All I'd like to say about this is that I support that the shirt portrays a vagina with existent labia and hairiness.

I want all young girls to be really body-positive and not ashamed that they have their periods. I am not sure this t-shirt is a step in the right direction? Feels very cartoonish, and seems to be more about the 'shock' factor of "OMG THERE IS A VAGINA BLEEDING WHOA" than about promoting the idea that this is a normal…

I dunno. if it's a protest thing, that seems legit. She's brown, but she's also rich and famous, so she has more power than probably any of the niquabis in France (there weren't many to begin with) and making a visible statement of solidarity like that could be read as positive.

I understand your rationale and I am going to stop debating this after this post.

I totally agree with what you're saying and I'm glad you're saying. The whole "cultural appropriation" argument seems a little oversensitive to me sometimes (and a little too self-centered on a Western point of view with a false dichotomy defined between "protecting" and "oppressing" other cultures).

I understand and respect your feelings.

I would start out by saying that I am a Muslim so I have some understanding of this, although I am not an Islamic scholar. However, hijab is compulsory in Islam as the Qur'an is interpreted by most religious scholars in history (based on the commandment that women cover their chests with their head coverings). Niqab…

They are steeped in religious meaning according to the interpretation of sections of the Koran that a group or country care to believe.

Actually, the burqa, niqab and hijab are steeped in religious meaning. And please don't try to pull this there is no colonization ish. The French and British controlled massive amounts of the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa up until very recently and USA is presently involved in MANY Muslim countries both…

Why would I want to explain it to you? Go read a book.

You little idiots bore me, so we're even now.

the line between solidary and offensive appropriation can be fuzzy sometimes

No, her family is Hindu.

I'm not saying that at all. I actually mean the opposite. I don't find M.I.A.'s burqa offensive, but I don't have the logic worked out in my head as to why. I happen to love M.I.A. and believe she's incredibly thoughtful when it comes to her music, art, and fashion, whereas Lady Gaga is mostly derivative shock value…

See, it's excusable because she's BROWN.

Still doesn't make it okay, but MIA's was a direct response to the French burqa ban. Considering that she comes from an area with a significant Muslim population, is a woman of color, and has referenced Muslim/Arab women several times in her career, it's not the same thing as what Gaga's doing.

"The words “appreciation” and “admiration” are painfully hollow when you take a piece of clothing from a community and strip it of its intent and the consequences that come from it... If I wear a burqa, nijab.. or hell even a fucking hijab, I’m a stupid, brown savage who has no capacity to think for herself. But when…

good read! I would love to know the author's take on M.I.A's burqa a couple years back.