WSJ: "Camel Hump" - Dubai's beehive fashion trend

[Yozhik]

Hi all, I saw this article (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324874204578440711793235812.html)a few days ago and thought people here might enjoy it (sorry if it has already been posted - I searched, and didn't see any results).

It's a piece from the Wall Street Journal on a new fashion trend in the UAE which consists of tall hairdos either projecting upward (beehive) or backward, reminiscent of updos from the 60s.

I think it's an interesting way for young Muslim women to express themselves and am curious as to what others' reactions are to this trend (see the video in the article to see some IRL 'camel humps' in a mall, as well as various opinions about them).

DBF's family lived in Saudi for a while, and there his mom wore an abaya. I wonder how much the fairly similar style of outer garments affects a push to express oneself in other ways, similarly to how, for instance, in a school with a uniform, children may seek to wear other markers such as jewelry or makeup to distinguish themselves.

Let me know what you all think. :flower:

[Annibelle]

Well, I love beehives, so I like the look! :)

[raingirl]

I see this all the time already in Toronto. It seems to be spreading fast. I was actually thinking about this exact fashion trend last night on my way home from work as I saw a women walk by with a large bump under her head scarf. I was actually just thinking "Wow, she must have a LOT of hair in there in a bun!"

[Micayla47]

teenagers will be teenagers no matter what part of the world they are from!

[jacqueline101]

I think it's neat but my hair isn't long enough for it.

[PraiseCheeses]

Very interesting! I love the look of the "humps" that stick out on the back of the head. Head coverings are so beautiful and feminine.

In addition to trying to distinguish themselves and bend rules in a strict conformist environment, I think there may also be an element of exaggerating a characteristic that is considered sexually desirable or beautiful. Long, thick hair is a very desirable trait, and because the hair is forbidden to be seen, its mystery sexualizes it more. (In a way it reminds me of bra-stuffing. :p) The bump from a bun under a hijab is one of the few allowable displays of femininity and has that oh-so-appealing element of the forbidden; young women are therefore playing it up as much as the rules allow. (It also might be less to impress the men and more to compete with other women. :p)

[chen bao jun]

This has been stylish for quite a long time, usually with fake hair. There are websites showing how to get the effect with clip on flowers and so forth. There are also a lot of websites quoting Muhammed saying that the wearers of camel humps have a place in hell. I think the idea behind it is that it seems that your hair is really really long under the abaya and that guys will be attracted--kind of like the girls I've seen on college campuses wearing skinny jeans and high heels--and a hijab. With bright red lipstick. Girls want to attract guys -- but it sure does seem to make a lot of people unhappy--if you google 'camel hump hijab' you will run into some interesting points of view about that.
I compare it to the Pentecostals who can't wear makeup or stylish clothes and so go all out with the incredible hairstyles--google 'Pentecostal poof'. To me, there's no point is making up a lot of rules for people to follow for modesty--it's a heart issue and the more rules you make, the more pushing the rules and rebellion you will get (unless you actually have the Taliban come in and cut off a few women's heads in a public stadium, that tends to enforce conformity very well).

[akurah]

I'm shocked at how much hair is showing under their hijab. I guess I've only seen the really modest adherents in real life.

[Tristania]

That looks so awesome.

[faellen]

I see Muslim women on my uni campus wearing this "camel hump" and hijabs of different colours and patterns in order to express themselves. I just read a debate on an Islamic forum about the whole thing, and opinions of men seem to range from "it's a woman's personal choice" to "those women are going to hell" and posting offensive cartoons.

[Hairitic]

Looks kind of neat but it also looks like too much work to me, lol.

[Kaelee]

I actually had a conversation about this with a Turkish coworker (she took her hijab off in the restroom to redo it. I complimented her on her "ponytail holder" that was full of fluffy spaghetti-dreadlock like strings. She laughed and explained it to me, and we got to talking about this trend.) She's of the opinion that when taken to extremes it sort of defeats the purpose of hijab (modesty), but wasn't all "THEY'RE GOING TO HELL!"

She told me in Turkey a lot of the women have taken to decorating their hijab with big, glittery pins, as well.

[Ocelan]

I've seen this around for a while and I also thought that the women must have a lot of hair or atleast very curly afros under there but then I saw instructions videos someone posted here a while back. It wasn't hair at all but some sort of a pooch or mold they put under their scarves.


It also struck as somewhat contradictory to the idea in my head of muslim culture that the videos showed how to make the scarves look as attractive as possible. There were several different scarves used, folded elaborately and then decorated with pins and brooches. The dressing up of the scarves took 15-20 minutes in the video I watched and there were many. With strong makeup and all the pretties in the scarves the person looked much more attractive than what I could ever achieve. I thought the whole idea of the scarves was to keep people from seeing the attractive bits. I do not wish this to be hurtful to anyone. It is just something I have been wondering. As a woman I do understand wanting to dress up though. The thing I do not necessarily understand is that is it "right" to do so or is it somehow bending the rules? Or is this just a matter of the rules being more loose in one place than another? I really do hope nobody gets upset by my thoughts, but I wouldn't mind other input on this.

ETA: I see Kaelee just mentioned this aswell.

[Khiwanean]

Here's a blog post relating to this, which has some pictures of the style: http://thepurplesharepoint.blogspot.com/2010/10/so-you-wear-hijab.html. The author seems to be of the opinion that it's bending the rules. Some of the styles are really pretty, though, IMO.

[meteor]

I have to say, this fashion kind of reminds me of the European approach to hair in the 18th century: huge, unrealistic hair with lots of "help" (like sponges, wigs, etc.) Pretty cool! :) How else can one attract attention to one's hair that is covered by a black jijab?

[meteor]

Here's a blog post relating to this, which has some pictures of the style: http://thepurplesharepoint.blogspot.com/2010/10/so-you-wear-hijab.html. The author seems to be of the opinion that it's bending the rules. Some of the styles are really pretty, though, IMO.

Thank you for the link! It's pretty interesting.
According to the blog, the point of the style is to "simulate very long hair in a bun". I didn't know that some people buy special hats to put under hijab to create this look. I guess, it's easier with hats than extensions.

[kidari]

I love the look! I see how it is defiant due to the amount of hair that is showing in the front. It's really comical that they use other items to make the hump big, it's kind of like stuffing your bra or something almost lol. Who knew that hair could be such a sexually charged part of the body?

[meteor]

Who knew that hair could be such a sexually charged part of the body?
Hair is traditionally extremely sexually charged! :) After all, it shows beauty, health, individuality, femininity.
That's exactly why in so many cultures and religions ladies are required to cover their hair completely (esp. once they get married and are therefore supposed to stop trying to attract males).

[maborosi]

I actually had a conversation about this with a Turkish coworker (she took her hijab off in the restroom to redo it. I complimented her on her "ponytail holder" that was full of fluffy spaghetti-dreadlock like strings. She laughed and explained it to me, and we got to talking about this trend.) She's of the opinion that when taken to extremes it sort of defeats the purpose of hijab (modesty), but wasn't all "THEY'RE GOING TO HELL!"

She told me in Turkey a lot of the women have taken to decorating their hijab with big, glittery pins, as well.

I've seen a lot of girls who put glittery pins on their hijab here in the states. It's cute.

~maborosi~