion scholar,” does it?

The hijab is the veil that covers the head and chest, leaving only the face revealed. (The burqa is the term often used for the veil that shows only the eyes.)

The pull quote came from researcher Viren Swami of the University of Westminster in London: “The take-home message, I think, is maybe that individuals who challenge society's norms of beauty seem to have better body images.” Doucleff reported on Dr. Swami's study, and its pro-Muslim assumptions:

Last year Swami and one of his graduate students wondered if the hijab might have a positive influence on how women view their bodies. "There had been three or four previous studies showing that more modest or conservative clothing is associated with a healthier body image," he says.

So the team surveyed nearly 600 Muslim women in Britain. About 200 said they never used the hijab. The others said they wore it at least sometimes. Swami and his colleagues also asked the women a whole slew of questions to measure how they felt about their bodies.

The difference between the two groups was small. But across all parameters, the women who wore the hijab, at least some of the time, had more positive views of their bodies on average. They had less desire to be thin. They appreciated their bodies more. And they weren't as influenced by media messages about beauty standards.

"The take-home message, I think, is maybe that individuals who challenge society's norms of beauty seem to have better body images," Swami tells NPR. "The hijab allows you to do that in a certain way [in Britain].

Wait for it. After an ellipsis, Swami actually said this: “Feminism does the same thing."

Swami also insisted the hijab could protect women against dangerous pressures to be thin. "The hijab seems to have a buffer on body image," he said. "If somebody is objectifying a woman, the hijab might offer a sort of protection. ... Any clothing like this would help to reduce sexualization of the body."

Then NPR turned to a Muslim scholar for a more complete feeling of propagandizing:

Tabassum Ruby, who studies gender and women's issues at Western Michigan University, says she's not surprised the hijab is linked to a better body image.

"Wearing the hijab eliminates many of the hassles women have to go through — such as dyeing their hair," she says. "For example, you're getting old, and gray hairs, when you wear the hijab, you might not think about dyeing your hair because nobody sees it anyway."

So wearing the hijab can be very liberating for some women, she says. It allows them — and others around them — to focus on their minds, not their bodies.

"There is a stereotype that women who wear the hijab are oppressed," Ruby says, "that we [Muslim women] have no agency or power." (Italics mine.)

But all societies and cultures have their own dress code, she says. They all have a way to construct femininity and masculinity. "Muslim societies aren't exceptional in that respect," she says. "But we don't see them in that way because of the tension between the West and the Middle East."

"We don't question why woman [sic] in the West wear miniskirts and plunging necklines," she says. "So why do we question the hijab?"

Ruby has written an academic paper complaining about the “general intolerance about the hijab in the media" in Canada that leads to discrimination.

The NPR blog post also linked to this gem: “Lady In Black: 'Burka Avenger' Fights For Pakistan's Girls”.

 

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2014/09/22/islam-indulging-npr-touts-one-kind-modesty-hijab-may-aid-womens-body

[gymrat76541]

What a woman wears REALLY does not bother me one bit! If you want to live your life covered from head-to-toe in hiding it is your business! I live in Texas and think they must be insane but hey, what do I know!

 

Arab countries do have some seriously beautiful ladies but it is my experience that living a hard life ages em harshly! Better catchem when they are young! LOL

[moose 57]

It doesn't bother me at all if a woman wears nothing

[DiveDeepSix]

I prefer bikinis over snow suits!!!    Wait a minute why do I live here in MN again?  

 

I think women should be able to wear (or not wear    ) what ever makes them happy!!  Besides mistakes like this one would stop happening all the time!!   

It doesn't bother me at all if a woman wears nothing

 

I can accept that decision pretty well myself!!!   

[chess]

Not convenient for their Yoga classes........Allah forbid a headstand!..................

Edited September 22, 2014 by chess

[Whatshername]

"...So I am asking all women on DV to confirm or deny if they would feel better about their body image if they were covered head to toe in a hijab or what I like to call a progressive burka?"

 

Allow me to answer for ALL of us.... HELL NO! 

 

One would have to be raised in that culture, not used to seeing the female form, to find that acceptable.

 

[littlesam]

 

"...So I am asking all women on DV to confirm or deny if they would feel better about their body image if they were covered head to toe in a hijab or what I like to call a progressive burka?"

 

Allow me to answer for ALL of us.... HELL NO! 

 

One would have to be raised in that culture, not used to seeing the female form, to find that acceptable.

 

 

spoken like a true American woman besides those things are to hot, can't imagine having to wear that head thing and have someone look underneath it.. no telling what comment or judgement would be assumed    .. and I second her... HELL no 

[Shabibilicious]

Perpetual Dutch Oven.     

