Depicting the Veil : Transnational Sexism and the War on Terror

This powerful book exposes how gendered Orientalism is wielded to justify Western imperialism. Over the last ten years, Western governments and mainstream media have utilized concepts of white masculine supremacy and feminine helplessness, juxtaposed with Orientalist images depicting women of color as mysterious, sinister and dangerous to support war. Oscillating between "Mrs. Anthrax," female suicide bombers and tragic, helpless victims, representations of "brown women" have spawned both rescue narratives and terrorist alerts. Examining media and pop culture from Sex and the City 2 to Vanity Fair and Time Magazine, Robin Riley uses transnational feminist analysis to reveal how this kind of transnational sexism towards Muslim women in general and Afghan and Iraqi women in particular has led to a new form of gender imperialism. About the author 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 7 Introduction 10 The study 13 Propaganda 16 Learning war 18 Reading the news 21 Transnational sexism 22 Depicting the veil 24 1 Rescuing Afghan women 26 Thank you for the rescue 27 Victims or villains? 30 Burqa, hijab, chador, niqab: veiling Orientalism 33 Orientalizing Afghan masculinity 41 ‘Strange sex’ and ‘dancing boys’ 43 Elections, immolation, safe(r) spaces 46 2 ‘Real housewives’: married to the enemy 52 Married to bin Laden 53 Another kind of rescue tale 59 All in the family 61 Dr Germ and Mrs Anthrax 69 More dangerous women: suicide bombers 75 ‘Survival sex’ 80 Enjoy your freedom. Goodbye 83 3 ‘Where are the women?’ Muslim women’s visibility and invisibility 85 Bibi Aisha, Bibi Ayesha, Aesha Mohammadzai, or the Afghan girl without a nose 87 Visibility = liberation? 97 Aafia Siddiqui 100 Transnational visibility 114 Here’s the dilemma 119 4 We are all soldiers now: deploying Western women 121 Female engagement teams 131 This is what ‘liberation’ looks like 136 The enemy is us 141 Doing the empire’s work on page and screen 144 No sex in the desert 147 Another blond hero 149 5 This is what liberation looks like 152 Leaving Afghanistan and Iraq 153 Question to Western media: Are we at war? 154 Hugh Hefner as liberator 156 Where do we go from here? 157 Notes 160 Bibliography 166 Index 185 About Zed Books 193 This Text Exposes How Gendered Orientalism Is Wielded To Justify Western Imperialism. Over The Last Ten Years, Western Governments And Mainstream Media Have Utilized Concepts Of White Masculine Supremacy And Feminine Helplessness, Juxtaposed With Orientalist Images Depicting Women Of Colour As Mysterious, Sinister, And Dangerous To Support War. Oscillating Between 'mrs. Anthrax', Female Suicide Bombers And Tragic, Helpless Victims, Representations Of 'brown Women' Have Spawned Both Rescue Narratives And Terrorist Alerts. Rescuing Afghan Women -- 'real Housewives': Married To The Enemy -- 'where Are The Women?' Muslim Women's Visibility And Invisibility -- We Are All Soldiers Now: Deploying Western Women -- This Is What Liberation Looks Like. Robin Lee Riley. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 157-175) And Index. Describes how gendered Orientalism is wielded to justify Western imperialism. Over the last ten years, Western governments and mainstream media have utilized concepts of white masculine supremacy and feminine helplessness, juxtaposed with Orientalist images depicting women of colour as mysterious, sinister, and dangerous to support war. Oscillating between 'Mrs. Anthrax', female suicide bombers and tragic, helpless victims, representations of 'brown women' have spawned both rescue narratives and terrorist alerts. Over the last ten years, Western governments and mainstream media have used concepts of white masculine supremacy and feminine helplessness, juxtaposed depictions of women of color as mysterious, sinister and dangerous, to support war. Oscillating between suicide bomber and helpless victim, representations of 'brown women' have spawned both rescue narratives and terrorist alerts. Robin Riley reveals how this kind of transnational sexism has led to a new form of gender imperialism