WTF is a Balaclava???
Image Courtesy: Harper’s Bazaar
Throughout this past winter, we saw the rise of a new type of headwear, different from a hoodie or beanie - the balaclava. According to Oxford Definitions, a balaclava is “a close-fitting garment covering the whole head and neck except for parts of the face, typically made of wool.”
While this piece of clothing isn’t a new design, its quick rise to the top and aesthetic variations are different than the ones we were used to in the past.
Brands began taking an item that was once used strictly for functionality and turned it into an accessory that fashionable individuals alike could style an entire outfit around through the changes in color, fabric, and pattern.
Personally, before winter 2021/22, I hadn’t really seen or thought much of the staple. They reminded me of something a scuba diver might wear when going to the bottom of the ocean, but not something I would want to show off on the streets of a big city. The reintroduction of this piece brought a new audience to the garment, as well as a new conversation about the rise of trends and how that plays a role in religion.
While many people were rocking the balaclava as something different than the average beanie or scarf, many Muslim women were getting to participate in a trend where they didn’t have to think about how they would need to modify it to fit their religious practices. The balaclava was one of the first “trendy” items that made style easy to abide by for Muslim women.
Simply “purchasing the item and slipping it on the way it is” is a luxury that the majority of people take for granted every day when participating in the next big thing. Not to mention the double standard attached to the headgear. The balaclava was not only explored, but arguably celebrated by fashion influencers, and yet the hijab can still be so easily persecuted by the masses. “People are able to wear a balaclava and be perceived as trendy or cool, but a hijab can be seen as a symbol of oppression or political.”
Image Courtesy: NY Times
There is no way to sugarcoat this, so I’m just going to say it how it is: the whiteness associated with the balaclava is what makes it so easily digestible to society. There is no “threat” to a white woman wearing a headpiece. The power and meaning behind it are suddenly absent because of the person wearing it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have cultural significance to another group.
Similarly to how that doesn’t mean that just because a select few individuals are viewed as “trendy” or “cool” for wearing an accessory, others are not being oppressed for wearing almost the exact same thing. Even still, other countries are putting laws in place that ban the hijab and other religiously significant garments for the sake of feeling “safer” or “less threatened.”
Specifically, France banned minors from wearing hijabs in public as a way to “address religious extremism.” They also banned the burqini, the full-body covering bathing suit, from being worn at public pools and beaches, but of course, the balaclava was seen worn by many during Paris fashion week.
While some Muslim women hope that the rise in popularity of the balaclava will normalize the hijab, and even see it as a good thing, there is still a large portion of women who view the trend as a slap in the face due to the ease in which society can write off one garment as new or exciting and another as dangerous.
Image Courtesy: Hype Bae
Trends are meant to be celebrated by everyone, and this article is not meant to discourage anyone from taking part in the fashion that they enjoy. However, when it comes to garments that hold significant cultural and religious meaning, it is crucial that individuals take the time to understand the meaning of the piece they are wearing.
It is so easy to be ignorant of the harsh reality that many people, specifically women of color, face every single day because we have never had to experience it. While you might view something as a fun accessory that you can put on and take off without a care in the world, others feel as if their religion is being worn as a costume and being further oppressed because of it.
“Popularity of a garment [doesn’t] eradicated gendered Islamophobia.” Considering, educating, and understanding how a piece carries weight or where it originated are the only ways we are going to escape the confines of religious judgment, persecution, and unawareness.
Strike Out,
Writer: Haley Wolf
Editor: Jordan Ross
Athens