 

GO RV, and NO BV

[SnowGlobe7]

my body is not "perfect" but it is mine. I will wear what I want

no moo moos!!!!

Tose are reserved for Bama GIrl!!!

[Whatshername]

Perpetual Dutch Oven.     

 

GO RV, and NO BV

If I had to wear a burka, I'd be more like a double-boiler... a little layer of RAGE bubbling beneath my butt!  If all you could see was my eyes - don't look directly in them... they'll be shootin' daggers!  I fear this thought would consume me...  "How many weapons can I conceal under this tent?"  And trust me... you're gonna need a food-taster!   Haha!  Clearly, I've given this too much thought!!!    

[Viciousdoggie]

Land of the Free.  Freedom to wear what I want and the Freedom to speak my mind!

 

Thank you to all who sacrificed to give me those freedoms.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Viciousdoggie

[RVWITHME]

This whole story sounds like a cover-up if you ask me.

[Shabibilicious]

This whole story sounds like a cover-up if you ask me.

 

Hahahaha......my kind of humor.    

 

GO RV, and NO BV

[Nadita]

I agree.. one has to be born in that culture to wear it because it is their custom to be covered up.  I guess they only cover themselves to go out in public but at home, they are allowed to take it off.. otherwise the husband will be like buying cat in the bag  my experience seeing a lot of Arab women is they are beautiful. 

 

I am not saying anything bad about the Baptist but they are a bit in the 18th century too and I have challenged them with their dress code.  My children went to Baptist school and no.. I am not a Baptist.. I couldn't wear pants on field trip and have to wear skirt which they tend to wear long.. so I bought myself an animal print skirt that I wore to go on field trip.. did I follow their rule? yes I did but in my style

 

As for me  I decide what I wear, when I wear it, how I wear it, where I wear it - it's my body.. I will not wear my skin out in the public because I believe there are things that better be concealed and let the imagination wonders my body is for those two special eyes only  

[SnowGlobe7]

I thought it was pentacostal that only wore skirts.I grew up southern Baptist...we wore jeans to church on Wednesday nights

[nstoolman1]

[Nadita]

I thought it was pentacostal that only wore skirts.I grew up southern Baptist...we wore jeans to church on Wednesday nights

 

Snow

 

Southern Baptist might be different.  This baptist women wear dress or jean skirt to their ankle.  My kids went there for elementary.  I like the old school of spelling, phonics, cursive writing, and bible teaching.  A good foundation.. all my kids are good in spelling and can write cursive they are good except a bit rigid for me.  I have story to tell ya lol 

[FlintNPebbles]

I thought it was pentacostal that only wore skirts.I grew up southern Baptist...we wore jeans to church on Wednesday nights

I grew up Nazarene (still am Nazarene ) and although times have changed and things have become more relaxed, when I was a young girl we were not allowed to wear pants (at least to church), our shoulders had to be covered, no dancing allowed and no movies.  Plenty of other things also but those were the ones that really stick in my mind. Now when I go to church I will wear dress pants but cannot make myself wear jeans and I cringe when I see young people with jeans on...or worse, jeans with holes in them.   My kids wear dress clothes except when they are going on a youth group outing.  I allow my children to go to dances ( I stress over and over to "leave room for Jesus" ) and they go to movies that I deem appropriate. My daughter is 15 and will tell me almost daily how some girls in school dress and how tacky it looks.

 

And NO way would I ever wear a burka or completely cover up.  I am to hot all the time...summer makes me crabby...can't imagine what I would be like having to cover up all but my eyes

[RV ME]

Thanks for the responses.  It appears to me that most of the responses are no, with a couple of HELL NO’s thrown in.  Love to hear it.

 

Personally I have always believed that both the traditional and progressive burkas are required because the men in those societies find it easier to control their women rather than control themselves.  Rather than accepting or controlling their feelings they blame a woman for causing a problem.  Subjugating women to compensate for your shortcomings seems pretty sad.  Also seems sad to me that the women accept it.  Like an abuse victim claiming “but he loves me” while visiting the emergency room after another beating.  Subjugation is not respect and it is not love either, at least not in my book.

[SnowGlobe7]

Ladies...thanks for the education....i learned that we have some wonderful women here that are spiritual as well as empowered.....a perfect combination.

 

(But I knew that anyway!!!! We rock...someone needs to keep these guys in line!!!!)

[Shabibilicious]

(But I knew that anyway!!!! We rock...someone needs to keep these guys in line!!!!)

 

Burqa cat keeps opinions to herself..........  

 

 

GO RV, and NO BV

[SnowGlobe7]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!