The article basically discussed just that. An Islamic man wearing a turban to the Afghan president's compound, was asked to take it off because of security issues. Turbans are being used to hide bombs during terrorist attacks. Therefore, many are associating turbans to terrorism even in the country of Afghanistan. This was disgraceful to not only the man, but also his culture.
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A forum for Blog Community #1 of CSCL 1001 (Introduction to Cultural Studies: Rhetoric, Power, Desire; University of Minnesota, Fall 2011) -- and interested guests.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
What do these images say to us?
As I was searching for images of raced, classed, and gendered bodies, I came across an article in the New York Times about the use of turbans in Afghanistan. As a middle class white person who has lived in the United States for her whole life I am forced to take a position that makes me seem very racist. I look at this and the first thing that I think of is terrorists. I am classifying this body based on race, it has become a raced body...it's not a white person. The skin is light, but to me this person doesn't look like the average white person that I see on a daily basis. The first thing the distinguishes this body is obviously the turban. This is associated with the Islamic faith, very prominent in the middle east. Turbans are worn by Muslims because they believe that Muhammad their main prophet wore one. The facial hair is also a unique quality found in these pictures. It is another part of the Islamic faith. Another thing that leads me to associate these bodies with that of a terrorists is the way that the pictures are taken. They all resemble mug shots. None of them are really smiling and they are all just head shots. When I see a person with all of these characteristics I am quickly reminded of the pictures that I saw on the news around the time of the 9/11 attacks.
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I thought this was an interesting post because it makes me think about the things that we decide to wear and not to wear that will subconsciously associate us with a particular race, culture, sexual orientation, or meaning. Our cultural position is connected with certain clothes, personality traits, and traditions. Also from this example, I realized how important faith is to some people. These four men are willing to wear a turban on their head which simply identifies with their faith—even if that means that they will also be looked at as terrorists. In other instances people wear crosses or the Star of David to identify with their religions or faith. Sometimes what we want to portray and what is portrayed by others are not always synced. Sometimes we wear a piece of clothing or piece of jewelry with no intention of identifying ourselves with a culture group. Sometimes we create an advertisement or take a picture with no intentions of portraying a race in a derogative way. Sometimes what we write and what is read becomes very different. All of these situations are created because of our cultural position.
ReplyDeleteSo, would you rather be known for what you want to portray or what others see you portrayed as?