For Computers and Writing (C&C and Enculturation Journals)

Rethinking Muslim Women Through Visual Arguments

Two of the articles I read made me think about a commercial I recently viewed on a blog. The first article is about image events. According to the article: "Image events are a subcategory of visual arguments. More specifically, John Delicath and Kevin Deluca have defined image events as "staged acts of protest designed for media dissemination" (315) that offer a powerful way to appeal to audiences. That is, image events provide "fragments of arguments" that break away from established order, in opposition to common or conventional logic. They foster public discussion by offering fresh, new ways to look at issues at hand by supplying new claims and refutations that fuel debates in the public sphere" (Yanoshevsky 1). While probably more suited for political posters than a lingerie commercial, the article made me think about how the commercial is still very much a visual argument. It is designed in a creative way to make people rethink what they think about Muslim women. The idea that Muslim women are oppressed, docile, boring, and in need of democratic rescue is being directly confronted by the sexy images of the woman in the commercial.

The second article was about using Arab Spring in a first year composition classroom. I think it probably stood out to me as it is a social justice project. The articles defines Arab Spring as "a new kind of revolution—what Wael Gohnim calls, “Revolution 2.0”—where conventional forms of civil disobedience are transformed by the capabilities of new media technology. Its participants are Millennials who use technology to both innovate and compose as a means to demand change from their governments" (Lutz 1). It made me think about the different ways that media, social media in particular, can be used to bring about change. I've read about political bloggers and Writers Without Borders that have been targeted for doing something similar to Arab Spring. It made me think about the commercial because of the "hijab bans", murders of Muslim women like Shaima Alawari, and the belief that Muslim women who cover are being oppressed. While the commercial is not a direct confrontation to the governments that are supposed to oppress Muslim through forced covering (or uncovering for that matter), it does seek to change the way that Muslim women are viewed which may influence the governments that are trying so desperately to liberate them (if only they knew what was really underneath that veil).

FYI: it is a little "racy" but the twist at the end is cool.