Challenging Western Feminism
Aaron, Aiden, Brooke and Josselyn
Reading:
Abu-Lughod, Lila. “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others.” American Anthropologist, vol. 104, no. 3, 2002, pp. 783–90. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3567256.
What is the purpose and main arguments of the article?
The main purpose of this article was to examine the way in which Afghan women were used to justify US military intervention in Afghanistan after 9/11. It challenges the reductive assumption that Muslim women, especially those who veil, need to be saved by higher Western powers. The article highlights the West’s tendency to focus on the cultural differences (such as veiling) of who they are conflicting with rather than the political devices at work. It critiques the concept of colonial feminism and highlights the ways in which feminism may be viewed differently among cultures. For example, it investigates what it means to have freedom while considering the various interpretations of what it means to be “oppressed.” Westerners have continuously tried to impose their ideas of freedom on Muslim women without considering the possibility that these women choose to participate in veiling and are not forced into it. The author sheds light on how these women can be empowered without adopting traditional Western feminism ideologies. She instead emphasizes empowerment through cultural self-definition and explains how only these women, who themselves exist in this culture, know what is best for them. Taking a cultural relativist standpoint, she explains the symbolism that veiling carries in Afghan culture and opposes the argument that veiling symbolizes Afghan women’s oppression.
How does the article highlight or explore the course theme for the week (gender inequality, purity and pollution, or identity and resistance)?
The text connects with all of the themes quite intimately, however, it focuses on the skewed and weaponized vision of femininity the Western world holds, as it views its form as the pinnacle of femininity and expression. The article portrays the selective concern utilized by Western feminists and politicians who often highlight the struggle of Muslim women yet disregard the larger systemic forces at play, such as poverty, war, and global economic inequalities that have a disproportionate impact on women. Abu-Lughod does not omit that there are gender inequalities present; rather, she insists that gender inequality cannot be universally defined by Western ideology and requires cultural context/relativism. Regarding purity and pollution, the article discusses cultural perceptions of modesty, such as veiling. While the West is eager to view such practices as oppressive, in Muslim communities, it serves as a marker of modesty and cultural belonging as well as signifies participation in their way of life. Abu-Lughod phrases it as “paramount in the organization of communities,” which is the custom of every society. By improperly juxtaposing one's culture to another, as the West does with the Muslim world, it leaves only space for othering and a division between artificially manufactured spheres of the world. Lastly, the article argues the importance of self-autonomy, free expression of identity for Muslim women, and the importance of asserting their identities rather than those given by various narratives. There is such a thing as Islamic feminism that operates within cultural and religious structures. Thus, the expansion of Western feminism is not a necessity.
How would you describe the “vibe” of the text?
The “vibe” of this text challenges the West’s perception of the idea of liberation for Afghan women. Abu-Lughod, at times, is very authoritative in the way she discusses and critiques the “fight for the rights and dignity of women”. At times throughout the text, she resorts to using sarcasm as a means to criticize the way Western news outlets and politicians like Laura Bush try to discuss or advocate for what they believe is the dignity and empowerment of women. For example, she states, “and their more recent exclusions under the Taliban from employment, schooling, and the joys of wearing nail polish,” including “Did we expect that once “free” from the Taliban they would go “back” to belly shirts and blue jeans, or dust off their Chanel suits?” In a satirical manner she critiques western-modern feminism and its ideology that sexuality is empowering. However, when you look at Afghan women, it is seen as a juxtaposition to women in the West. This is where Abu-Lughod begins challenging these controversial viewpoints that because Afghan women veil and become women of cover they are therefore not liberated. She ends her article by allowing readers to reflect on perhaps their own actions in viewing women veiling through ethnocentrism. She urges for a change in the way we depict saving Muslim women into an egalitarian movement that views veiling by Afghan women through a cultural relativist lens.
How does this playlist complement the vibes of the text (somatically, sonically, taste, tempo, genre)?
