Western Media's Obsession with Beautiful Iranian Women Skews Coverage of Iran

By Latoya Peterson, Women News Network. Posted July 7, 2009.

In this moment of civil unrest, we are meant to understand these sartorial and somatic signs -- the looseness of the scarf and the amount of hair she shows, but also the French manicure displayed by her v-sign or raised fist, her plucked eyebrows arching above Gucci sunglasses or baklava mask -- as cultivated political acts that manifest a defiant desire for Western-style democracy. But this shorthand is too simplistic, too easy.

While the politics of beauty practices has been a feminist mainstay around the globe, when employed while discussing the situation in Tehran, it distracts from understanding the actual issues at play.  Often times, Western feminists become infatuated with the symbolic nature of veiling, and fail to listen to women discussing what they are actually fighting for.

In this case, it was not just the fact that the votes in Iran may well have been rigged -- the regime hand selects the candidates anyway, meaning that only a small portion of those who wish to run for election will ever find themselves on the ballot. As a result, many Iranian citizens often do not vote, feeling that they are encouraging a farcical democracy.  This particular election, however, brought remarkable voter turnout as the women of Iran made a decision to take their dissatisfaction to the ballot boxes.  In an earlier piece for Jezebel, Carpentier lays out "10 Reasons Why You Should Be Following the Iranian Elections," parsing out the key themes that are fueling the political fires.  Most of them trace back to women’s rights.  Women’s rights activists have been jailed for protesting the changes the Ahmadinejad administration ushered in, including allowing the growth of employment discrimination, legislation that attacks women’s financial freedom and renaming the Center for Women’s Participation as the Center for Women and Families (and the goal of the newly named agency would be to promote women returning to more traditional roles).

Our feminist conversations on politics in the region should not immediately default to veiling and other style issues.  While the freedom to express oneself through clothing is important, it pales in comparison to the economic conditions and limited opportunities for advancement that are sparking the demonstrators.  The new generation in Iran is young and educated, but stuck in a perpetual adolescence as they can’t find jobs and can no longer afford an apartment.  Even steadily employed young couples are unable to qualify for apartments and are postponing their dreams of marriage and family until well into their 30s.  While the economic climate is disastrous for young couples, it is harder still on single women, who may be forced to find a partner in order to be financially stable.

The visual narrative may emphasize clothing and beauty, but we should not be so distracted by images that we miss the message underneath the make-up.

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