Television commercials and print ads have fascinated me for some time as these messages are not there to entertain or teach, but to manipulate the people into mass consumerism. As someone who is being schooled to analyze all messages critically, I find myself hyper-aware of the messages we receive through advertisements. In order to be successful, however, the messages must resonate with the masses, reflecting what they feel, desire, and crave, bringing them into the message, as if they themselves were driving the car or eating the burger.
I realize there is a definite lack of Muslim women in advertisements in the West. Heck, there is a definite lack of Muslims in general. As the oh-so-funny Iranian-American comedian Maz Jobrani says: “You’ll never see me saying ‘Come fly the friendly skies’.”
However, there is one venue for commercials with Muslims in them – the ethnic slots on local channels. In Canada, very often on the weekends, one can catch a variety of ethnic programs, including ones for Muslim audiences, whether those be of a religious nature or a cultural one. I remember one particular commercial which erked me long before I was conscious of the messages these images send. This particular commercial was one for halal meat products. It depicted a very happy Muslim family, at home, having a halal meal consisting mainly of products from the company for who the commercial was made. This seems fairly benign. A Muslim family, eating and enjoying each others company in the comfort and privacy of their own homes. However, one unusual thing jumped out at me about this family. Something didn’t fit. It was the hijab on the mother’s head! I couldn’t understand why she was wearing a hijab. I mean, she was at home with her husband and children. Only her husband and children. If one believes that the hijab is obligatory one surely knows it is not needed in the presence of one’s husband and children! Why was she wearing the hijab???
The message to me was clear – a Muslim woman must cover her head even if she is playing a mother in her home alone with her children and husband. This to me was similar to the criticisms I heard of the Little Mosque on the Prairie husband and wife characters Yaser and Sarah when they were portrayed showing affection toward one another in public. “How dare she touch her husband’s ass in public? If Muslims are being depicted on television, they damn well better be behaving like ‘good,’ ‘pure,’ and ‘proper’ Muslims.” A bit preachy if you ask me – and not to mention unrealistic!
In my opinion, depicting Muslims engaging in lusty or affectionate behaviour, or depicting Muslim women, heads uncovered, in the privacy of their homes, aides in the process of ‘normalizing’ us. After all, is this not how we behave? Do Muslim couples not show affection toward each other in public? Can our heads not be left uncovered in our homes even?* Or must we portray this façade of ‘virginal purity’ and display our modesty (or at least one version of it) at all times? Muslim women do show their hair with reckless abandon. Even those who wear the hijab have their hijab-less moments in the privacy of their homes. Why must we shove morality, or at least one particular version of it, in everyone’s faces?
*To clarify, I am of the belief that our heads can be left uncovered anywhere, anytime.
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“In my opinion, depicting Muslims engaging in lusty or affectionate behaviour, or depicting Muslim women, heads uncovered, in the privacy of their homes, aides in the process of ‘normalizing’ us.”
I absolutely agree.
i think it was merely because they wanted to drive the point really home that it was a Muslim family.
it might interest u to know that on egyptian tv, on the rare occasions when they depict a veiled woman, she is veiled within her home. this is usually because the actress herself is veiled and did not want to reveal her hair to viewers and stuff. maybe it was that. knowing canada, it probably IS a muslim family they co-opted, not actors.
I wonder if the actresses are hejabis and feel that appearing on the TV without their hijab would be indecent?
I’m not Muslim so I can’t really comment on the hijab but I know that if I was on a reality show about my life that I wouldn’t wander around my house naked, even though I normally do since I live with only my partner.
Salaam Alaikum,
Further to the previous comments, as a hijab wearer, I think it’s great to show women on tv wearing hijab. What a better way to show that Muslim women are normal too, even if the setting is slightly unrealistic, I think the benefits of showing that hijab wearers do everyday things is tremendous.
I’d rather Muslim women were portrayed wearing their hijab in the house then seeing us portrayed in the usual roles of terrorists or battered spouses.
P.S The only time I’ve seen someone who was obviously Muslim in a mainstream ad here, was for a funiture store and it wasn’t a Muslimah, but an Asian brother with a big hanafi beard, masha Allah!
Without the hijab, would the viewers had known it was a Muslim family with the add aimed at Muslims?
Probably not
I can see what you are saying – if the actors wear hijab in reality then perhaps they did not want to appear without it. That is a valid point but to me it still doesn’t change the message I received. Perhaps they should have chosen a Muslim woman who did not wear the hijab. Why choose a hijabed woman if she did not want to be depicted without it. I am sure there are many non-hijabi Muslim women willing to fulfill the role.
In the end the message is still the same to me.
IOW, we won’t be seen as normal if we’re shown with hijab or *not* pinching our husband’s rear ends in public? r
Or, conversely, actresses who wear hijab shouldn’t have the right to be in these commercials b/c they portray “us” as abnormal somehow.
So once again, hijabis to the back of the bus. We’re holdin’ ya’ll back.
