Shameless writer Zahra Rasul just sent me a link to this article about Dunkin Donuts pulling a TV ad with Rachael Ray. The celebrity donut-hawker is wearing a scarf that looks “too Palestinian.”
Rachael Ray lectures us on the evils of American imperialism. Solution to this problem? Buy Dunkin Donuts!
And here I was worried that once Mary Kate Olsen wore one, the keffiyeh became a depoliticized and empty symbol of vapid celebrity! I guess it still has symbolic power when it is draped around the neck of someone whose doesn’t look quite as white as the Olsen twins.
Of course it all started with the conservative Michelle Malkin calling it “the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad.”
But the question remains: is it, or isn’t it a keffiyeh? And what the heck does a keffiyeh really symbolize, America?
Stay tuned for the next print issue of Shameless to find out, where Zahra will take a look at the keffiyeh’s history. And of course, check out Thea’s blog post on keffiyeh too.
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seven comments
Ha! I saw this scarf at H&M; in Vancouver on Sunday!
Posted by diandra
May 28, 2008, 5:40 PM
Feministe has a pretty good take on this "controversial" ad: http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives...
Apparently the scarf has a paisley design on it. Last time I checked paisley was not the logo of Hamas.
I continue to be surprised by how Israel supporters have reacted to the keffiyeh's transformation into a fashion accessory. When I first went to write the piece on the keffiyeh, my intention was to criticise the adoption of the keffiyeh as a pretty brutal form of cultural appropriation. To me it was offensive to supporters of Palestine - because it trivialised, to a most obscene degree, a symbol of such great meaning.
It seriously did not cross my mind that the keffiyeh as hawt accessory would offend supporters of Israel. I continue to be puzzled by this. To me it just seems so blatant that wearing an Arab scarf as an accessory - with no interest or respect for the extremely painful conflict it's come to represent - is the opposite of identifying with or caring about Palestine.
Posted by Thea
May 28, 2008, 10:01 PM
You know what? Fake keffiyehs are an example of tacky cultural appropriation, yes. But a "terrorist scarf"? That's a little much. Unless they're these people who think Palestinian = Terrorist. Sigh. For the love of god, support of Palestine does not equal support of terrorism! Still...wearing a fake keffiyeh with no meaning is tacky, to say the least.
...and I love Rachael Ray. Am I the only one? (everyone else seems to think she's irritating.)
Posted by Lindsay
May 28, 2008, 11:12 PM
Have to say I'm in the Rachel Ray is irritating camp but the thing about the scarf is ludicrous.
"Fashion statements may seem insignificant, but when they lead to the mainstreaming of violence -- unintentionally or not -- they matter."
I see, forget worrying about the massive amount of guns in the U.S., folks, it's all these darn fancy scarves that are causing violence! Time to hold some scarf burning events, I guess...
Posted by C.K.
May 29, 2008, 8:24 PM
I always knew paisley was up to something.
Posted by Stacey May
May 30, 2008, 12:54 AM
They've got this story up on BBC now too:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7...
Posted by C.K.
May 30, 2008, 10:33 AM
I think hipsters apdopting the keffiyeh totally has to do with white privlege, like you pointed out, Pike.
Many white people believe that they don't have a race, because they don't deal with racism on a daily basis. Hipsters can wear a politically charged symbol, and make it apolitical, because they don't have to deal with the implications.
Posted by Tiina
May 30, 2008, 11:19 AM
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