AAAAAAMEN!

My friend Xadi sent this article to me, and there's a picture I don't want to throw out there for all my readers on it, so I'm not going to post the link, but it is probably my favorite thing I've read on veils in a long long time:

In a society surrounded by Western images of the sexualized female, the veil allows for a post-modern alternative, a post-face society.

If we are truly to believe that the veil symbolizes submission to men, what are we to believe Western clothing symbolizes?
My claim is that contrary to Western conceptions of “third world women,” the veil is a motif of liberation for some, a barrier between the female and exploitation. Away from the pressure of the media's ideals of perfection, the veiled woman overcomes her own body, can create her own ideals of beauty, and is respected as more than a physical entity. This is not to say that the veiled woman has a suppressed sexuality, but that this sexuality is funneled towards her marriage – in the home.
Is it so hard to believe that Muslim women consider dressing scantily in public a repressive choice, and covering up a liberating experience? “If you've got it, flaunt it.” WHAT DOES THIS EVEN MEAN?
-Sylvia Lucas, “ Unveiling of the Veil.”

My favorite part of this article is how it talks about sexuality not being suppressed, but being funneled towards marriage. What is unsaid, is that marriage is the proper context for sexuality to be expressed. And not just for women, for men too. The commentary offered in this piece goes so far beyond the veil into the realms of how overt sex and sensuality have become mainstream in our culture.

For Muslim women, modesty is expressed in veiling. In the US, it's expressed by not wearing tight, low-cut, short clothing and by keeping your shirt on (men. well, maybe it is necessary to include women in this one). For people who reject standards of modesty, they both carry the connotation of "suppressing sexuality". But what this article is on to, is that it is actually liberating. Sexuality in marriage is awesome; it's supposed to be private - between a husband and wife. But it gets tarnished when dragged out into the open, which is exactly what mainstream popular culture has done.

I love this times a million. A blog post will never capture my true excitement. Thanks again, suma xarit.