by Naomi Blackman

Created on: January 14, 2009

In North American urban society, immediate judgments are constantly made based on appearance. The most recognized appearance discrimination usually involves perceived race, but what about discrimination based on clothing? "Clothing is probably the most silent of expressions used by human societies to demarcate social boundaries and to distinguish self' from other' at both the collective and individual levels" (Alvi, Hoodfa and McDonough 2003:3). Many forms of expression through clothing lead us to believe something about the individual; in California, if a young male is wearing board shorts, he might be a surfer; East coast Canadians in the winter can conjure up images of parkas, wooly scarves, or heavy winter boots; and the Speedo is more recognizably European than North American. However incorrect or stereotypical these associations may be, they exist in a very real way, sometimes as far more than a trivial association. In North America, the veil has become associated with Islam. Further, hijab[1] has become a symbol of Islamic oppression (Alvi et al. 2003:94). Through claiming development strategies of liberation, this discriminatory stereotype has hidden its negative impacts on Muslim women. Unfortunately, a fixated idea of hijab

as representing subjugation exists. There is little acknowledgement of the evolution of veiling, and even less acknowledgement of its various meanings to Muslim women. Although there is evidence showing Islamic male oppression of women, the western' opinion that the veil represents submissiveness is invalid and homogenizes the complexity of hijab.
North Americans who continue to perpetuate the idea that the veil signifies oppression are in turn hindering Muslim women in Canada, both in cultural acceptance and employment opportunity, by linking negative attributes to the veil.

The idea of covering oneself emerged pre-Islam, and has existed in many western' cultures as a sign of modesty. Hijab is not the first instance of practicing modesty. Several societies required or encouraged women of high status to dress modestly, which sometimes included covering their head and hair (Chamberlin 2006:18). In North America there remains differing forms of acceptable dress, sometimes dependent on fashion trends, but mostly dependent on modern western' definitions of modesty. Despite the current assumed connection of the veil with Islam, "[p]rior to the 19th century, the veil was never viewed as a symbol of Muslim culture" (Alvi et al. 2003:6).

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