The first is about not politics, but exercise. Abby Ellin writes in the Times about the unique challenges some Muslim women face in maintaining both fitness and modesty. Some prefer not to work out in front of men, while others are dissatisfied with the choices of exercise-wear available to them (one woman interviewed finds the embattled burkini too formfitting when wet). What's surprising about Ellin's article, though, is it take on exercise, modesty, and beauty.

Ellin writes, "On the one hand, Muslim women are spared some of the body-image issues that other women face; on the other, that freedom can be a detriment to their physical well-being." Then she quotes personal trainer Mubarakha Ibrahim, who says,

We don't have the external motivation that non-Muslim women have. There is no little black dress to fit into, no bathing suit. When you pass through a mirror or glass you're not looking to see ‘Is my tummy tucked in? Do I look good in these jeans?' You're looking to see if you're covered.

Ibrahim's words make a certain amount of sense — after all, much of American exercise culture is geared towards looking good. But did Ellin really have to recast this by implying that freedom from body image issues is bad for Muslim women's health? In fact, the rest of the article makes it sound like a dearth of women-only gyms and the inadequacy of modest workout wear are bigger health risks to Muslim women than an inability to see their "tummies" in a mirror. Isn't it possible that modest dress might make Muslim women healthier, by exempting them from the pressure for a "bikini ready body" that can lead to eating disorders and feelings of inadequacy? Maybe not if Ibrahim has anything to do with it. She tells Ellin,

One of the ideas I promote is that when you are married and you take off your clothing, your husband should not be like, 'You should put this back on.' Even if you wear a burqa, you should be bikini-ready. You should feel comfortable and sexy in your own skin.

Take out the burqa part, and you've got Self magazine. Apparently modesty on its own doesn't free women from the idea that the point of fitness is to please men — at least, not if they're Ibrahim's clients.

Meghan Daum examines this issue further in an editorial in the LA Times. Inspired by the recent release of Lubna Hussein, a Sudanese woman arrested for wearing pants, Daum looks back at Naomi Wolf's essay in praise of Muslim dress. In it, Wolf wrote,

I put on a shalwar kameez and a headscarf in Morocco for a trip to the bazaar. Yes, some of the warmth I encountered was probably from the novelty of seeing a Westerner so clothed; but, as I moved about the market - the curve of my breasts covered, the shape of my legs obscured, my long hair not flying about me - I felt a novel sense of calm and serenity. I felt, yes, in certain ways, free.

Wolf's description of herself here is weirdly sensual — it sounds like she's saying, "thank God for this veil to hide my lush hotness." And Daum accuses Wolf of fetishizing modesty. She writes, "Wolf, for her part, is hardly the first Westerner to find a kind of romance in the idea of being covered. [...] It's not difficult to understand how demureness and chastity can be a source of fascination, even a kind of fetish, for all kinds of people."

Apropos of Lubna Hussein, Daum is mostly concerned with reminding readers that not every woman gets to choose whether to wear a headscarf (or pants), and this is a valid reminder. But what Wolf's somewhat tone-deaf piece also shows is that non-Muslim women (of which I am one) may not really understand Muslim dress and its relationship to beauty. Wolf seems to think of the veil as a nice respite from a critical, catcalling world. But as Ibrahim's words show, veiled women aren't necessarily immune to body criticism. Ibrahim clearly doesn't speak for all Muslim women, but her comments show that bikini rhetoric is spreading to affect even those who don't wear bikinis.

As Latoya noted last week, there are many reasons Muslim women choose to cover. For many, it's a religious decision. I'm speculating here, but I'd imagine that for these women, not having to look good in a swimsuit is an ancillary, rather than a central benefit. And while Wolf may enjoy the fact that modest dress takes the attention off her body, many women in Europe and America find that the veil actually draws attention to them. But they wear it anyway.

Wolf seems to want to show how different Muslim women are from non-Muslims, how much freer and even sexier life is when lived in modest dress. But really, women face many of the same pressures, veiled or not. As much as Westerners like to talk about the oppressive Middle East, much of the same sexism is visible here. And as much as Wolf trumpets the freedom of modesty, restrictive beauty standards may affect Muslim women too. Rather than romanticizing the veil, as Wolf does, or banning it, as France threatens, we should be campaigning to keep women from being judged on how they look — just one of many issues that affect all of us.