The overall vibe of the text can be interpreted as critical and challenging, nuanced, reflective, confrontational, and much more so when it came to curating a playlist that could effectively complement the vibe of the text. It was pertinent that the songs touched on the themes written in the article in various manners. Some songs highlight femininity originating from numerous regions of the Muslim world and away from the Western world, providing insight on how femininity can be expressed through an artistic Lense and defying stereotypes such as passiveness and victimhood in relation to Muslim women as there are songs that are upbeat and can be danced too and express much more than what the western world allows themselves to believe about women outside of their respective sphere of influence. Secondly, there were songs that challenged the notion that Western femininity was superior to that of the rest of the world, whether it be through the usage of satire as is heard in Frank Ocean's song “American Wedding” or literalness- as is shown in the song “ A Woman's Place.” Overall, the playlist was made with the intention to provoke thought and reflection on general beliefs regarding feminism for the listener by including various genres, tempos, identities, and nuance.
How did each of you go about finding songs to include in the playlist?
Brooke: I pulled key themes from the text that stood out to me and Google searched “songs reflecting the theme of [insert theme].” I browsed songs on the internet and looked at lyrics and English translations of non-English songs, as well as looked at how the songs are perceived by their listeners. I chose the song “Al Kufiyyeh Arabiyyeh” by Shadia Mansour due to its themes of Arab identity, resistance, and cultural pride, which ties into Abu-Lughod’s emphasis on cultural empowerment. I chose “Kelmti Horra”by Emel Mathlouthi because it is a Tunisian anthem that demonstrates how the fight for justice can take many different forms across cultures, tying in with the article’s argument that liberation and empowerment are not universally defined. For my third song, I chose “Terrorist?” by Lowkey because it challenges Western stereotypes about Muslims, which directly connects to the article’s message that Muslims, in general, are reduced to symbols in the political realm.
Aidan: I chose three songs, one from Lebanon and two from an artist based in Wales. The first song on the playlist that I chose is “Man’s World” by Marina. This song represents many different ideas from the article, representing mostly the shortfalls of traditional Western feminism. The lyrics of the song are “I don’t want to live in a man’s world anymore”, which is Marina calling out her frustrations with patriarchy. However, the song also includes a line grounded in orientalism where Marina sings about a hotel “owned by a Sheikh who killed thousands of gay men”. I feel like this represents a shortfall of Western feminism well, where Western feminism struggles with transnational feminism. It does not excel at looking at feminist issues from a “non-western" lens. The second song I chose on the playlist is titled “Savages” which is also by Marina. This song is like “Man’s World”, where it can be a critique of traditional western feminism, but it also represents one of the critiques the group had in the article. Abu Lughod’s offered solution is that humans should ask how to make the world a more just place. We all found this to be very lukewarm and lacking clear direction, which is like the song “Savages”. It laments the dangers of human nature yet offers no solution. There is also a lyric, “I'm not afraid of God, I am afraid of man”, which I felt represented the political problem in the article, especially around the West demonizing Islam when problems in Afghanistan are political. The last song I chose is “Li Beirut” by renowned Lebanese singer Fairouz. In the song, Fairouz is singing about the beauty of Beirut, which, at the time, was ravaged by the Lebanese civil war. I thought this song represented the decadence and beauty of cities in the Middle East well, which the “Western” mind struggles to comprehend as most Americans believe the Middle East is just a dangerous desert.
Aaron: I chose three songs, two of which had American origins and the last one from Eritrea. The American song that I included was intended to point out the stark ironies of the West’s supposed ideological superiority. The first song was “Arabian Nights,” a piece infamous for reiterating and strengthening orientalist frameworks. Orientalism has long been utilized to wipe out historical realities of mobility and nuances within the Middle East and, more specifically, Afghanistan. Orientalized depictions of Afghanistan have taken away from accurate depictions of expression since its construction. The next song is “ A Woman's Place” by Gordan Mills, which was included in this playlist to highlight the inconsistency and hypocrisy of declaring American values regarding gender equality as superior. The song demonstrates the misogyny that is still very much a part of American society as Mills sings about how he feels a woman's place remains within domestic parameters. I felt it was important to include this song because it showcased the irony of exporting out ideologies while archaic beliefs of gender roles remain here at home. The last song I chose is called “Ade,” which means mother in Tigrinya, the language spoken in Eritrea. It is a song about the liberation movement that took place in the late twentieth century and the large role of women in the war (one-third of the armed forces), proclaiming Eritrean women as the mothers of the nation as they played a pivotal role in the country's liberation. Many women to this day are extremely proud of their participation, as there is a plethora of artistry stemming from the movement that is still showcased today. I chose this song because it shows the expression of women in pertinent and large roles in society outside of the Western world who refuse to accept that this is a reality beyond the lines of Western civilization.
