Cover up

President Sarkozy of France has been on my mind today, along with the politics of showing yourself in public. I realized this week that I'm still conscious of the amount of skin I display at any given time, even here in the Bay Area where pretty much anything goes. It makes me wonder if I've lost (or just misplaced temporarily) my chill West Coast attitude toward dress as I hitch up low-cut tops, change out of perfectly reasonable outfits and keep my knees covered, even at yoga. Sometimes I catch myself strategically placing my book over a v-neck while in conversation with the bank teller or grocery store checker and force myself to lower my Californian arms and proudly expose a small wedge of my upper chest to the world. In my culture, it is OK to show a little skin.

Which brings me to President Sarkozy, who made world news today by banging a metaphorical shoe (perhaps an alluring stiletto?) on the table of cultural uppitiness and declaring burqas "unwelcome" in France. Burqas, as you all know, are full-coverage, sheet-like robes a small percentage of Muslim women wear. Often blue or black, they look much like last-minute Halloween ghost costumes: shapeless and billowy with a mesh eye hole. They are intended to disguise a woman's shape and skin from the eyes of male strangers. Sarkozy didn't ban them, but took a break from the strain of governing long enough to lambast them, and their wearers, calling burqas "a symbol of servitude and humiliation" and "a problem of liberty and dignity for women." (This according to The Irish Times, which was the first newspaper to pop up on Google.)

Now Sarkozy, being French, would no doubt like all women to run around in Chanel couture or Riveria bikinis. The man is on his third wife, and second former fashion model, this one 12 years his junior. These relevant details aside, imagine what it would be like for a woman who has worn a burqa all her life to be "liberated" by the likes of Sarkozy? I, a native Californian with no history of modesty, have become conscious of my dress after a year in a fairly liberal Muslim state. My choice to be respectful of the cultural practices of the UAE while a guest in the country has changed what I choose to wear in public, at least for now. Imagine how a woman who covers all of her body all of the time would feel? Even if she welcomes the change (some women would, some wouldn't), it is quite a step from a roomy bedsheet to a v-neck and skinny jeans.

Given the cultural context in which a burqa is worn (and only a few hundred women in France do, according to the same article), publically denouncing it is more than French snobbery. It's xenophobia, straight up. And lest you think I have lost all my feminist verve, many women choose to veil or wear abeyyas or a burqa. And many women are forced to by male relatives protecting cultural values that are foreign and distasteful to me, Sarkozy and probably most of you. Of course, I don't want women to hide behind a mesh peephole when they could be showing their lovely selves to the world, speaking for themselves, choosing their own life paths. But Sarkozy's comments are no more than polarizing bluster in a society where it is almost impossible to tell who wears what by choice and who is forced to. And--more likely--who is caught in that huge gray area called "cultural expectations," otherwise known as what people expect to see when they look at you, before you even open your mouth.

The politics of fashion are rarely analyzed, but Sarkozy has gone there, so let's go with him. My culture tells me what to wear, too. Does it force me at gunpoint? No. Does it force me under pain of ostracization? Of course. That's what cultural expectations about clothing do--and if Sarkozy wants to tackle those huge bugaboos, he'd have my vote. But, that's not what he's about, as we all know. He might not even know that he himself, along with you and I and (I would argue) many burqa girls are caught up in that choice/no choice every morning when we walk to the closet. We, too, follow rules of propriety and certain imposed standards. Here in the 'non-oppressive' world, our dads and brothers don't protect our sartorial honor, we do it ourselves, with the help of magazines, TV shows, the "right" stores, and the newest colors and styles. If it's uncomfortable or weird looking (like ties or panty hoes--and don't get me started on those pointy-toed shoes), we do it anyway. We spend money and time, feed multiple industries to meet those expectations, and we certainly notice (perhaps with less vehemence than the French government) when people don't fall into line. We can catagorize them in any number of ways, including 'poor' or 'clueless' or 'alternative.' But it would be recognized as discrimination without a doubt if we called the media and ranted about how "unwelcome" torn clothes or embroidered peasant blouses are. A burqa labels someone as a conservative Muslim. People who wear burqas know this, especially if they are wearing them in France. They are making a statement, much like I would if I walked around in a leisure suit or a t-shirt that said "Those pointy-toed shoes...WTF!" Far from being oppressed, these women and/or their male relatives are sending a very conscious message of who they are. The thing is Mr. Sarkozy doesn't like the statement they are making. He sees it as menacing, even scary. It is too foreign, too different. (This cartoon makes my point so much better...)

The thing is, it's not if you take a deep breath and think about it. When you are in an environment where the cultural expectations are different, you change. It might take awhile to adjust (or readjust) because when you do one thing the same way for a long time, it becomes part of who you are. I would argue that wearing a burqa in France is no more menacing than me replacing a tank top with a t-shirt. Again, only a few hundred women in France even wear a burqa (and the number would probably drop faster if the government would shut up about it). Many have already adapted to their host country's norms. Trying to change few who remain will just make them hold on all the more. They are probably wearing Chanel under those billowy tents anyway. Or maybe even a Riveria bikini. Sarkozy will never know...