what do you think when you see a woman in a hijab?

[Anonymous]

Subj

[Anonymous]

I think she's probably Muslim?

[Anonymous]

Now during summer...I think, "Damn she must be burning up."

[Anonymous]

I remind myself (a white Jewish woman) to make eye contact and smile so she knows I'm friendly and not viewing her as a terrorist or something. I feel like Muslim women are viewed with a lot of suspicion and hostility, so I want to be clear it's not coming from me.

[Anonymous]

I wonder if she judges me for showing my hair, working and for being an American.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if she judges me for showing my hair, working and for being an American.

I actually think the same thing when I see Amish.

[Anonymous]

I think "she's probably Muslim." I don't think any inferences can be made beyond that, as I know that starting to wear hijab comes from lots of varying intentions; cultural, religious, style, etc. It's no big deal to me, and doesn't really draw any opinions from me one way or another, positive or negative.

Now if you were to ask "What do you think of a woman wearing niqab?" Well, that will prompt a very different response.

[Anonymous]

"Fucking misogynistic religion" (which I think about almost all religions).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now during summer...I think, "Damn she must be burning up."

Me too! And the long sleeves and long pants.

[Anonymous]

That she's Muslim.

[Anonymous]

"Woman in a hijab" sounds like she's trapped, or that she must not be in control of her clothing. How about a woman WEARING a hijab.

[Anonymous]

I think, "aren't we past this religion thing?!" Which is my exact same reaction to Orthodox Jews, Mennonites, Amish, and Coptic Christians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Woman in a hijab" sounds like she's trapped, or that she must not be in control of her clothing. How about a woman WEARING a hijab.

To most American women she is trapped!

[Anonymous]

For me, it depends on the style. If it's a modern scarf and a bit of hair peeks through, and if she hasn't covered all her clothing, I think she looks like a confident Muslim woman, and I don't think much of it, other than sometimes admire the scarf fabric, and smile.

If she's wearing a solid-colored (not especially pretty or hip) hijab that covers every bit of hair, and also covers her day clothes, I wonder if she's judging me for being an American woman. I also wonder if she feels like she's part of a misogynistic culture, or feels trapped, or feels like an outsider. I usually avoid eye contact, because I assume she does not want to be noticed and is trying to be invisible.

[Anonymous]

I think "crap, I'm running late to pick up DS. I don't think I'm going to have time to get milk - is there any way to push that back to tomorrow? The dry cleaning, I can do, because DS likes to ring the bell when we walk in. I hope DH has dinner started..."