Josselyn: The first song I picked was “American Wedding” by Frank Ocean. I decided to pick this song because of the manner in which it satirically critiques Americans. He talks about Mrs. Kennedy and the land of the free, which is the United States. While juxtaposing that by mentioning “hijabs and polygamists' husbands, those poor un-American girls.” It is a song that helps depict the pity that Western feminists feel toward Muslim women. I then decided to pick “Holm” by Emel Malthouri because, like Frank Ocean’s song, she also discusses the way Westerners may view the Middle East in a literal sense. She stated that they see people with eyes clouded of oppression, however they just destroy everything they built. I like this song because it also has allusions to the destruction that war brings when a Middle Eastern country is attacked. Lastly, I picked “Roman” by Mashrou’ Leila because of its significance. The song Roman, more specifically its music video, turned the song into an anthem of women’s empowerment. This is because the women featured in the music videos wore a hijab, which sparked a movement in the empowerment of veiling.
Which song(s) reflect your critiques of the text?
The songs that reflect our critiques of the text are “Mans World” by Marina and “Savages” by Marina. Both songs are written and performed by the same artist, who tends to imbue political and cultural critiques into her music. Though we personally like both songs, we find the lack of any main argument dissatisfying. Marina brings to light problems like patriarchy, corruption, and violence yet offers no clear path forward. It is almost as if she is stating the obvious. There is no sufficient conclusion or solution offered; it is just pessimism and resentment. It connects to our main critique of the article, which is that though the content and ideas presented in the article surrounding the West’s misunderstanding and mischaracterization of Islam, Abu Lughod does not supply a well-backed solution. We understand that Abu Lughod is not required to offer a solution to something as big and encapsulating as stereotypes being used to justify war and violence, but then she shouldn't have offered a solution to begin with. Her article should have only been a critique. In the closing of the article, Abu Lughod writes, “A more productive approach, it seems to me, is to ask how we might contribute to making the world a more just place” (Abu Lughod 2002, 789). Though it is an amazing question that the world should be asking, it just felt unattached to the rest of the article. The article felt so grounded that to then start discussing this abstract idea of a “just world” was a little jarring.
How did you decide on the order and transitions between each song, including how to begin and how to end?
The playlist starts by including songs that encapsulate the West’s perspective on feminism and the Middle East. These first five songs, either in a literal or satirical manner, depict the lack of understanding of the Middle East and Islam. They are meant to cause emotions of confusion or even leave listeners speechless because of the extreme generalization or even incorrect and flawed ways of viewing the Middle East, Islam, and feminism. These songs represent the views and political points expressed by leaders like Laura Bush. We then decided to use the song “Savages” as a transition from these songs with strong messages into our international songs. We decided to pick the song Savages because it confronts the issue of politicizing a culture, rather than address the wrongs of violently attacking a nation, the US had shifted into making their political campaign anti-Islam. The last six of our songs are international songs. We decided to end with international songs because much of Abu-Lughod's text focused on lifting and learning from Muslim women. Many of these songs emerged and are celebrated as songs about resistance and empowerment. It is important that we end the playlist by uplifting international songs and singers who vocalize resistance against ethnocentric views. When we curated this playlist, the goal was to take the listeners along the same journey Abu-Lughod took readers from addressing Laura Bush’s controversial address on fighting for Afghan women to then talking about Islam and the importance of modesty wear in the culture and finally ending by makings readers reflect on their own perspectives and how they can begin to build solidarity.
Were there ethical concerns or debates that came up while creating this playlist?
One overarching ethical concern that came up while creating this playlist was the risk of reinforcing stereotypes about Muslim women. We did not want to fall into the trap of the Western savior complex by choosing songs that painted them as oppressed or in need of “saving”. Instead, we focused on choosing songs that critique this Western tendency, as well as songs that demonstrate an appreciation for the act of veiling. We had to be mindful not to choose songs representing only traditional Western feminist perspectives because, as the article emphasizes, feminism takes many different shapes and forms across cultures. Western feminism is not universal, and imposing it on Muslim women ignores the diverse ways in which women around the world define their own empowerment. Lastly, we prioritized highlighting diverse international voices to generate a playlist that is reflective of multiple cultural perspectives.