Fatima Noor
Commodity Fetishism
Human Work and Worth
Dr. Bradley
Date: 11/7/2018
Commodity Fetishism: Hijab
Commodity fetishism is the habit of perceiving an object’s price as something natural to and fixed without that object, something that derives directly and vitally from that object’s core, rather than as the end result of a history of people and their labor. We as a society has transformed in an era where all we care about is how much a product is worth. Our capitalistic disposition is activated every time we see an object and how we can turn that into profit. We ignore the value of it and what it stands for. The commodity I will be writing about is ‘Hijab’. Hijab is referred to by various names, some of the most common names used in English are a veil or a headscarf. Most Muslims who wear the covering call it a Hijab, an Arabic word meaning “cover”. However, there are various forms of Hijab that are referred to by different names. While Hijab is commonly associated with women, Muslim men also sometimes wear a headpiece known as “topi”, usually when they go to the mosque to pray, covering as a means of showing modesty. Additionally, Christian and Jewish women in some traditions wear a headscarf as a cultural practice or commitment to modesty or piety. Even though hijab is associated with women historically, not all Muslim women choose to wear it. Some women believe that while the Hijab allowed women in the past to engage in public society without seeking attention, the headscarf in contemporary Western society brings more attention to women and is thus contradictory to its original purpose. For example, Hijab in one society such as a Pashtun society in Pakistan would be very normal and will not garner attention however that same hijab in St. Louis or in Carlinville will be a source of receiving attention and looks from people. There are also people who believe that the hijab and other external practices have become inappropriately central to the practice of Islam, and instead choose to focus on their internal and spiritual relationship with God. While some women might choose not to wear the hijab, most Muslim women agree that it is a woman’s choice whether or not she wears the hijab.
Hijab represents different purposes for Muslim women. It has a very dense history and even a denser present. Muslim religious writings are not entirely clear on the question of women veiling. Various statements in the Quran and the Hadith make reference to Mohammed’s wives veiling, but it is debatable whether these statements apply only to the Prophet’s wives or to all Muslim women. While the need for women to be modest is mentioned, the area women must cover depends on the source. There is not an actual statement on covering of the head or face, it has always been cultural and head covering predates Islam. This piece from Quran talks about covering but it does not specify where to cover.“Those who harass believing men and believing women undeservedly, bear (on themselves) a calumny and a grievous sin. O Prophet! Enjoin your wives, your daughters, and the wives of true believers that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): That is most convenient, that they may be distinguished and not be harassed (Qur’an 33:58–59)”.
Today this beautiful symbol for Muslim women has been commodified. As a Muslim woman, wearing a hijab is a sign of pride but Western world sees it as a symbol of oppression. This interpretation of hijab has brought a lot of attention to hijab and stereotypes that are associated with it. Because of the influence of the media, people tend to associate hijab with the various human rights violations and injustices that happen in Muslim majority countries. Let us disregard the political aspect of why everything is happening in Muslim majority country, for the sake of this argument. This association has led to a new image of hijab that is being presented on media, more specifically on social media – one that is more fashionable and deemed as “beautiful”. With the power of social media, there has been numerous hijabi fashion bloggers who have transformed the image of hijab from oppressive to inclusive and trendy. This has made young Muslim girls feel confident and less self conscious when wearing the hijab in a world where covering your hair is usually seen as unfashionable. However, somewhere along the line of transforming the hijab’s stereotype, it has now become somewhat of a commodity. Entire lines of fashion are being produced and women’s careers are jump starting simply because they have a massive social media following and are able to make the hijab look “trendy”. Although these blogs are promoted as empowering Muslim women to feel beautiful and modest, it can be argued that these bloggers have heavily benefited from their title as a “Hijabi beauty blogger.” Due to their social media presence, they were able to capitalize on the hijab and simply make a profit through their blogs and Instagram pages. The meaning of hijab has been lost in order to fit a standard of beauty and to be marketed in a way where people financially benefit. Due to the this profit-making image of hijab on social media, hijab is now seen as a form of making money. Creating a symbol of style out of the hijab and making it out to be something it never was, is not something Islam ever promoted. In Islam, outward appearances are of no matter. A Muslim should be well dressed and presentable, but there really should be no pressure to follow a standard of fashion and style.
When Gigi Hadid, an American model, posed for Vogue Arabia in the hijab, there was a lot of controversy surrounding her cover as people were upset that the hijab was appropriated as artwork rather than its actual symbolic meaning. Not only are models using hijab to get a new community of fans, clothing lines such as Nike and Louis Vuitton are coming up with a hijab line as well. Hijab, a symbol of modesty has been taken away and it now transformed into a commodity to earn money. Nikes hijab costs $35-$45 while Louis Vuitton’s can cost as much as thousands of dollars. Nike’s claim for making hijabs is to make sports more inclusive. In my opinion, Nike is appealing to a new society to be lucrative while ignoring the what the hijab represents. Capitalistic mentality sees massive dollar signs when selling Hijab as the Muslim women market is not limited to a certain ethnicity or region in the world as Islam is a religion which embraces all colors, races and origins. Here comes the making money off people and their accomplishments or their principles, how it occurs to these big business to drill into this community and consider it a viable untouched market. There are many examples of this, from western designed abayas to Muslims sponsoring cosmetics to sportswear to burkinis. These Muslim women claim to want to inspire younger muslim generation, to teach them they should break boundaries and a piece of clothing like hijab should not hold them back in their work. Women are constantly objectified and commodified. Hijab is under fierce attack of being reduced to mere fabric in western society. The author of the book, Glass, Paper, Bean says that one of the essentials to fethishism of commodity is that it diminishes objects’ singularity (Pg. 224). A product loses its uniqueness because now it is not seen what it stands for rather the dollar value is what matter. Hijab is very close to being there. If Louis Vuitton keep commodifying hijab in terms thousands of dollars, the uniqueness of hijab and what it stands for will abrase. The long history and Quranic verses dedicated to hijab’s meaning will fade.