Muslim Female Stereotypes

The problem is that Herrington fails to realize the headscarf that she thinks she needs “to identify with Muslims” cannot capture the entirety of an individual’s life experience with her faith. Not all Muslim women wear hijabs — for example, my

In today’s society, having the perfect body has been a growing issue for women for a very long time but now, more than ever, women are expected to be skinny but have curves “in all the right places”. This mentality can lead to self-esteem issues as women grow up, even if they are a healthy weight. When women are larger than the size of models that they see on billboards and magazine covers, they think they aren’t pretty enough or not thin enough and this can trigger eating disorders or mental illnesses. All of this is just because most women do not fit into society’s idea of “perfection”. Recently, clothing shops like Debenhams have been introducing “plus-size” mannequins (sizes 16-18) in their advertising campaigns as opposed to the usual

Western portrayals of Asian women in media have often been stereotypical, one-dimensional characters such as the submissive and docile Lotus Blossom, the strong and domineering, but deceitful Dragon Lady, or the Asian hooker who is used as nothing more than a mere prop for the male gaze (Kuo, Rachel). However, the Western audience has also been exposed to other portrayals of Asian women through another form of entertainment called anime. Anime, or Japanese animation, has many genres that are named according to the target audience it is made for. For shounen, meaning male adolescents, is largely about action-packed adventures and accomplishing a goal or defeating an enemy (Eisenbeis, Richard). The shounen genre, however, despite its target audience that is

Contrary to what the media and society may say, women in middle eastern society have a respectable status. “…Bob would eat with the men in the Sheiks mudhif or guest house and I would lunch in the harem, or women’s quarters (Fernea, 31).” Western thinking would automatically jump to the conclusion and assume that the women are not being respect by sitting away in a different room with only women, something, “sexist.” Unfortunately ignorance in this case is not bliss. The reason why women sit in a different room apart from the men during occasions is actually to respect the women. We all are human so our eyes may wander either intentionally or unintentionally, but it is very disrespectful if a man stares at someone else’s wife let alone a

As stereotypes or gendered identities are all around us in our life, we may not even realize we are stereotyping someone. Stereotypes can be positive, negative, or neutral. Stereotypes are based on gender, ethnicity, or occupation are common in many societies, especially in this one. One of the many stereotypes or gender identity’s that I grew up believing and the one I am going to focus on is that “all women are caregivers or mothers”. Growing up I was taught as a child to perceive women as someone in the family that regularly looks after a child or a sick, elderly, or disabled person. A caregiver or a mother is someone you can rely on for help, and someone who will be there for you through the good and the bad times in life. Women are professed as mothers probably for the simple fact that in a lot of cases, women are the ones holding these roles. Therefore, I always believed this as a child, I was surrounded by women who were caregivers or mothers. However, this is not always the case, as to why this is indeed a stereotype among women. Surely enough this is one gender identity that I have changed my mind about throughout the years. I once had stereotyped women for being caregivers or mothers but growing up and having this proven wrong to me repeatedly has made me change my mind.

This journal reflects on the changes and transition women have taken today. Before the 1960 women life’s had been difficult from the denied of basic right, discrimination in the workplace and a live trap in household duty and bondage. Their main responsibilities were the upliftment of the household, providing support for their children and their husband; who was also considered the main provider. Society and strong cultural believe determine the roles of women and the impact they have on our society “girls are to be girls” and “boys are to be boys”the stereotypes, gender, that firmly believe that certain work or privilege were considered masculine work or male job. This socialization includes all the processes of enculturation, communication and learning, through which the individual develops a social nature and is able to participate in social life. These processes operate continuously through life to shape and reshape attitudes, while others operate at specific stages of the life cycle.

In America, social acceptance is dependent on how well one is able to assimilate into the American culture; a Muslim woman’s attire is often scrutinized because it does not fit into the American concept of female dress. Female Muslim immigrants struggle with the decision to surrender their religious dress to assimilate and be accepted into the American culture. Clothing is one of the many issues that arise when Islam meets America, as one teenagers explains:

the hijab. Your fiancé may be of the kind who allies himself with the devil. But you must persist in the path of good, the straight path, and not be afraid of the devil. (Taraki, 1996)

Muslim women are continually marginalized by American society, due to their gender, religion, ethnicity and race. Between growing up in an Islamophobic country, being divided by race and religion, the social and cultural pressures of being a woman and the media/public labeling one as a terrorist, Muslim women face extremely challenging issues living in America. However, as a result of their unique intersectional axis, they fail to receive support from advocacy organizations. Thus, it is evident that the prevailing narrative concerning Muslim American women needs to change. The best approach would be an intersectional method, that addresses gender, religion, ethnicity and race. These steps should include increased funding and support for “outreach and support programs in schools, mosques and neighborhoods,” that seek to deepen the ties between Muslim American women and the broader communities at large

In society, there are some misconceptions about who Muslim women are and the identity they have. Through hasty generalizations, Muslim women are often depicted as being only Arab, figures of oppression, and being poles apart with everyone. Popular media fails to recognize the diversity in this group in terms of race, ethnicity, nationality, cultural norms, gender role, education attainment level, occupation and upbringing. I believe that the intersection of social inequalities in these identifying components has rendered Muslim women invisible in society.

There is also a great deal of conflict found in Americans’ misunderstanding and ignorance of issues regarding women’s rights and gender equality within the religion and practices of Islam. In the context of American society, the traditional wear of Muslim women is often misinterpreted and misunderstood. The hijab, which is used to veil the heads of Muslim women, rarely goes unnoticed in the eyes of most Americans. Non-Muslims frequently associate this piece of traditional Islamic attire with ideas of subordination and oppression, while disregarding the religious, cultural, and personal motivations that influence a woman’s decision to wear such an article of clothing. While many American women might view Islamic dress code as being confining and restrictive, many Muslim women feel that their clothing actually frees them from the negative attention that can stem from one’s physical attire and appearance. Wearing hijab liberates women from “the constricting mores governing appearance such as fashion trends and the societal expectations of how a woman should look.” The modest covering of the hair and body allows a woman to walk freely in public without being subjected to the suggestive glances and flirtations of men.

In the early 21st century, women’s activist groups have been becoming a more and more prominent sight in modern day society, but whilst nowadays, they are common sight, prior to the 20th century, it was impossible for women to vote or run for office in Canada, as well as many other countries (Stoddart, 2016). Knowing this, it raises the question, why were women fine with such standards for 1900 years? The answer to this question revolves around social conventions.

In the United State, what comes to our mind about the Middle East? Uneducated women? Terrorist? Stereotypes have led us to not think logically. For us, to think logically, we need to define what is accurate and inaccurate about the women being oppressed and terrorist.

Changes in the portrayal of women can be seen from the late Safavid period(Zaki, 1372,p10)

In well-known fairy tales the males and females characters are often portrayed in the same light. The male characters are often described as the hero with strong masculine traits while the female characters are portrayed as the damsel in distress. Throughout the years fairytales have been casting the same stereotypes for their characters. In the story Beauty and the Beast the author de beaumont depiction of what an ideal woman is lays in Beauty. She is meant to embody the role of a feminine, humble caretaker, lover, and savior. The author depicts males as provider’s, however, it is clear that the men in the story are dependent on a positive female figure for life. Beauty’s disappearance threatens both her father and beast with death, symbolizing