Summary Of The Western Women's Harem By Fatema Mernissi

Within the chapter ‘size 6: The Western Women’s Harem’, Fatema Mernissi analyzed the depiction and relegation of women from both the perspective of a Muslim woman and from that of a Western woman. Mernissi disputed that the subordination and suppression of Western women by their own society, more specifically men, are more insensitive and overall worse than the general depiction of Muslim women. Her reasoning revolved around the idea that Muslim women are perceived as more repressed because they wear a veil, among the plethora of other constraints on women in Islam. Mernissi ultimately wants the audience to relate to her issue by means of an emotional appeal, while also utilizing both ethical and logical appeal to support her thesis. Though, there may be stereotypical flaws within the authors reasoning behind the depiction of American women, I do find her thesis to be very well supported

within this literature.
One major contributor to the way that this author chose to depict American women was that although she may have originated from a society where women have to constantly cover their faces, an American woman has to face day-to-day brutalities that are crueler than what an Eastern woman typically confronts. This conflict of ideas between Western and Eastern women was triggered when she was navigating through an American department store where Mernissi was told that she had too big of hips to fit into a size 6. That specific situation was where both the beauty perspectives of Western and Muslim women came into light. “That distressing experience made me realize how the image of beauty in the West can hurt and humiliate a woman as much as the veil does when enforced…” (208). In trying to understand the destructive beauty standards of Western women she linked the comments she has heard previously in the Muslim culture. The only negative feedback she received from men regarding her image was about her moderately long neck. When receiving comments about her neck, she displayed great self-confidence because it was their problem not hers. “I have often had to defend myself against remarks such as zirafa (giraffe), because of long neck, I learned long ago not to rely too much on the outside world or my sense of self-worth.” (209). However, unlike Western ideals, Moroccan men made complimentary remarks about her ‘generous hips’. “In the Moroccan streets, men’s flattering comments regarding my particularly generous hips have for decades led me to believe that the entire planet shared their convictions.” (209). But, this department store incident was different. Mernissi felt as if she was “savagely attacked”. What was once considered a feature of beauty for her was now considered something humiliating.
Western women have a direct set of norms to fulfill in order to be considered ‘appealing’ within their society. Mernissi learned this detail the hard way. “The norm is everywhere, my dear, it’s all over, in the magazines, on television, in the ads. You can’t escape it” (211). From this, Mernissi comes to the conclusion that Western ideals are more destructive than the Muslim ideals. “Her words sounded so simple, but the threat they implied was so cruel that I realized for the first time that maybe ‘size 6’ is more violent restriction imposed on women than is the Muslim Veil.” (213).
Mernissi then looks into how Western male authority compares to that of a Muslim man. The principles that she establishes for her comparisons focus on the idea that Muslim men use the concept of space to exclude women to be able to grasp male power, whereas Western males chose to manipulate time and light. “The Western man uses images and spotlights to freeze female beauty within an idealized childhood, and forces women to perceive aging-that normal unfolding of the years- as a shameful devaluation” (214). Unlike a Muslim man, a Western man creates a set of standards for the ‘perfect’ look of a woman. These standards are centered on the idea of maintaining a skinny figure similar to the look of a fourteen-year old. “He declares that in order to be beautiful, a woman must look fourteen years old” (213). If a woman does not fit these set of standards they are considered to be ‘unpleasant’. Mernissi backs this thought process up with philosophies from Immanuel Kant’s 19th century theories that state: ‘To be beautiful, women have to appear childish and brainless’. Mernissi uses her own personal example to exemplify her thoughts on the influence Western Males have on women. In the department store she expresses that “here I am, transformed into a dinosaur” (214). This statement cultivates the audience’s ability to emotionally empathize for Mernissi.
A lot of this chapter focused on the tyranny behind the size 6 in the Western culture. I believe that this is a constant issue within our Western society. We have created an outrageous set of ideal norms that are nearly impossible to fulfill. So, in this regard I do agree with Mernissi’s thought process on these ridiculously expected norms. Though, I do disagree as to who is to blame for this. Mernissi argues that Western men have total control over the depiction of the ‘ideal American woman’. This flawed argument conveys the idea that American women are weak and oppressed. However, people within our society do judge women, including Mernissi, because they are considered to be too ‘big’ or ‘overweight’. We see this accurately represented in this story when the saleswoman shares that “many women working in highly paid fashion-related jobs could lose their positions if they didn’t keep to a strict diet” (213). These issues in our society only fuel the stereotypes about both the media and the idea that males have authority over western women’s bodies.

Throughout the entirety of this chapter, Mernissi has a consistent theme that she continuously makes apparent to the audience.

When speaking about Western males she uses very aggressive adjectives and expressions to convey male dominance over American women. But, when expressing male dominance for Muslim men she does not use the same aggressive language. I believe this creates controversial stigmas that limit the ability to share the full picture to the readers. By forcing the idea that Western men are horribly wicked, it creates the impression that American women are extremely oppressed and have zero authoritative power in the Western society. “By putting the spotlight on the prepubescent female, the Western man veils the older, more mature woman, wrapping her in shrouds of ugliness” (214). Ultimately, she is conveying the idea that trying to fit into a size 6 is more punishing than hiding your face with a veil. I shared similar thoughts with the author about the choice to wear a veil, I believe that wearing a veil is equivalent to a woman freeing herself from societal

judgements.
After analyzing Mernissi’s arguments, I think that they would have been more accurate if she would have impartially compared the women from both societies. Mernissi expressed views that offered explanations behind the societal expectations for women in Western societies. These views focused on how male domination has created ideal beauty standards for women, and that there is zero association between body figure and maturity in western culture. It is apparent that there are societal expectations for women but, Mernissi’s arguments are flawed for the fact that she asserts that Western men are in total control of women and their feminineness and also solely to blame for the societal standards. Overall, this was a very intellectually written piece of literature that furthered my understanding of cultural differences among sex’s, but included, in my opinion, a flawed argument regarding the oppression of western women.