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Ban the yarmulke!
Apr. 15th, 2010 11:10 amI've signed up for both ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
kinked and 36_stratagems, as a way of getting back into fandoms that I've lurked in for years but never really participated in. I've had fic ideas lurking in the back of my mind for a long time, but never really did much with them except for wistfully wishing that I could do something with them.
Unemployment has been good for increasing my fandom interest, if nothing else. I've spent more time reading and watching things that I would have passed on previously, using the excuse that I didn't have much time. I envied people who could hold down a full-time job and stay still active in fandom as well as enjoy other hobbies. It was all I could do to hold down a full-time job and finish some knitting projects. Fandom was a luxury I didn't feel I could allow myself.
But having the majority of my days free has changed that. I've had the time to read through book series or watch the entirety of shows, so I'm not playing catch-up as much as I used to.
Changing the tone from light to serious, Quebec is trying to pass a bill to ban burqa and niqab. I am strongly against this bill, personally. There are some disadvantages to wearing niqab is Western society, but most of the women who wear them understand that sometimes they'll have to remove them (eg. for hospital visits, having ID taken, etc.), and deal with it accordingly, prefering to remove the veil in private if they have to. Banning them from wearing them if they want things like health care and legal justice just disgusts me.
Supporters of the bill say that the niqab is a symbol of "backwards oppression of women" and "anachronistic subjugation", and all sorts of other things that sound convincing if you ignore the fact that banning that style of garment is just as restrictive as forcing them to wear one in the first place. Some Christian and Judaic sects believe that women should be subservient to men and thus cover their hair and wear skirts. Shall we ban women from wearing skirts in public, and ban all head covers (including bandanas, baseball caps, and winter hats), in the name of freedom and equality for all?
Most Muslim women in the West wear the hijab, burqa, or niqab because they choose to. They wear it as a sign of respect to their husbands and to their religion. (See the title of this post for an example of why banning religious clothing is just rididulous.) One can say that these women have been brainwashed by the culture of origin, and to some extent that may be true, but one must therefor also look at how we've also been brainwashed by our own culture, to believe that women must conform to our standards or else not be considered women at all.
Denying choice does not promote freedom.
kinked and 36_stratagems, as a way of getting back into fandoms that I've lurked in for years but never really participated in. I've had fic ideas lurking in the back of my mind for a long time, but never really did much with them except for wistfully wishing that I could do something with them.Unemployment has been good for increasing my fandom interest, if nothing else. I've spent more time reading and watching things that I would have passed on previously, using the excuse that I didn't have much time. I envied people who could hold down a full-time job and stay still active in fandom as well as enjoy other hobbies. It was all I could do to hold down a full-time job and finish some knitting projects. Fandom was a luxury I didn't feel I could allow myself.
But having the majority of my days free has changed that. I've had the time to read through book series or watch the entirety of shows, so I'm not playing catch-up as much as I used to.
Changing the tone from light to serious, Quebec is trying to pass a bill to ban burqa and niqab. I am strongly against this bill, personally. There are some disadvantages to wearing niqab is Western society, but most of the women who wear them understand that sometimes they'll have to remove them (eg. for hospital visits, having ID taken, etc.), and deal with it accordingly, prefering to remove the veil in private if they have to. Banning them from wearing them if they want things like health care and legal justice just disgusts me.
Supporters of the bill say that the niqab is a symbol of "backwards oppression of women" and "anachronistic subjugation", and all sorts of other things that sound convincing if you ignore the fact that banning that style of garment is just as restrictive as forcing them to wear one in the first place. Some Christian and Judaic sects believe that women should be subservient to men and thus cover their hair and wear skirts. Shall we ban women from wearing skirts in public, and ban all head covers (including bandanas, baseball caps, and winter hats), in the name of freedom and equality for all?
Most Muslim women in the West wear the hijab, burqa, or niqab because they choose to. They wear it as a sign of respect to their husbands and to their religion. (See the title of this post for an example of why banning religious clothing is just rididulous.) One can say that these women have been brainwashed by the culture of origin, and to some extent that may be true, but one must therefor also look at how we've also been brainwashed by our own culture, to believe that women must conform to our standards or else not be considered women at all.
Denying choice does not promote freedom.
