“My Body is My Own Business” and “Chicken-Hips” discloses western cultures fallacies on what is beautiful. Naheed states that, “WOMEN are taught from early childhood that their worth is proportional to their attractiveness”. Catherine states, “I come from a culture in which it is almost unseemly for a woman to eat too heartily. It’s considered unattractive”. Both authors succeed in pointing out western cultures values on what is beautiful. Pigott’s write in a manner which is easier to digest for public reading. If it were to be placed in a national newspaper it would printed on liberal and conservative papers. You feel you’re discovering what she is has learnt through her experiences in Africa. She does this my making her ironic state (being overweight but still under sized) delightfully humorous. Naheed’s essay if you were to place hers in a national newspaper it would only be print in a liberal paper. Her tone would be considered too brash for other racial groups. It was written not for the average person to understand. Her essay is more of a statement of, “who I am and I don’t care what you think of me”.
She speaks in great detail how the hijab is a lightning rod for ridicule by others who are less enlighten. “I get the whole gamut of strange looks, stares, and covert glances”. However, it is her source of freedom to disengage from the physical values press upon women within western society. “My appearance is not subjected to public scrutiny, my beauty, or perhaps lack of it, has been removed from the realm of what can legitimately be discussed”. How I personally view this, she chose to carry a different cross of objectification for another. I see her hijab as a bunker from western values she bombarded with.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
In the other, Susan shares her perspective of all the struggles women go through to look skinny and beautiful like the media portrays them to be. This essay will show how Pigott proved her point and how Susan established hers and show a comparison of how both writers justified their thoughts in their essays. Catherine Pigott shares her personal story to help the readers understand her thought and…
- 571 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Anne Applebaum’s "Veiled Insult" first appeared in the Washington Post in 2006. In this essay, Applebaum aims to convince her readers that it is disrespectful for Muslim women to wear their headscarves or niqabs (full bodied cloak) in our western society, just as it is disrespectful for our women to go to their society uncloaked. In delivering her message she also brings to attention the political issue of whether or not it is religious discrimination to allow, or not allow muslim women to wear their cloaks, and in the end she gives us her opinion, “it isn’t religious discrimination or anti-Muslim bias to tell her that she must be polite to the natives, respect the local customs, try to speak some of the local patois -- and uncover her face.” Applebaum uses her personal experiences combined with her American worldview to convince her readers (the American public) that for Muslim women to wear their cloaks in American culture is disrespectful and insensitive. Although those techniques may have worked, her strongest argument is perhaps playing on the emotions of the still sensitive and emotionally scarred, post 9/11…
- 1006 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Naheed Mustafa, a young Muslim who began to wear the hijab once she blossomed out of her teenage years, finds it difficult to apprehend the fact as to why society views her differently compared to other girls her age. Due to the mere fact that she wears a hijab, she gets a “whole gamut of strange looks, stares, and covert glances.” Because she lives in Canada, which adapts the Western culture, wearing a hijab is not very common. Because of this Naheed and many others like her, are often viewed as outcasts and treated differently. This takes a huge toll on one’s identity which can be either negative or positive. However, Naheed abides by her choices and wishes to make a positive change out of it.…
- 337 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Acculturation is a process in which one transitions from one culture to another, adopting new cultural traits and social patterns. When people of third world countries migrate to North America, acculturation is almost necessary in order for survival and acceptance. The author of “Chicken-Hips”, Catherine Pigott, experienced acculturation first hand after visiting Africa. Catherine is used to a culture where having a slim body style is ideal. When Catherine arrived in Gambia, the other women thought her to be too frail, and thin, and as a result, nicknamed her “chicken-hips”. The women of Africa believe that being curvy and thick is more attractive. Catherine is also used to her own culture where it is considered unattractive for women to over eat. The African natives frowned upon Catherine’s lack of appetite, as she could not keep up with their meal portions. They eat an abundance of food because they do not know when they might run out of food to eat. One way, Catherine’s identity changed was her perception of beauty in Africa. She gained weight and felt “transformed”. Catherine adapted to their ideals of beauty and changed her appearance to what their society deemed acceptable. In conclusion, this essay by Catherine Pigott shows the desire for acceptability that everyone yearns. Catherine adapted to a new culture in order to be accepted and attractive and once she returned home she started the process of acculturation all over again in order for…
- 252 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
I would like to start of by thanking you for requesting that I analyze Susan Bordo's “Never Just Pictures” and recommend on whether it should or shouldn't be published in The Shorthorn. In short, Susan Bordo is an English professor of women studies who focuses on the media's negative portrayal of beauty through body image. Based on my analysis of this article, I recommend that you publish the article in The Shorthorn because I consider it to be interesting, controversial, and nuanced.…
- 777 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Mona Eltahawy in "My Unveiling Ceremony," believes wearing a hijab (headscarf and clothing that covers the whole body except for the hands and face) is a form of oppressive behavior expected of women, and illustrates in her essay her experience with her loss of identity, resulting in her choice to stop wearing her hijab as symbol of empowerment and freedom. The following three points supports why Muslim women should not wear a hijab.…
- 245 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