To Safiya:
I can understand what you are saying but at the same time those commercials were aimed at Muslims, who already know hijab wearing women are ‘normal.’ Therefore, the commercials were not necessarily trying to normalize Muslims in the eyes of non-Muslims. This was an ad made by Muslims for Muslims, and personally I’m tired of Muslims sending out the message that Muslim women must wear the hijab.
To myhijab:
Yes they would have. The commercial was for halal food. Halal food is associated with Muslims.
To umm zaid:
I think you misunderstood my post. You may need to re-read it. What I was saying was that the images being shown were unrealistic in all senses. Usually, hijabi women do not wear the hijab when they are alone with their children and husbands. This is an abnormal and unrealistic picture.
As far as LMOTP is concerned – the reaction was unrealistic. Muslims showing affection is normal. There is no reason to oppose it being shown on tv. I did not anywhere say that they need to show affection in that way to be seen as normal. I am not sure how you read that into my post.
Salaam, UmmZaid. I don’t think Duniya’s assertion is that hejabis hold anybody back, and I find that idea personally offensive. She was asserting the idea that hejab isn’t mandatory in one’s own home with one’s family, and so the commercial is portraying Muslim women incorrectly.
Many non-Muslims have lots of biased ideas about hejab, like ideas that we sleep in them, shower in them, they’re glued to our heads, etc…really stupid ideas. This commercial may reinforce that idea, despite the fact that it’s targeted to a specific audience.
Don’t get me started on commercials! I read an article once that commented on the lack of real people on television. It stated that on American television there are only really African American and White people. I suppose it’s gotten “better” in a sense, but commercials are pretty far behind. If you think of it, why do all cleaning products/household items feature women using them? Especially with the amount of men who stay at home now, or do they think men who live alone don’t use their products?
Actually I saw a similar commercial to the Hijabi one. There was a Sikh man in his bathtub with his dastar on. Which I can’t imagine being anywhere near reality. Even though it was directed at the greater Toronto East Indian community.
I can see the point of view that if the actress choose to wear a veil in her own life, and thought that she didn’t want to be seen unveiled on national television. But I do think that the commercial should have gone out of its way to make the family featured break the mold. Really all commercials should.
God…you have to watch this video about veils.
“http://youtube.com/watch?v=H1ZLXbKeL2U&feature=related”
I quote the video:”If you’re walking around in public with your face covered up dressed like a giant pepperpot, then I think you’ve got something wrong with you…this is a social issue. This is a controlling device which has been imposed by men…it’s a willful refusal to assimilate”
Ugh…
Duniya – For most hijab wearing women, it is an religious obligation to wear it. I’m sorry if you’re tired of Muslims sending out this message, but it is a valid point of view and a widespread one.
I would feel umcomfortable with a women taking off her hijab being shown on tv. That’s one kind of normalisation I don’t wish to see and I’m sure some other hijab wearers may feel the same.
People are also naked within their homes, go to the toilet and so on and we don’t see that because it’s not decent.
Why must we portray ourselves as a fairytale?
It’s simple. Women in tv ads wear hijab in the home – because they’re on tv. Women not on tv will take off their hijab in similar situations.
People get twisted ideas because they don’t know the truth, so lets’s tell them the truth.
P.S I recently saw a halal baby food commerical featuring Muslim women of all ethnicities, styles of dress and some with hijab, some without.
I thought that was a good compromise.
Safiya:
Thank you for pointing out the new commercial. It’s good to have a mix of people in them.
I know the “hijab as obligation” viewpoint is widespread and that is unfortunate for those of us Muslim women who do not wear the hijab because we truly believe it is not an obligation. This message works well to isolate us. It is from this viewpoint, of feeling ostracized by my fellow Muslims, that I write.
I can understand that for you, as a hijabi women (I am assuming) you would feel comfortable with the images I criticized. But for those of like-mind with me such images only further stigmatize and ostracize us.
Perhaps there need to be other commercials, like the one you mentioned, which show different types of Muslim women so that we can all feel a part of the Muslim community.
Jessica:
Thanks for sharing your grievances. It’s amazing how powerful these seemingly minor images can be, isn’t it?
To Safiya again:
The images on TV are supposed to be portrayals of reality – not reality itself. Therefore, if they wanted to portray a realistic Muslim home they should have gotten a Muslim woman who did not wear the hijab. Therefore, she wold be fine showing her hair on TV.
“People are also naked within their homes, go to the toilet and so on and we don’t see that because it’s not decent.
Why must we portray ourselves as a fairytale?
It’s simple. Women in tv ads wear hijab in the home – because they’re on tv. Women not on tv will take off their hijab in similar situations.”
I think that’s exactly the point. We don’t see people naked in their homes etc… even though we know it happens
a woman in her home is probably not dressed nearly as nicely with perfect makeup like a woman pretending to be a woman in her home in a commercial
[...] most of the message, the message is still a conservative one.” Sobia from Muslimah Media Watch points out that even within this conservative rubric, we see “…husband and wife characters Yaser and Sarah [...]