Perhaps I'm being pedantic, but the "About" section really bothers me for reasons a lot of identity-based outrage does: because it tries to argue from the edge.
Putting on a pageant of Muslims who aren't wearing traditional clothing doesn't "refute" the idea that there is traditional clothing does it? Any more than showing me pictures of penguins refutes the idea that a feathered flying creature is probably a bird. Or showing pictures of President Obama to refute the idea that there are racial disparities in the United States. It's an argument from the margins.
What is especially bothersome is that the visuals used to refute the idea of traditional Muslim garb are overwhelmingly just substituting Western garb without saying so, meaning that looking Western gets put under erasure as "normal".
Good point. At the same time, the rhetoric of the clothing is intended to make the point that Muslims are "normal." Question: isn't that a point worth making?
Perhaps I'm being pedantic, but the "About" section really bothers me for reasons a lot of identity-based outrage does: because it tries to argue from the edge.
ReplyDeletePutting on a pageant of Muslims who aren't wearing traditional clothing doesn't "refute" the idea that there is traditional clothing does it? Any more than showing me pictures of penguins refutes the idea that a feathered flying creature is probably a bird. Or showing pictures of President Obama to refute the idea that there are racial disparities in the United States. It's an argument from the margins.
What is especially bothersome is that the visuals used to refute the idea of traditional Muslim garb are overwhelmingly just substituting Western garb without saying so, meaning that looking Western gets put under erasure as "normal".
Good point. At the same time, the rhetoric of the clothing is intended to make the point that Muslims are "normal." Question: isn't that a point worth making?
ReplyDelete