A Collective Response to “To Be Anti-Racist Is To Be Feminist: The Hoodie and the Hijab Are Not Equa
A Collective Response to “To Be Anti-Racist Is To Be Feminist: The Hoodie and the Hijab Are Not Equals”
By Concerned members of The Collective
Source: The Feminist WireThursday, April 19, 2012
http://www.zcommunications.org/a-collective-response-to-to-be-anti-racist-is-to-be-feminist-the-hoodie-and-the-hijab-are-not-equals-by-concerned-members-of-the-collective
The Feminist Wire supports our writers’ prerogative to take unpopular positions on important matters. However, from time to time, members of the Collective will not agree with an individual writer’s posture. The recent article, “To Be Anti-Racist Is To Be Feminist: The Hoodie and the Hijab Are Not Equals“ has sparked quite a bit of debate, most notably around issues such as race, gender, ethnicity, privilege, and religion. Because of this, The Feminist Wire has created space for a response to the author of the article.
~Concerned members of The Collective
In her article, Wilde-Blavatsky takes “issue with … the equating of the hoodie and the hijab as sources of ethnic identity.” Oblivious to the important cross-racial and cross-ethnic connections and solidarities made in light of the tragic murders of Trayvon Martin and Shaima Alawadi, the author contends that the hoodie and the hijab cannot be compared because “the history and origin of these two items of clothing and what they represent could not be more different.” For her, Trayvon Martin’s hoodie signifies a history of racism, whereas Shaima Alawadi’s hijab signifies only male domination and female oppression. Revealing her own biases, Wilde-Blavatsky writes, “The hijab, which is discriminatory and rooted in men’s desire to control women’s appearance and sexuality, is not a choice for the majority of women who wear it. The hoodie, on the other hand, is a choice for everyone who wears it” (emphasis in original).
We hope The Feminist Wire will take our concerns to heart and initiate an honest conversation about privilege, racism, and Islamophobia within feminist collectives and movements.
The original article here:
http://thefeministwire.com/2012/04/to-be-anti-racist-is-to-be-feminist-the-hoodie-and-the-hijab-are-not-equals/
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