So much subtext

[pecunium]

Muslim Bikini Uproar

The woman who wrote this was abused, in public, because of what she chooses to wear when swimming.

Lots of people will address the "modesty" issue.

Some will say it's her choice what to wear.

Some will say she is making a tempest in a teapot.

Some will say she ought to bow to the public pressure (which means swimming topless in Cannes, perhaps nude in Sweden, and not at all in other places).

What I see is the sort of terrorism Orcinus has been addressing for years.

These were the passages which struck me.

Nobody saw how ridiculous the article itself was. Nobody except for one man. His nickname on the online board was Mr Town, but I would probably have nicknamed him Mr Angel. He posted a comment explaining, "I saw this woman swimming at DL and it was not dangerous or offensive. She wore a full-length suit, like the Aquablade they wear in the Olympics with a tabard type thing over it with a short hem bit that went into a skirt . . . This man obviously has some other motive."

The fact that only one person responded in such a way was more traumatic than the public humiliation Caldwell had subjected me to on the morning of March 4...

The online debate has created in me a sense of fear, and as a result I have not been back to the gym in the past month, even after assurances from the general manager at David Lloyd's Oxford branch that his management team would do their best to ensure I had safe access. The general manager agreed with me that things had spiralled out of proportion, and after I showed him my swimsuit, not only stated that it met swimsuit standards, but that it was now being offered for purchase at all David Lloyd's clubs throughout the UK. But Caldwell's actions had the desired effect: I stayed at home.

That is the effect of not standing up to racists, bigots, misogists, "x"ists. We will never now how many people agree with the Caldwells of Oxford, what we do know is only one person seems to have been willing to stand up to him (the article's description of the event is appalling, with the writer being, not dimissed, but ignored; apparently not relevant to the situation), which gives the appearance that his views are in the majority.

It's as true about things like this, as it was with AIDS.

Silence = Death.

Comments

[fjm.livejournal.com]

did you see the letters page?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,,2063919,00.html

Letter

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

This one takes the cake... how do such people keep the cognitive dissonance from causing their heads to explode?

I'll tell you why you shouldn't go swimming like this in Britain; it's because women in this country are equal to men and are not obliged to cover themselves up when swimming - or indeed at any other time - because some men somewhere have decided that's how it has to be. Women in Britain fought for and died for the right to be equal. In this country we are able to dress, or undress, exactly as we see fit. If that's not your choice, poor you. But don't be surprised when people mock you and pass comment on your totally inappropriate clothing for swimming.

Linda Allan
Bath

[sunfell.livejournal.com]

I would love to know where to get such a swimming costume.

Seriously. I can't go out in the sun for any length of time without dousing myself in sunscreen because of my albinism. If I had such an outfit, I could swim in outdoor pools, lakes, and the ocean without using so much sunscreen.

And if anyone gets onto me about my clothing choices, I'll verbally shred them.

[sunfell.livejournal.com]

Looks like someone else made the same observation:

I was really disappointed to hear of Manal Omar's experience in Oxford. And I'm glad she is furious. But on a more frivolous note, I shared the link to the swimsuit-maker among my friends and those of us with red and blonde hair, and the skin to match, all decided that we rather liked the swimsuit. To be able to swim without burning! As we all become more conscious of skin cancer I suspect there will be a growing demand for the burkini or something similar among women of other faiths and none.
Farah Mendlesohn

[fjm.livejournal.com]

I've posted some links at fjm

[fjm.livejournal.com]

'twas me [blush]. Note subtle icon, dish of ginger.

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

Prima Moda has a couple of suits, including the "muslim" one.

TK

[fjm.livejournal.com]

See also:
http://www.primomoda.com/
https://splas004.secure.omnis.com/store/index.php

[texaslawchick.livejournal.com]

One thing I came away from the article feeling was a sense of national pride that she never felt like this in the US. I'm 99.9 percent sure that if she were to use my pool, there would be no comment from anyone. Maybe she'd get some stares while people tried to figure out what she was wearing, maybe people would talk about her ensemble behind her back, but no one would object. Granted, my pool is a university pool, for a university with a very diverse student population (may of whom wear a hajib or other head covering), but I don't think my pool is that different than a public pool here.

