Cross Cultural Representations of the Veil in France and the Maghreb

From Post-Cards to Stand-Up: Cross Cultural Representations of the Veil in France and the Maghreb DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Adrianne M. Barbo, M.A. Graduate Program in French and Italian The Ohio State University 2015 Dissertation Committee: Professor Danielle Marx-Scouras, Advisor Professor Jennifer Willging Professor Youssef Yacoubi Copyright by Adrianne M. Barbo 2015 Abstract Reductive ideas confining Muslim women to notions of the highly erotic, yet cloistered, have been perpetuated to the general public through the consumption of Orientalist material culture. Objects such as colonial post-cards and comic strips, and even music-cafés, have established harem images of Arab women as truth in Western cultural imaginary of the East. Today, a history of Orientalist stereotypes continues to shape many people’s ideas about Arab women. In recent months, Muslim women have become the most widespread target of hate crimes in France. Debates concerning the right to wear the Islamic headscarf in French public spaces, including those centered on the experiences of young, Muslim women, have proven to be circular and repetitive. Moreover, the motivating factors of most debates regarding the veil, such as legitimizing a certain conception of Frenchness, profit from a perpetuation of stereotypes that depict the veil as a form of female enslavement. Thus, Muslim women’s subjectivity is often superseded in conversations about the headscarf. This dissertation therefore examines how emergent and cross-cultural artists in France and the Maghreb may be able to represent the veil in a more nuanced fashion than traditional, political Manichean discourse. I consider how the double-cultural backgrounds and trajectories of a Moroccan-British photographer, a Cypriot-French rapper/writer, and a Tunisian-French comedian enable these artists to complicate both ii Muslim and non-Muslim behavioral scripts defining what it means to be an “authentic” Muslim woman as well as “authentically” French. I discuss how the work of these artists challenges spectators to expand and to question their conceptions of legitimate behaviors for a variety of things, such as Muslim women, Frenchness, and even rap and rock stars. Analyzing the implications of transcultural artistic creations, pro-active silence (silence as an act of resistance), and moments of (in)visibility (questioning markers of difference), I show how a group of artists has been successful in creating and governing narratives and discourse about veiled women. Using art as a medium of communication provides these artists a position of privilege, or enhanced opportunity for expression, with which to mock or to refuse to contribute to dominant, cultural discourse about Muslim women and the Islamic headscarf. Finally, I consider the extent to which the artistic genres in question are amenable to discussions about the veil. By re-appropriating artistic forms of expression, such as post-cards and photography, that were once responsible for the dissemination of Orientalist narratives of Muslim women, I show how artists are questioning and reclaiming modern narratives concerning Muslim women now circulating in mass culture. My examination of the reception of the artistic works studied is also revelatory of societal and political dilemmas linked to debates concerning French, national identity. Although these artists may not be able to solve identity problems for all French, veiled women, they have succeeded in offering an alternative perspective of the hijab that is slowly permeating hegemonic, cultural discourse. iii Acknowledgments Writing this dissertation has been a personal journey for a number of reasons. I would like to acknowledge and thank my advisor and committee members - Danielle Marx-Scouras, Jennifer Willging, Wynne Wong, and Youssef Yacoubi – for their encouragement, support, and belief in me. Part of this journey started with a dear friendship that has oriented the trajectory of my academic career; Asma, thank you for teaching me to see through your eyes. Professor Marx-Scouras, your passion for research and teaching has inspired me greatly. Thank you for your encouragement, even when I could not yet see what you saw. I would like to acknowledge the support and encouragement of my mother. Thank you for always giving so much of yourself to others. This has been a journey for us all. Finally, I would like to thank Morad. Your patience has kept me grounded. Thank you for listening and for your critical ear. I am truly indebted to our friendship. iv Vita June 2002…………………………………………………………...Westlake High School 2006...............................B.A. French and Comparative Studies, The Ohio State University 2008……………………………………………...M.A. French, The Ohio State University 2006 to 2014………Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of French and Italian, The Ohio State University 2008-2009…………………………………..French Teaching Assistant, Marseille, France 2010………………………………………………...Critical Language Scholarship, Egypt 2011-2012, 2013-2014……………………………………………………Peer Supervisor, Department of French and Italian, The Ohio State University 2012-2013………………………………..Fulbright English Teaching Assistant, Morocco Fields of Study Major Field: French and Italian v Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………... ii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………….iv Vita………………………………………………………………………………………...v List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………vii Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1 Chapter 1: The Islamic Veil and the West: A Short History of Representations of Muslim Women and the Problematics of Analysis…………………………………...16 Chapter 2: Reframing the Odalisque…………………………………………………….50 Chapter 3: Privileged Silence: A Former Rapper’s Art of Identity Negotiation……….108 Chapter 4: Stand-Up (Invisible): The Woman of Many Colors and a Reconsideration of What Is Discreet…………………………………………………...154 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...195 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………204 vi List of Figures Figure 1: Ilham .............................................................................................................. 52 Figure 2: Saida .............................................................................................................. 67 Figure 3: Alloula 43 ....................................................................................................... 76 Figure 4: Alloula 82 ....................................................................................................... 81 Figure 5: Alloula 81 ....................................................................................................... 86 Figure 6: Alloula 10 ....................................................................................................... 95 Figure 7: Khadija ........................................................................................................... 98 Figure 8: My Rock Stars Experimental Volume ........................................................... 102 Figure 9: Alloula 88 ..................................................................................................... 104 Figure 10: Femme de Couleurs .................................................................................... 156 vii Introduction In her article “The Discourse of the Veil,” Leila Ahmed argues that the colonial narrative of women and Islam has shaped conceptions of the veil in contemporary, political discourse in a number of Arab countries. Through her analysis, Ahmed demonstrates that oppositional responses to colonial and Orientalist narratives have risked reinforcing the very discourses that they seek to overcome and to deconstruct. Reviewing the Algerian resistance against French colonial powers in this particular case, Ahmed argues that the implementation of the veil as a tool of resistance was first dictated by actions of the French rather than the colonized: The veil came to symbolize in the resistance narrative…the dignity and validity of all native customs, and in particular those customs coming under fiercest colonial attack – the customs relating to women . the resistance narrative thus reversed – but thereby also accepted – the terms set in the first place by the colonizers. And therefore, ironically, it is Western discourse that in the first place determined the new meanings of the veil and gave rise to its emergence as a symbol of resistance. (49) As a result of French efforts to unveil Algerian women and to dismantle native, cultural traditions and values, the veil played a key role in the resistance movement and took on new, symbolic meanings. The strategic use of the veil in colonial Algeria was a resistance 1 tactic with the ultimate goal of attaining liberation from the French as well as the preservation of indigenous values. However, the new connotations of this piece of cloth were ultimately a consequence of the ideologies of exterior forces. The very implementation of the veil in the Algerian resistance against the French was an inherent acknowledgement of stereotypes concerning North African women in colonial and Orientalist discourse. As a result, former colonialist agendas and acts of indigenous resistance continue to govern contemporary conversations about the veil in the Middle East and the Maghreb. Haunted by violent, colonial pasts, topics such as women’s rights or political campaigns to modernize are now inextricably linked to the veil. The

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