Article: “Size Six: The Western Women’s Harem”

“Size Six: The Western Women’s Harem”Fatema Mernissi uses anecdotes in her article “Size six: The Western Women’s Harem” (2003) where she Recalls the experience she had in an American department store full of different fashionable brands such as: Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Gianni Versace, Giorgio Armani, Mario Valentino, Salvatore Ferragamo, Christian Dior, Yves Saint-Laurent, Christian Lacroix, and Jean-Paul Gaultier. As she walked in to look for a cotton size six skirt she was surprised when told that there wasn’t a skirt size six for her. Mernissi asked in disbelieved “In this entire store there is no skirt for me?” and the sales lady replied “You are too big!” “I am too big compared to what” Mernissi asked, but the sales lady made a cruel judgment “Compared to size six.” At this point Mernissi noticed that women here, in the west, have their own harem where women have to be portrayed as what men want them to be and how men want them to look. They are portrayed such way by gender roles along with the cooperation of the multi-billion dollar fashion industry which provides the materials that women will eventually be forced to use in order to satisfy “the look” man want at home. Mernissi never knew her self confidence would be lost after walking in triumphantly to the New York department store. The usage of satire is seen throughout the whole article various times, Mernissi states “How can you stage a credible political demonstration and shout in the streets that your human rights have been violated when you cannot find the right skirt?” This phrase itself defines many things such as the fact that America is “Land of the free” and everyone here has rights regardless of race, gender, or age so why should appearance matter? It states that we are all equal however women are still seen or at least still portrayed by men that they are inferior to what men think is “beautiful”, outer beauty. She ridicules the fact that America is define as the country who gives equal right to everyone, but she noticed at first hand that she meant nothing because she was “too big” and because of her race when asked, “Where on earth do you come from? I am sorry I can’t help you. Really I am.” The article itself indeed defines what the modern women is expected to look like and how we all have to be thin and beautiful and “…in order to be beautiful, a woman must look 14 years old”. It also states that “to be beautiful, women have to appear childish and brainless.” The Harem isn’t only in the Muslim world where women are inferior and belong only to one women, but it also exist in with the Western women where they aren’t only inferior to one men but are indeed inferior to the fashion industry and society. Menissi concludes that there really isn’t much of a difference between seas that separate the western harem from the east harem and probably the Western “harem” have it harder, “Imagine the fundamentalists switching from the veil to forcing women to fit in size six!”

Questions:
1.)How is wearing a veil less unfortunate than having to fit into a size six?
2.)How does role gender apply to the fashion industry?
3.) How does Mernissi’s tone of disturbance and pity make women and the audience feel?