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Saudi Arabia allows women to travel independently

I don't think Don Troooomp voiced any disrespect for the women who are forced to wear black blankets; rather he saved his distain for the regime that forces them to wear them.


Why call it a blanket?

It's insulting in the way that Johnson's letterbox comment was. It's clearly not a term women who choose to wear abayas or similar items of clothing would use. I have female Muslim colleagues and students who wear fashionable contemporary Islamic clothes . I would, rightly, be disciplined if I made such disparaging comments about their attire.

What virtue do you see in being so rude about what other people choose to wear?
 
Why call it a blanket?

It's insulting in the way that Johnson's letterbox comment was. It's clearly not a term women who choose to wear abayas or similar items of clothing would use. I have female Muslim colleagues and students who wear fashionable contemporary Islamic clothes . I would, rightly, be disciplined if I made such disparaging comments about their attire.

What virtue do you see in being so rude about what other people choose to wear?

Women in Saudi Arabia don't have any choice about their attire. Do you think they all enjoy wearing black, long, all-enveloping robes in 40 degree heat? I'm not disparaging the women, I'm disparaging the fucking disgusting society that forces such garments on people.
 
Women in Saudi Arabia don't have any choice about their attire. Do you think they all enjoy wearing black, long, all-enveloping robes in 40 degree heat? I'm not disparaging the women, I'm disparaging the fucking disgusting society that forces such garments on people.

Let's go back a little. Don Troooomp said patronisingly

I have absolutely no problem with a woman who wants to wear a black blanket


Which led to my comment.

No problem perhaps, but also clearly little respect, why assess people on who they are rather than on what they wear.

My focus was on his general comments on the choices some Muslim women make about clothing, not about the situation in Saudi Arabia.
 
It's not insulting the women who are forced to wear it. It's insulting the vile disgusting men who force it on women in Saudi Arabia.




I have absolutely no problem with a woman who wants to wear a black blanket

How is the above not an insulting comment on women's choice of clothing. It's talking about choices that women make not about things that are forced upon them.
 
How is the above not an insulting comment on women's choice of clothing. It's talking about choices that women make not about things that are forced upon them.

This thread is about Saudi Arabia.

In Saudi Arabia, women are forced to wear long black blankets and head coverings.

There is no choice.
 
This thread is about Saudi Arabia.

In Saudi Arabia, women are forced to wear long black blankets and head coverings.

There is no choice.

The thread is about Saudi Arabia. However, my comment was quite clearly about the misogynistic, patronising, Orientalist section of@Don Troooomp's post. It wasn't about Saudi Arabia, it was about Muslim women's clothing choice in general.

It really is very clear, so I don't really understand why you are trying to pick an argument about it.
 
The thread is about Saudi Arabia. However, my comment was quite clearly about the misogynistic, patronising, Orientalist section of@Don Troooomp's post. It wasn't about Saudi Arabia, it was about Muslim women's clothing choice in general.

It really is very clear, so I don't really understand why you are trying to pick an argument about it.

Not quite. Don Troooomp said, in response to a post about Saudi womens' rights continuing to be repressed:

"Sad, but hardly a shock. The whole thing is more than likely to be window dressing in the hope of putting off actually getting as far as the twentieth century as long as they can.
I have absolutely no problem with a woman who wants to wear a black blanket but I have absolutely no time for men that make them wear it against their will. As for the rest of their 'rights' - Do I really need to comment?"

So it's very clear that he was talking about women in Saudi Arabia.

I agree with him. Don't you?
 
Buying jeans with holes already in them is fucking stupid.

That's deliberately insulting to people idiotic enough to buy them. Describing something that looks like a black blanket as a black blanket is descriptive.

Get that into your thick skull.
 
Buying jeans with holes already in them is fucking stupid.

That's deliberately insulting to people idiotic enough to buy them. Describing something that looks like a black blanket as a black blanket is descriptive.

Get that into your thick skull.

The difference being that Jeans aren't a religious item of clothing and generally not deeply linked to someone's culture/upbringing.

Calling it a blanket undermines the people that wear it regardless of them being forced too or wearing it by choice. It feeds into people who abuse Muslim women by belittling what they are wearing and is in my opinion quite damaging.
 
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The difference being that Jeans aren't a religious item of clothing and generally not deeply linked to someone's culture/upbringing.

Blanket type dresses are NOT a religious item either. They are deeply linked to the MALE culture in Saudi (and some other places) but I wonder what would happen if Saudi men gave Saudi women a choice.
I suspect many, probably most, would stop wearing them pretty quickly.
The things are fine in a hot, 40 degree environment where sand storms are common, but sod all use anywhere else. However, if you were to use that old necessity and corrupt a holy book to suit your goal of absolute male dominance, you could falsely claim it's a religious thing.
Ignorance also works.

As for the upbringing bollocks - Yes, the things are pretty much part of a Saudi woman's upbringing because they're fixed into local laws and local male culture, so women have shit all choice. In countries where there are no such oppressive laws AND men don't force women to wear them, how many Muslim women choose them over other types of clothing?
Some will and do, and that's their choice, but most never buy one and have no interest in doing so.

The religious argument simply doesn't stand up to the slightest questioning, and the cultural one is down to being whipped if a woman doesn't wear the 'right' clothing.
 
Blanket type dresses are NOT a religious item either. They are deeply linked to the MALE culture in Saudi (and some other places) but I wonder what would happen if Saudi men gave Saudi women a choice.
I suspect many, probably most, would stop wearing them pretty quickly.
The things are fine in a hot, 40 degree environment where sand storms are common, but sod all use anywhere else. However, if you were to use that old necessity and corrupt a holy book to suit your goal of absolute male dominance, you could falsely claim it's a religious thing.
Ignorance also works.

As for the upbringing bollocks - Yes, the things are pretty much part of a Saudi woman's upbringing because they're fixed into local laws and local male culture, so women have shit all choice. In countries where there are no such oppressive laws AND men don't force women to wear them, how many Muslim women choose them over other types of clothing?
Some will and do, and that's their choice, but most never buy one and have no interest in doing so.

The religious argument simply doesn't stand up to the slightest questioning, and the cultural one is down to being whipped if a woman doesn't wear the 'right' clothing.

In what way do you think describing it as a blanket helps those that are forced to wear it? Do you think that it undermines the person who is wearing and feeds into the oppression they experience?
 
In what way do you think describing it as a blanket helps those that are forced to wear it? Do you think that it undermines the person who is wearing and feeds into the oppression they experience?
I think you're mistaken in assuming he's trying to help someone. I'm pretty sure he's simply displaying his abject loathing of their culture.
 
I think you're mistaken in assuming he's trying to help someone. I'm pretty sure he's simply displaying his abject loathing of their culture.

I have no means of helping anyone oppressed by anyone else but I can at least make it known I think the whole idea is objectionable.
 
When I read this thread title it always seems like women are some sort of subatomic particle or something. Then I think “independently of *what*?”.

Not relevant or interesting- just feels like funny phrasing.
 
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