In the excerpt, “My Hips, My Caderas” by Alisa Valdes, gives distinctive examples of her life story to develop a meaning for how society perceives women. America strives to fit the perception of beauty because it is the single physical characteristic that makes us matter. Her anecdotes show us how the world shapes our thoughts to brainwash us. Alisa Valdes personal experiences are a service to provide a better explanation of how we perpetrate in order to be welcomed in society. “Beauty is in the eye of the culture.” This is an essential quote that summarizes the moral of Valdes story. Being a biracial woman, she received perspectives from two cultures about the way she looks. Valdes is white and Cuban. She is a girl with hips and curves. She is seen as voluptuous. White Americans and Cubans have different viewpoints on how women should look and what beauty is considered to be. Valdes body type isn’t accepted in by all of her family because of the type of the different type of society they live in. As a child it confused her as to what herself image should be.…
- 843 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
My favorite passage takes place after she gets in trouble for not wearing her scarf correctly. She states, "I want to argue. I feel like a child, defiant, but powerless. Burning with injustice, but also with a hint of shame. I do as I am told, feeling acutely conscious of the bare skin I am covering". I like this passage because you can really understand how she is feeling, and how difficult it is for her to adjust to two different life styles. Some of my friends from a Muslim country said “she should learn both culture in order to understand them. It is not hot to wear hijab when you are born and raised in Muslim society. It’s for to wear hijab because she didn’t practice her original culture. She was more western nice.”…
- 297 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
'All veiled Muslim women are oppressed ' is a well-known negative stereotype that is heard not only from the wide public, but also from the feminists, journalists and in the politician 's contemporary debates over immigrant integration and gender equity into the Western world (S.Bilge, 2010).…
- 610 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The monolithic construction of the “Third World Woman”, as proposed by Mohanty, is demonstrated in recent campaigns by right-wing nationalistic groups in Australia and around the world to ‘Ban the Burqa ’. This was a campaign proclaiming to protect and support and empower Islamic women. We argue that in Western discourse there indeed exists a disconnection between women as the subaltern ‘other’ women and their ‘real’ manifestation as the “material subjects of their collective histories” (Mohanty 1984, p. 334) because the ‘Ban the Burqa’ campaign lacks historical contextualisation and discursively paints all women who wear a full facial covering as oppressed without any consideration as to what the individual women themselves would prefer. Mohanty…
- 1925 Words
- 8 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The novel, ‘Does my head look big in this?,’ written by Randa Abdel-Fattah the main character had the challenging decision to wear the hijab which came with not only advantages, but disadvantages. Amal was concerned about her appearance and what others’ thoughts. Amal feared being judges by others and she also was concerned that she wouldn’t have the necessary courage to commit to wearing the hijab. Furthermore, she really did not want to have to justify her decision whenever she went out in public. Amal managed these challenges in a mature way by talking to others about her problems.…
- 456 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
In this contemporary age, there has been growing public concern about whether Muslim women should wear hijab in the Western world. Naheed Mustafa, who wrote "My Body is My Own Business", asserts that wearing the hijab offers her freedom. On the other hand, Catherine Meckes, the author of "Wearing a Uniform of Oppression", objects that wearing the hijab is like "[be] an animal in a cage "(Catherine Meckes 91). Personally, I am in favor of the former view. There are two reasons to support my opinion: earing the hijab represents Muslim women 's sense of identity and rights.…
- 824 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
1- I think the author's clearly reluctant; she announces that hijab is both a gift and a condemnation yet neglects to pick one over the other. The author numbers the benefits of hijab as she says that it veils suggestive flexibility, and it encourages climbing above basic sexual delights and going into a higher otherworldly state. Additionally the fundamental bad marks of hijab as she gives a sample of the strictness of the law masters and the resultant separation. However again she can't choose which exceeds the other. Also toward the end, she comes up to that acknowledgment and just recognizes that hijab ''gives with one hand, brings away with the other''…
- 445 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The essay Hunger focuses on the struggles women of all ages face when it comes to their body image. Media is constantly shoving pictures and…
- 317 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
In the article, “Chicken Hips,” the Canadian narrator, Catherine Pigott gives us the different cultural views between Canada and Africa; mainly the societies’ views regarding beauty and image. In the early 1980s Pigott goes to Gambia, Africa to experience a new culture. Pigott faced trouble when she first went to Gambia because she had many problems adjusting to a new society and new people. When looking around at everyone, she saw that everyone was “big.” Men and women had thick legs and big bellies. The women in the house where Pigott was staying, thought that she was ill because she was too skinny. Her hips stuck out to where you could see her hip bone, so the women called her “Chicken Hips.” Every day the women tried to “fatten” her up because in Gambia people think bigger is better. Gambia’s people think large breast, round bellies, wide hips, and thick legs are beautiful. The bigger a person is, the more beautiful they are. In Canada, skinnier is better; skinny is beautiful. Over Pigott’s years in Gambia, she had grown into their culture and had gotten bigger. Pigott felt liberated experiencing a new culture, but when she returns home she feels that people are talking and making comments about her weight, and judging her body’s every moment. She didn’t like the way she look. She wanted to change herself, so she would be accepted by others. Each culture has their own views, and every individual in each culture has their own opinion and…
- 257 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays