Rowena

[ExponentialDecay]

rowena is a fictitious character and as such lacks the ability to choose her dress

slutty is a derogatory term used to police the way women dress

telling someone to stay "in the middle east" as a way to insinuate conservative aesthetics is, in fact, racist

[Eagleheart]

rowena is a fictitious character and as such lacks the ability to choose her dress

slutty is a derogatory term used to police the way women dress

telling someone to stay "in the middle east" as a way to insinuate conservative aesthetics is, in fact, racist

Because burqas are endemic to America, Europe, Japan, and Russia.

*nods sagely*

Gonna toss in on the outrage train and object to "conservative" being used in place of "modest".

Also, re: Rowena - bow-chicka-wow-wow. Ain't nothin' quite so foxy as a take-charge businesswoman.

That is all o.0

[Amenian]

telling someone to stay "in the middle east" as a way to insinuate conservative aesthetics is, in fact, racist

Oh spare me your false outrage. I spoke of a geographic region where the GOVERNMENTS have decided that showing skin is a crime that is punishable in some cases all the way up to death. That's not racist. I said nothing of race anywhere. I said nothing of any type of people. I said something about a geographic area where a certain standard of dress is endemic to that area as opposed to almost any other area of the world. It's not racist, it's fact. I am so sick of you people screaming racist as a way to silence opposing thoughts because of the highly negative stigma associated with that accusation. Ironically (if I'm using that correctly) enough, it is the very use of that accusation for that reason that is watering it down to the point where it carries about as much of a negative stigma as calling someone a poopyhead.

[TouchandFeel]

I spoke of a geographic region where the GOVERNMENTS have decided that showing skin is a crime that is punishable in some cases all the way up to death. That's not racist. I said nothing of race anywhere. I said nothing of any type of people. I said something about a geographic area where a certain standard of dress is endemic to that area as opposed to almost any other area of the world.

I was born and grew up in the Middle East and that statement is not really true.

There are a number of Middle Eastern countries where that is not the case, such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Dubai and Baharain to name some. While in some countries certain ways of dressing may be considered inappropriate in many settings, often times it is not against the law.

Also, enforced ways of dress for women, and men, is not isolated to the Middle East. You can find it amongst many cultural groups in many different countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, many ex-Soviet Union countries, many countries in Africa, and even amongst certain groups withing the US, just head down to Williamsburg in Brooklyn and see what the predominantly Hestetic Jewish community is wearing.

Point being, making blanket statements about any group of people, whether you define them by race, religion or geographic region, is something that should be avoided as it often leads to misinformation and stereotyping.

P.S. I am not defending all Middle Eastern countries or groups as I will be the first to admit that there are definitely people and places there that are utterly bassackwards, but then again that rings true for a lot of the world.

[Amenian]

snip

I'm not claiming what I said wasn't stereotyping. It absolutely was, you're right. My point could have been made without that tidbit and I probably should have left it off. However, saying something is endemic to an area does not mean that it is the case always in that area, nor does it mean that it doesn't exist in other areas. Regardless of whether everyone there oppresses women and their dress or not, you are more likely to find it on a grander scale in that area of the world than in others.

However, it was not racist which is what I was being accused of and what I'm defending

[PrimeEvilPanda]

I was born and grew up in the Middle East and that statement is not really true.

Apologies for going off-topic, but what I read from his post was how people convolute race and culture to mean one thing/define one type of people. It's to say all Mexicans are Catholic (not true) and all Middle Eastern people are Muslims (not true, there are Christians as well). That was his point. People clump religion, culture, race, nationality, etc. to mean ONE THING - which it isn't and shouldn't be classified to that degree as such.

Anyways...carry on...