Fitness Tailored To A Hijab [NYT]
The Chador And Feminism Don't Always Fit [LA Times]

Earlier: Is There Feminist Discourse Beyond The Veil?

• Dina Babbitt, who as a teenager kept herself and her mother alive at Auschwitz by painting portraits of prisoners for the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele, has died at 86. Ms. Babbitt later worked as a commercial artist in America. • U2 is set to become the topic of discussion at an academic conference held at North Carolina Central University in October. U2: The Hype and The Feedback will examine the role of the mega-band in "changing the worlds of music, entertainment, popular culture, humanitarian relief, peace and social justice efforts." • Scientists from the University of Leeds believe that they may have discovered a unique "DNA signature" in human sperm that can only be recognized by eggs from the same species. The "lock and key" model may explain why otherwise healthy men are infertile and why we've never spotted any centaurs roaming around. • Speaking of horses, filly Rachel Alexandra beat out the competition at the Haskell Invitational this Sunday with the New York Times is calling a "preternatural performance." Rachel Alexandra is the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness Stakes, and she is the only filly to win the Haskell. • 13-year-old Jackie Rodriguez is pretty awesome: She has thrown 25 no-hitters in the past four seasons, but she still tells NPR that practicing an instrument is more difficult than playing softball. • Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes on her new career in television journalism: "I realized I love motivating and I love empowering and I love inspiring people. I did that as an athlete for 18 years, and I am able to do that as a motivational speaker now as well as doing work on television." •  Police in northern Nigeria have found another group of women and children that may have been abducted by the Boko Haram sect. The group of 140 was found locked in buildings in Maiduguri, and many of them were suffering from pneumonia, fever and rashes. • On Sunday, a bid to set a new world record for the number of women photographed wearing bikinis in one place failed when only several hundred ladies showed up at Southend-on-Sea in Essex. The current record was set earlier this month in Russia, when 1,923 women participated in the prearranged photo shoot. • New research conducted by the Tokyo police indicates that 24% of elderly shoplifters are driven to steal by feelings of loneliness, and another 8% cited lack of motivation in life as their main reason for shoplifting. • The 14-year-old Liberian boy charged with raping an 8-year-old girl in Arizona will be tried as an adult, said the Maricopa County attorney. Steven Tuopeh is facing more than 57 years in prison if convicted on all counts. • Researchers at the Heidelberg University Hospital have examined the brain scans of women suffering from anorexia and found that patients with eating disorders are more likely to stick to familiar behavior responses than those in the control group. They linked the patterns in behavior to a certain network pathway, which plays a role in controlling actions under rapidly changing environmental demands. •

[London, July 24. Image via Splash.]

• A journal for plastic surgery says that 98% of women who have breast reconstruction after an elective mastectomy are satisfied with their surgery. • Children conceived with a sperm donor should be told at age four about their origins to lighten anger and shock at their parents. • A Romanian court ordered that a surgeon pay a 33-year-old patient whose penis he had accidently severed during an operation $795,000. Yeah, that is a big "uh oh." • More Penii!: A Portuguese couple continue a tradition of manufacturing 2-foot penis-shaped ceramic bottles that is said to have dated back to the 19th century. • A baby's smile can create a "natural high" in the brains of mommies. • A South African woman with a "soft heart for animals and a tart tongue for most everyone else" runs an animal shelter in Abu Dhabi. • The General Synod, the governing body of the Church of England, is set to debate over the issue of appointing female bishops, sparking a debate between traditionalists and progressive members of the Church. • Swiss researchers suggest that same-sex transplants should be performed after they found an 8% chance of rejection when a male kidney was given to a woman. • The Monday after a three-day weekend always sucks, so here is a cute video of a bunny opening up an envelope with his own paper-nomming!

[Malibu, July 19. Image via X17]

Earlier: Dear Kate Moss: You're Too Effing Old For A Miniskirt