But hell, she was in Oxford. I've lived there, admittedly more on the gown side than on the town side. It's a bit rough around the edges, true, but I'm in Texas. We're not exactly renowned for our inclusiveness. (Though we should get more credit than we do.)

[sunfell.livejournal.com]

I like to think that I would have been a redhead had my melanin been normal. Everyone else in the family is some shade of red-blonde.

[honormac.livejournal.com]

::smiles:: That may well cross the line from 'subtle' to 'sublime'.

Well done, indeed.

Re: Letter

[honormac.livejournal.com]

Wow... "Now that you have freedom of choice, how dare you not make the same choices as everyone else!?!"

I'd like to think, at least, that the very germ of the thought she had was correct and valid... It' makes me very sad that she chooses to wear this... It brings to surface my full and heartfelt disgust with religion in general.

But, even though that's true, I sure with I'd been there when the original jerk started making noises at the pool. I wonder how differently her story would read if there were a paragraph about the other woman who took it upon herself to verbally shred the racist prick?

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

Racism/nationalism is more open in the UK, I feel, than in the USA. Things that I would be shocked to hear in the USA (or at least in NYC, I'm in the midwest now) were said casually. About race, religion, gender. At least in the USA people had the sense to realize they were out of line and whisper or something. But I would see on TV people doing awful stereotypes of how Asians speak and the like, and I didn't live there all that long ago.

[ourika.livejournal.com]

The article included a link to a site you can buy them!

http://www.primomoda.com/

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

Yes, Oxford has /R/e/d/n/e/c/k/s/ people like that guy, too. *sigh*

I happen to think that wearing a swimming costume like that is silly -- though not as silly (and embarrassing to me) as wearing the extremely scanty outfits popular with so many people in the U.S. -- but I completely fail to understand people who do not accept it as a valid personal choice, and who obviously feel that they have some kind of right to Do Something About It.

Such people are, certainly, not as bad as the sociopathic guy who took 33 lives at VT recently, but they're more common, and down towards that end of the human spectrum.

[commodorified.livejournal.com]

There's a link in the original article; they do mail-order. :)

[hoosier-red.livejournal.com]

*pinches bridge of nose, sighs*

Personal choice includes wearing a burkini if that's what makes someone comfortable (hell, I wear shorts and a t-shirt at the beach because I burn to a crisp otherwise). Muslim lifeguards wear them in the US without catching a moment's flack -- I'm more than a little astounded that she ran into such problems in Oxford, of all places.

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Hee. I am a redhead and my usual swimgear of choice is a surfer's rash guard with elbow-length sleeves (much like the ones found here: http://www.sharksuit.com/development/adults.htm) and men's swim trunks that end just above my knees. I've also thought occasionally that it would be great to have something like one of the Speedo Fastskins, but those are very spendy.

[fjm.livejournal.com]

I like those but would not look good in them. They fit tight and I have a big bust. I liked the burkini precisel because of the loose fit.

I really do think the swimwear manufacturers don't quite realise how many of us would quite like a bit more cover. Modesty is not just a religious thing, it's an "I'm 40, do I *really* have to continue with this display and it's accompanying anxiety" for the next twenty years?

[martyn44.livejournal.com]

It's her choice what she wears, not his. It really is that simple.

Is there something difficult about that I've missed?

Maybe they don't teach Voltaire any more.

[doryllis.livejournal.com]

Apparently the idjut believes it is only her choice if it agrees with his.

[martyn44.livejournal.com]

Well, he's wrong, isn't he. And so is anyone else who thinks it is any of their God damned (advised choice of words) business.

[doryllis.livejournal.com]

Totally, freedom is only freedom if you can be different without being made a pariah.

[ataniell93.livejournal.com]

Do a google on "modest swimwear" and you'll find all sorts of options. My swimsuit is shorts that cover my knees with a tunic that covers my elbows and knees.