Secularism, women’s rights, and
more….all in a day’s work.
Journal Share
Share with your classmates what you wrote in
response to the articles. Which article stood out
to you the most? Why? Did you agree or
disagree with the articles?
How would you feel in their shoes?
Analysis
What does secularism mean as it relates to
government, law and policy toward members of
minority and majority faiths?
Should secularism mean exclusion of religious
expression from public life, or should it mean
non-interference by the government in religious
affairs of citizens?
Analysis
How does this make you feel about the ideas
and issues of personal expression and matters
of conscience such as religiously motivated
clothing, and to the role of the state regulating
matters of religion, conformity, and conscience?
What other religious groups in the US are
affected by such concepts and policies? (Think
about the “What Would You Do?” episode
involving turbans, or about Jains on Facebook)
What about you?
What if you were told no one could show a sign
of their religion- for example, Christians could no
longer wear any cross or religious symbol. What
would you do? What would the majority of
people do?
Why is this any different?
What about the Hijab?
Women’s Rights
The following comes from the article “Defining
Women’s Oppression: The Burka vs. The Bikini”
by Lisa Wade, PhD.
Prior to the reading, what are your assumptions
or preconceived ideas about this article?
Defining Women’s Oppression:
The Burka vs. The Bikini
Many believe that the U.S. is at the pinnacle of
social and political evolution. One of the
consequences of this belief is the tendency to
define whatever holds in the U.S. as ideal and,
insofar as other countries deviate from that, define
them as problematic. For example, many believe
that women in the U.S. are the most liberated in the
world. Insofar as women in other societies live
differently, they are assumed to be oppressed.
Defining Women’s Oppression:
The Burka vs. The Bikini
Of course, women are oppressed elsewhere, but it
is a mistake to assume that “they” are oppressed
and “we” are liberated. This false binary makes
invisible ways in which women elsewhere are not
100% subordinated and women here also suffer
from gendered oppression.
Defining Women’s Oppression:
The Burka vs. The Bikini
I offer these thoughts are a preface to a postcard
from PostSecret. The person who sent in the
postcard suggests that she’s not sure which is
worse: the rigid and extreme standard of beauty in
the U.S. and the way that women’s bodies are
exposed to scrutiny or the idea of living underneath
a burka that disallows certain freedoms, but frees
you from evaluative eyes and the consequences of
their negative appraisals.
What do you think?
The Bikini or the
Burka?