by
Lisa Jean Francois
A World Star Hip Hop parody Twitter account thought they were sending a positive message to their female readers by tweeting an image of Muslim women in Hijab stating, “Ladies, you don’t have to remove your clothes to be beautiful.” One Muslim fan, however, wasn’t here for it. Twitter user Yasmin Yonis posted a thoughtful response in a series of tweets.
“Don’t use our black Muslim bodies to shame our fellow black sisters. There’s nothing holy about that. We cover for God. Not men’s approval. ‘m tired of men trying to divide women into “good”/”bad” based off what we choose to wear. It’s not our clothes you don’t respect. It’s us.”
https://twitter.com/YasminYonis/status/668489368806555650
https://twitter.com/YasminYonis/status/668491554768728065
https://twitter.com/YasminYonis/status/668496010851844100
https://twitter.com/YasminYonis/status/668505263629082634
https://twitter.com/YasminYonis/status/668506501003272193
https://twitter.com/YasminYonis/status/668514855029207040
https://twitter.com/YasminYonis/status/668516457907691522
Beautifully stated.
What do you think of Yasmin’s response? Sound off below!
26 Responses
Maybe his tweet was a bit “clumsy”. But he was acknowledging both Muslim and non-Muslim women. We should be more supportive of each other in the Black communities. Acknowledge when someone means well and gently correct him when the compliment needs correction. By shutting him down so harshly we are not building tolerance, understanding and dialogue between Black men and Black women…
“Ladies, you don’t have to….” Fck off…
A true compliment would have just been to say, “These women are beautiful.” They are beautiful. But the poster used this “compliment” as an chance to tell other women what to do. And so, the compliment was a veiled attempt to shame other women (no pun intended). As another poster below said, “modesty” is a conflicting term. I grew up Pentecostal. Some dresses many people consider church-appropriate are not considered appropriate by the standards I grew up with. Even the women in this picture have makeup, which by some standards are never modest. And so, it comes down to respecting people’s right to dress as they please.
We live in pathetic and hypocritical society where be normal we should walk half naked to be consider normal!
People get upset because they can’t judge them how look they are! I am pround black Muslim woman and I only fund peace and modest what I am wearing! I don’t care what people dress because is not my business!
Also even though he didnt shame them. Alot women need to be shame. Do you see what women wear today compare to back then in 60s. Women can easily say out i can wear what i want etc. Thats an easy copbout. Are you really wearing what you want? Most women are not Wearing these clothes because they want to. Its because fashion industry picks what hot and use media to influence you what to wear. Thats why its billion dollar industry. How how many money major clothing company spend on advertising. You have illusion Of choice. When its not your choice at all. You go into a clothing store to shop clothes that are already chosen for you to select from. Its not like you making your own clothes etc.
No woman deserves to be shamed, actually. Please stop spreading your negativity.
I think sometimes we forget that we are born naked. You are talking about the 60s with the assumption that the past naturally holds with it moral superiority and wisdom. Well in the past people also were butt naked, save for a loin cloth or a large leaf. In the past, there was also unchecked and unquestioned amounts of misogyny and patriarchy around the woman and her freedom. In the past, women were seen as property of men. So, no, I don’t agree that the past innately was more just or moral than the present. Current movements around body shaming cut at the root of patriarchy and the notion that the male gaze, or any observer, can determine the worth of a women based on her sexual being and whether her sexual being serves men and patriarchal social norms. In that, the current movements argue that a woman’s natural form should not be used as a weapon against her to kill that woman’s humanity and thus justify violence against her. So, no, a woman visibly having breasts (as most women naturally do) should not be an excuse to justify violence against that woman. Butt naked or covered from head to toe, a woman deserves the same rights and dignities afforded to all other human beings.
F OFF!..
Lol I think clap back was too much. He wasn’t shaming no one. He simply said women don’t have to remove their clothes to beautiful. Which is a true statement. We live in over sexual size society where a lot women feel that way. She making something out of nothing.
