My Day Wearing the Hijab: Guest Post from Laura

The following post originally appeared on Laughin Lalo.

As a devout, practicing Mormon the idea of wearing a hijab is somewhat strange. I originally heard of the idea on FMH ( a Mormon feminist group on facebook) and I instantly was hooked on the idea.

Muslim women challenged non-muslim women to try wearing a hijab for one day and then talk about our experience. My thoughts were "are we allowed" and "what will people think" many of you know me quite well and I hate to admit it, but I really do care what other people think of me! But I signed up and took pictures and really lived the day and was much more observant of those around me. It took a lot of courage for me to do this, I was scared, excited, and a little apprehensive of the reaction in my mostly mormon community here in Utah.

First what is a hijab?! It's the scarf muslim women wear for modesty, there are literally hundreds of styles and fabrics to wear. They are absolutely GORGEOUS!

Muslim women aren't forced to wear the hijab, it's a choice they make for Allah (God) to be modest for him. In some ways it's very similar to the garments we mormons wear for modesty and a reminder of our love for God.

I looked up tons of videos on how to tie a hijab, and what to wear. I didn't have a bonnet so I fashioned one out of black fabric, and then tied my hijab!

I was very modest,  I made sure to wear a long sleeve black lose shirt with jeans.

Then I took off to school!

The day was interesting, I got a lot of stares from men mostly in trucks or passing in traffic. When I arrived at school I took a very awkward elevator ride with a gentleman who literally stared at me the whole time. More like in awe that he is actually seeing a muslim woman (but he wasn't haha) I went to class and some people were a little startled (my class is of 250 people so I definitely could blend) but people sat next to me and didn't shy away. After class I walked down the hallway to the elevator and some people walked away from me and some walked too close almost brushing me while there was tons of room on either side (I assume they were proving to me they weren't scared or whatever). People in shops were wonderful, they were nice and I didn't feel discriminated.

I felt completely empowered by my appearance, I felt feminine and beautiful completely covered up and I felt like I was respecting myself. It was a really beautiful experience and I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and participated. I understand so much more about the muslim religion and the women who wear the hijab.

As a woman who wears modest clothing in general (for my religion) I don't think I'll ever second guess my modesty again because of the beauty I felt with in myself that day. I won't feel like I have to spill out of my blouse in order to get attention from anyone including my husband.

As for my husband Andrew, he was all for it! He loved that I was getting out of my comfort zone and educating myself. I appreciate his support, I'm a lucky gal!

Laura is a student, artist and blogger who lives in Utah with her husband and their two cats. She is studying photography, and in her spare time likes to garden, watch British shows, and seek out new tasty restaurants. To read more of her work (art, photography, and writing), check out her blog, Laughin Lalo.

Call for Reviews for Bitch Flicks

From our friends at Bitch Flicks:

February 1st marked the start of Black History Month. So for this month's theme week, we thought it was the perfect time to highlight all women of color in film and television.

Here at Bitch Flicks, we often discuss the lack of female filmmakers and the need for women-centric films. We need more women directors, writers and protagonists. But we desperately need more women of color in front of and behind the camera. When studies on women in media are conducted, the numbers typically don't take into account the number of women of color. Out of the top 250 grossing films, women as a whole only comprise 9% of directors and 15% of writers and 33% of speaking roles. On TV in 2011, 15% of writers were women, women directed only 11% of TV episodes whilewomen of color only directed 1% (yep, you read that right...1%). Abysmal.

Sadly, film and TV often relegates women of color to racist and sexist tropes. Black women often appear on-screen as maids, hyper-sexual or the "sassy" sidekick. Latina women also appear as maids and with "fiery" tempers. It's time to end these stereotypes. While women filmmakers don’t merely depict female protagonists, when more women are behind the camera, we tend to see more women in front of the camera. When we have more women of color as writers, directors and producers, we'll also see more diverse representations of women of color on-screen.

When people talk about the need for more women in media, they often mean white women. When we talk about the need for more women on-screen and more women-created media, we shouldn't be satisfied with white female leads and white female directors. We must see women of all races, created by women of all races.

So we want to focus on celebrating as well as critiquing the role of women of color in film and TV. Here are some suggested films and television series -- but feel free to suggest your own!

The Color Purple 
Dreamgirls
Scandal
Middle of Nowhere 
Frida 
Pariah
What's Love Got to Do with It? 
The Cosby Show
Precious
Lady Sings the Blues
Daughters of the Dust
Selena 
Night Catches Us
Grey's Anatomy
Real Women Have Curves 
Eve's Bayou
Mi Vida Loca
Do the Right Thing 
Columbiana 
Diary of a Mad Black Woman 
Bend It Like Beckham 
Good Times
Crash
Sparkle 
Watermelon Woman
American Family
A Different World 
I Like It Like That 
The Help 
For Colored Girls 
Jumping the Broom 
Soul Food 
Maria Full of Grace
Girlfriends
Half and Half
Love and Basketball
Brown Sugar 
Ugly Betty
The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl 
The Wire 

As a reminder, these are a few basic guidelines for guest writers on our site:

--We like most of our pieces to be 1,000 - 2,000 words, preferably with some images and links.

--Please send your piece in the text of an email, including links to all images, no later than Friday, February, 22nd.

--Include a 2-3 sentence bio for placement at the end of your piece.

Email us at btchflcks(at)gmail(dot)com if you'd like to contribute a review. We accept original pieces or cross-posts. We look forward to reading your submissions!