A Different kind of modesty

I recently explored the Shepherd's Bush area in London, England. What I found was that the area was mostly occupied by Arabic and Islamic people, with a secondary occupation of Africans. This was very easily noticed, since they dress in a very identifiable ways and have distinct skin tones. I explored three areas with a partner (Matt), the market, the tube station and a bar.
The first area that was explored was the marketplace, here there were mostly Middle Easterners. The reason why it seems like they live here can be attributed to some philosophies of Georg Simmel (Wilson 138). Simmel philosophises that people use fashion as a way to associate themselves with groups and to find other people to connect with. This large gathering of Arabic and Islamic people occurred because as many of them left their homes in the Middle East and travelled to Britain, they felt uncomfortable being surrounded by and possibly even accosted by the native British population, who dress very differently and celebrate a different religion. So the Middle Easterners began to stick together, recognizing each other by their skin tone and dress.

In many Middle Eastern religions, covering your skin is a way to keep yourself modest and pure. A hijab, which I saw many women wearing in the market, is a "principle of modesty and includes behaviour as well as dress for both males and females"(1).

The purpose is similar to why people of Western cultures wear clothes, to not be naked. The only difference is that in their religion, showing your forearms can be just as showing as a low cut shirt on a woman.
Also in most Middle Eastern religions, women are seen as less than the men. I experienced this first hand when I went into a small bakery with Matt. He ordered first while I got the exact money out of my handbag. As he left, I looked at the woman who served him, expecting that since I was next in line, I would be helped next. However, she would not make eye contact with me. I was not immodestly dressed, I was wearing a Columbia jacket over a tank top, skinny jeans and sneakers. My chest was exposed, but not in any way that showed cleavage. I stood at the counter for almost 10 minutes, looking at the two other workers as well, attempting to patiently get their attention, money in hand, to no avail. I turned around and started towards the table Matt had picked, and noticed that not only were we the only white people in the café, but I was the only woman on this side of the counter. I sat quietly at the table and Matt looked to me as I explained how I could not seem to get the workers' attentions. He said that he wanted another piece of cake anyway and would go purchase mine as well. As soon as he reached the counter, the lady I had waited patiently for almost 10 minutes for assistance from, immediately handled his order and gave him our cakes.

We ate, talking a little about how wonderful the food was, and what we needed to look for as we explored the market. Once we were leaving, I was finally able to make my first eye contact with the man behind the counter. I gave a simple "Thank you," I know serving someone like me who so clearly does not follow his religion may have made him uncomfortable, and that we were taking seats from his busy shop for a short while. He smiled and I went on with my day.
Some people would be very offended by my treatment in the café, but I understand that I do disobey the rules that they follow to the letter, and I may have made them uncomfortable. I am glad that they allowed us to stay and eat, and that courtesy was enough for me.
This religion is very focused on what a person needs to do in order to go to heaven, pray, eat specific foods, wear certain clothes, and as long as the people who follow this ideal are comfortable and happy, I am completely fine with letting them follow their rules. The only reason I can find to be upset is if I was unaccompanied and was completely refused service of any kind.
Another way that you can clearly see the difference in standing is by the way that they dress, women must be completely covered, only allowing their eyes, hands and feet to show, but men are only required to dress covering their private parts and wearing a turban to cover their hair. Since they do not tempt each other away from their holy path, they do not need to stay covered, but since women tempt men with their beautiful skin and bodies, they must stay completely covered and work to not make a man lose sight of their religious observances (2). Karl Marx (Wilson 52-54) describes fashion as unimportant and wasteful, but this proves to be untrue in the way of religion. If someone truly believes in symbols like God(s) and Heaven, and is willing to follow the steps necessary to reach them, their dress is exremely important and will bring them to peace.

The second area that was explored was the tube station. Here the population seemed to be mainly of African descent. As we tried to approach them and ask them about their clothes, they brushed us aside. All of the people we met on the street were busy, going some where to do something, anything that made them in a rush enough to not have five minutes for us. There was one group, luckily, that we managed to speak to. There was a band playing Caribbean steel drums right outside the station that was just starting a short break as we were passing. They were willing to talk to us, but didn't want their pictures taken up close. We mainly talked to one of them who seemed most excited to talk about his roots and what his necklace meant.

Matt was the one who he talked to mostly, Matt was  much more engaging in conversation and attracted the attention of the speaker, while I mostly stood back and listened. The man went on to talk about how in his homeland, the way he sounds is very distinctive to his village and seemed almost disappointed that we couldn't hear the difference in accent between him and one of his friends. He also talked in depth about his necklace, which had a beautiful metal cross on it and plenty of decorative beads. He was much more relaxed than the Middle Easterners, he spoke of God and how we were free to wear what we like and the main point of his message seemed to be just enjoy life. This was a very refreshing start before diving into the extreme sexism of the Islamic culture. I felt very comfortable in this area of Shepherd's Bush, like I would have been able to hold myself on my own. While the steel drum players were very casually dressed, many of the other people were dressed more in business casual or business attire. When Matt and I approached them, they darted straight past us. Up until recently I had assumed it was because they were busy people, but after seeing the way that my classmates were able to get at least one or two people to pose for them, it may have been because we were white. One of our tour guides explained to us that there used to be extreme race riots all over this country, and the emotional residue might still be hanging in the air, unnoticed by us foreigners. Looking back on this, I realize I should have been a little more uncomfortable with the fact that they would not even make eye contact with me as I approached them and even addressed them.

The last place we went to was a bar at the other end of the market. Now, going through the market was tough, everything is pretty run down and have seen better days, but the bar was a whole new level. This market is deep in lower class and almost slummy territory. I saw the patched windows and the stains on the outside and didn't even feel it necessary to go in, but Matt wanted to get this bar under his belt. So he dragged me inside and even though it was only about six, the people who were there were pushing their limits. This place wasn't exactly a place to have fun, it was a place to drink your worries away. The only place the patrons would really see was the bottom of their glass, and when it was clear, they just asked for a full one. At this point, I was really ready to leave, but Matt insisted on sitting down at least, to try the food and really get a feel for the place. As our server came over, I felt the intense need to tip big, his droopy eyes and sighing voice made me feel as if I had worked for 48 hours nonstop. I wanted to go, and finally Matt did too. We left quietly and boarded the tube back silently, absorbed in our thoughts about that depressing experience.

The people who were in this bar were dressed in plain blue collar or in their traditional religious dress, some sticking more to their rules than others. Some shirts were dirty at the wrists if they were wearing button downs, some you could see lines where their shirts had been tucked in. These people were a little ragged, not just in appearance, but emotionally as well it seemed. I felt very shocked and sad and just wanted to leave.

All in all, this trip was very different from anything I had experienced before. I was exposed to recial/gender discrimination, I'm still not sure if it was because I was female, or a mix of because I was female and white. I was shown a little bit of the raw emotional side of poverty and came to understand a little more about the Islamic religions. I discovered that there is a lot of meaning behind the veils that the women wear and even though it is different from my beliefs, I can respect that and understand it's importance. I hope in the future I can contiue to be as attentive to other's religions and understanding of their needs as believers.

Citations:
Wilson, Elizabeth. Adorned in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity. Updated ed. Berkeley: U of California, 1987. Print.

1) "Hijab." BBC News. BBC, 9 Mar. 2009. Web. 29 May 2015. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/hijab_1.shtml>.
2) "Islam." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 30 May 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam>.