Fear of a Bedlah Planet, Part II (The Mainstream Strikes Back)
When I think about how to solve intractable, deep problems that are based upon prejudices and cultural biases, I'm always drawn to Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail. A brilliant work, he breaks down his approach to 4 steps:
Now, he, of course, speaks on dealing with specific problems in specific cities, not dealing with all of racism in one gulp. He knew that these acts could, and did, lead to positive media attention, as well as the attraction of allies from outside the oppressed group.
That's part of why I linked to the story of the WisCon costume. The simple fact is that wearing bedlah should not lead to any kind of harassment. PERIOD.
To this end, I have these 3 points to make on general, wide-spectrum solutions. I'll talk about person-specific solutions next:
1) Acknowledge The Problem
To my wise commentors, I agree that bedlah is costly, and should be protected. And that it's a costume, not clothing, and likely should not be worn off-stage. And yet, to restate a comment -- who's going to get more crap walking down the street, a woman in a tutu or a woman in bedlah? If the costume is decent, and worth standing up for, what I'm saying is that we start acknowledging that decency, while also acknowledging that many in the mainstream don't see it that way.
Why? Because I want to see a vibrant, thriving, and alive Raqs Sharqi community. And as long as the mainstream code for "bedlah" is "street walker", we're fighting an uphill battle.
When we tell each other about the mainstream opinion of bedlah, when we regularly acknowledge that we cover up to protect ourselves from roving eyes and improper comments as much as to protect the beauty and mystery of the costume, then, perhaps, we can start to actually work on solutions, instead of shoving it under the (Oriental) rug we all dance on.
2) The Best Defense is a Strong Offense
Why do we accept that harassment is "just the cost of doing business"? Why not post in our forums and blogs every time someone treats us like crap.
Perhaps the point starts with bedlah, starts with me reading about that costume at that Science Fiction convention. But it really does grow in my brain, it grows to ponder sites like HollabackNYC, which uses camera phones to take snaps of sexual harassment on the street.
Imagine a HollabackRaqs. Imagine finding ways of taking the power back from those who harass. Imagine joining with other feminists in saying that bedlah, that raqs sharqi, that all the stuff we call "belly dance" is now off limits to harassment. Imagine having mainstream attention finally paid to bedlah being historical, and honest, and as worthy of being seen as an artists costume as anything does in ballet.
Imagine the change, when people finally understand what bedlah is truly about.
3) Semper Fi
You have to keep at it. The change will take time, and patience. We have to keep educating, and agitating, both internally -- to avoid slipping into ignorance and avoidance once again -- and externally, to keep the mainstream aware of the issue, and on our side.
When you're harassed, we have to help each other stand up to it. When that restaurant owner leers at your sequined, pushed-up boobs every time you dance, we all have to stand against his place, until he learns his place. When a new dancer is uncomfortable in bedlah, there needs to be solutions other than "jump to Tribal", and those solutions start with the sisterhood of dance acting like a sisterhood, and actually standing for her right to wear whatever in comfort.
This is all rooted in the reality of how you stand up to harassment, to sexism, to power. This is not utopian, yet it is about a group. And the fact that a group starts with leaders, with individuals acting like Rosa Parks, making a stand and moving people.
It can start with you. I'll write up more on that, soon.
- Collect information to determine if problems exist
- Negotiation
- Self-Purification
- Direct, Non-Violent Action
Now, he, of course, speaks on dealing with specific problems in specific cities, not dealing with all of racism in one gulp. He knew that these acts could, and did, lead to positive media attention, as well as the attraction of allies from outside the oppressed group.
That's part of why I linked to the story of the WisCon costume. The simple fact is that wearing bedlah should not lead to any kind of harassment. PERIOD.
To this end, I have these 3 points to make on general, wide-spectrum solutions. I'll talk about person-specific solutions next:
1) Acknowledge The Problem
To my wise commentors, I agree that bedlah is costly, and should be protected. And that it's a costume, not clothing, and likely should not be worn off-stage. And yet, to restate a comment -- who's going to get more crap walking down the street, a woman in a tutu or a woman in bedlah? If the costume is decent, and worth standing up for, what I'm saying is that we start acknowledging that decency, while also acknowledging that many in the mainstream don't see it that way.
Why? Because I want to see a vibrant, thriving, and alive Raqs Sharqi community. And as long as the mainstream code for "bedlah" is "street walker", we're fighting an uphill battle.
When we tell each other about the mainstream opinion of bedlah, when we regularly acknowledge that we cover up to protect ourselves from roving eyes and improper comments as much as to protect the beauty and mystery of the costume, then, perhaps, we can start to actually work on solutions, instead of shoving it under the (Oriental) rug we all dance on.
2) The Best Defense is a Strong Offense
Why do we accept that harassment is "just the cost of doing business"? Why not post in our forums and blogs every time someone treats us like crap.
Perhaps the point starts with bedlah, starts with me reading about that costume at that Science Fiction convention. But it really does grow in my brain, it grows to ponder sites like HollabackNYC, which uses camera phones to take snaps of sexual harassment on the street.
Imagine a HollabackRaqs. Imagine finding ways of taking the power back from those who harass. Imagine joining with other feminists in saying that bedlah, that raqs sharqi, that all the stuff we call "belly dance" is now off limits to harassment. Imagine having mainstream attention finally paid to bedlah being historical, and honest, and as worthy of being seen as an artists costume as anything does in ballet.
Imagine the change, when people finally understand what bedlah is truly about.
3) Semper Fi
You have to keep at it. The change will take time, and patience. We have to keep educating, and agitating, both internally -- to avoid slipping into ignorance and avoidance once again -- and externally, to keep the mainstream aware of the issue, and on our side.
When you're harassed, we have to help each other stand up to it. When that restaurant owner leers at your sequined, pushed-up boobs every time you dance, we all have to stand against his place, until he learns his place. When a new dancer is uncomfortable in bedlah, there needs to be solutions other than "jump to Tribal", and those solutions start with the sisterhood of dance acting like a sisterhood, and actually standing for her right to wear whatever in comfort.
This is all rooted in the reality of how you stand up to harassment, to sexism, to power. This is not utopian, yet it is about a group. And the fact that a group starts with leaders, with individuals acting like Rosa Parks, making a stand and moving people.
It can start with you. I'll write up more on that, soon.
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Hi,
This made me think about a conversation on kilt-wearing I read recently. Some women who wear a kilt to pipe in don't care that we look stogy and dowdy, while others lament the fact but don't know what to do about it. I'm in the 'don't care' camp, mostly because I rarely care what I look like. But a kilt is as much of a uniform/costume as bedlah is, although it goes entirely the other direction far far from the harassment that some belly dancers experience. I will say that I regularly wear my kilt in public, before or after gigs, without my pipes, to a restaurant or to get gas or whatever, and I have never in 12 years had any harassment or heard of anyone getting harassed. Not sure what that means, but it is something to think about.