General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: What is your stance on burkinis or headscarves on French (or American) beaches (or streets)? [View all]lapislzi
(5,762 posts)I think it's a safe bet that some women choose religious attire all on their own, as a statement of their religious identity. That doesn't make the attire itself any less representative of the oppressive patriarchal culture that brought it about.
Let's spin the globe for a second and take a look at fundamentalist Mormons in polygamous communities. I'm sure many of the women will cheerfully agree that they "chose" their lifestyle (and bizarre modes of dress). That doesn't make them not brainwashed. In the US, they're free to dress how they like. It's not so clear-cut in France, which is a country with so much tied up in its own secular cultural identity, and what it means to be a "French" person in France.
I deliberately used an extreme example. If we are to wage constructive arguments against bad ideas, like religious extremism, we need to rally the support of moderates within the group. If we want the French to back off being the bathing suit police, we could and should expect that moderate Muslim clerics do their part to quell extremism and promote moderation. Right now, that's an unbalanced equation in France.