F OFF NEGRO.
He didn’t have to say anything . but he chose to try to put certain women on a pedestal. Women in this picture are Muslim. As the woman who responded stated, they cover up for God, not to deter the male gaze. In other words , they wear what they wear for spiritual reasons, they could care less if men thinks its sexy or not, because its not about men at all. But once again men try to set women against women “See, look at how they’re dressed. They don’t have to uncover just get attention” and they weren’t doing it for attention at all. Unfortunately we do live in a society where women’s bodies are over sexualized. Where a woman can’t even feed her child from her breast without getting snide looks. All because we are taught that our bodies are simply sexual objects of desire and not our own, and that in order not to attract the wrong attention we have to covetr up, We have to hide our bodies like they are goods that can be stolen because we as a society can be bothered with teaching men how to control themselves. No sir we cannot and will not subject ourselves to this statute and I applaud this woman for standing up and saying something about it. This is the same thing that happened when Aiesha Curry thought to make an “innocent” comment about how “some women dress these days” that opened up the flood gates of slut shaming and misogynistic comments that ensued shortly after. After then she commented that did didn’t want her image to be use to shame other black women. Just as this image was used.
The “clap back” was 100% unnecessary. There was NO shaming done in original post. The original post wasn’t saying women who dress un-modestly AREN’T beautiful. The post was saying dressing un-modestly is UNNECCESARY for beauty. Which is 100% accurate. Maybe Yasmine felt ashamed after reading it for her OWN reasons.. not because original post gave her a reason to feel ashamed.
yeah, i thought the same…there was definitely a reach.
I think you missed the point of Yasmin’s response.
Actually Yasmin did understand the point and responded very correctly with an important opinion. She said the Muslim woman covers for “God” not Muslim or non-Muslim men. So that meme that was trying to shame the “uncovered” woman by using the bodies of “covered” women. The original posting is puting woman v. woman, but the real problem in a patriarchy is women v. men–violence against women, expecting women to compete for the male gaze, sexual exploitation and slavery of women by men. Yasmin declared that they cover for their own spiritual relationship with “god” and not to be sexy, beautiful, or “the good virgin woman” to the male gaze. And, as Yasmin puts, they certainly don’t cover to shame other women who don’t cover and make is woman v. Woman because in a patriarchy it is indeed woman. V. man.
When ever a man starts of something by saying, “Ladies, you don’t have to…”, don’t pay him no mind because he’s generalising and trying to offer his opinion that no one asked for. I’m so sick of Black men doing this! Stop telling us what we should or should not wear, say, or do! Police your own bodies and leave ours alone!!!!
My thoughts exactly!
I get what she is trying to say but I think she missed the point of the original post which is disappointing. She went off on a rant when there was no shaming involved at all. If anything, it was a positive post celebrating black beauty and she just went off on a rant – (maybe because she is a Muslim who isn’t wearing the full hijab she took it as some kind of personal attack? I don’t know)
The original comment wasn’t positive. Women don’t need a man to tell us what we should wear. Also, check out the website that the man runs and you will realize he is the last person that should be giving advice.
Nah im sorry but it would seem that you Sir (and yes we know your a guy posing as a female on a womens website) are wrong.
True…beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Let’s NOT compare…sure, a little covering up is good too. It doesn’t have to be ALL out there….
I agree with Yasmine, but there is nothing wrong with a little modesty.
There is something wrong when you try to tell other people what to wear.
The thing is, a lot of people have different ideas on what’s modest or not. What is considered modest to one person is going to be outrageously immodest to another person out there. You cannot try to please everyone by trying to fit their ideas of what is modest clothing… you have to dress for YOURSELF, and go by your own moral codes, etc. And if others think that you dress “slutty” even though you don’t think you’re slutty at all… then so what? That’s just their opinion, man.
Yeah, I don’t agree that a Muslim or Christian religion fundamentally based in patriarchy can ever support women’s freedom.
So sad but so true.