The Desire to Be Unmarked: Distancing from the Essentialized Meanings of the Headscarf

Abstract

In the previous chapters, I delineated my concerns about the culturalization of the headscarf. Insofar as the headscarf is viewed as the mark of cultural difference, women with headscarves are expected to be resorting exclusively to “Islamic culture” in making their choices in life. Anything other than that gets to be labeled as incoherent and questioned for sincerity and authenticity. These concerns, which constitute one of the major themes of this book, have their sources in the narratives of research participants, which bring into light their desire to be “unmarked” and to have the chance to incorporate different sources of references in their identities, without being judged as “incoherent”