*Sexism and Islamophobia: An Under-Reported Link in Strauss-Kahn Coverage*
Published on Muslimah Media
Watch<http://muslimahmediawatch.org/2011/05/sexism-and-islamophobia-an-under-reported-link-in-strauss-kahn-coverage/>|
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*This was written by Kevin Healey and originally published on the USC blog
Trans/Missions<http://uscmediareligion.org/theScoop/411/Sexism-Islamophobia-An-Under-Reported-Link-Strauss-Kahn-Coverage>.
*
Dominique Strauss-Kahn's religious identity has made news since 1991, when
the Jewish Tribune reported
<http://www.smh.com.au/world/presidential-run-turns-into-a-perp-walk-20110517-1erii.html>that
each morning he asks himself how he can be "helpful to the state of Israel."
He should have refuted the quote, he says, since it has only emboldened
critics who deride him as "a leading French Jew" and a "devout Zionist."
Such views, coupled with allegations of aggressive womanizing, would surely
trouble his political future. Just a few weeks before his arrest on rape
charges, he told Liberation
<http://www.liberation.fr/politiques/01012337606-oui-j-aime-les-femmes-et-alors>that
he anticipated three problems for his Presidential bid: "Money, women, and
my Jewishness."
Indeed, after his arrest French officials argued that "the thought of
a trap<http://m.ibtimes.com/dominique-strauss-kahn-france-imf-us-rape-146333.html>"
or "smear campaign<http://twitter.com/#%21/Nouriel/status/69864247450013696>"
could not be ruled out. Columnists suggested
<http://m.ibtimes.com/dominique-strauss-kahn-france-imf-us-rape-146333.html>anti-Semitism
might be a factor, citing comments from right-wing opponents like the
National Front's Marine Le Pen, who condemned
<http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/05/dsks-arrest-the-view-from-paris.html>his
behavior as "pathological." Noting the relative lack of concern for
Strauss-Kahn's accuser, The New Yorker's Philip Gourevitch
quipped<http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/05/dsks-arrest-the-view-from-paris.html#ixzz1MfObc6sO>,
"It seemed a good measure of the depth of France's political malaise that it
took a Le Pen to show solidarity with the working woman against the
Socialist Party's favorite son."
And what about that "working woman"? Mainstream sources offer mostly brief
descriptions: She is a 32-year-old, French-speaking immigrant from Guinea, a
single mother living with her teenage daughter. Many reports mention her
religious background but only in passing, describing her as a "good
Muslim<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43069013/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/>,"
a "devout Muslim<http://abcnews.go.com/US/dominique-strauss-kahn-sex-case-alleged-victims-lawyer/story?id=13627104>,"
who "wears a headscarf."
But as her neighbors and family invoke her religion in her defense, online
discussions seethe with sexism and Islamophobia. At Free
Republic<http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2721483/posts>,
alongside discussion of whether his alleged victim is attractive, one
commenter suggests "Strauss-Kahn should insist on Sharia rules. Four male
witnesses or it never happened…" Another asks rhetorically, "Would a muslim
[sic] lie to bring down one of the most powerful infidels on earth?" Indeed
one commenter argues
<http://www.nerve.com/news/politics/ben-stein-comes-to-imfs-dominique-strauss-kahns-defense>that
"the maid might be in the employ of… some Muslim extremist group" that wants
exploit escalating tensions by keeping Sarkozy in power.
As media coverage shifts to the rising
backlash<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/21/dsk-arrest-misogyny_n_865146.html>against
the chauvinism of Strauss-Kahn's defenders, journalists should
remember that in France, as in the U.S., sexism is rarely separable from
racial and religious prejudice. While journalists rightfully dismiss
conspiracy theories from anonymous bloggers, they would do well to heed the
insights of scholars
<http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-17/laila-lalami-defends-dominique-strauss-kahns-accuser/full/>and
op-ed writers<http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/9148891-strauss-kahn-rape-victim-is-a-devout-muslim-woman>who
highlight the relationship between male chauvinism and anti-Muslim
prejudice in French culture.
Joan Scott, author of The Politics of the Veil, argues that it is misguided
to cite the "headscarf ban" as evidence of French commitment to gender
equality, as one columnist does in a
retort<http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/code-of-silence-protected-imf-chief/story-e6frg6ux-1226057808930>to
Gourevitch's above-mentioned quip. In fact, French elites have often
rejected feminism as a "foreign import," arguing that women's power lies in
their willing sexual objectification. Proponents of this view see "the
sexual modesty implicit in the headscarf as proof that Muslims can never
become fully French," says Scott<http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8497.html>.
Thus the headscarf ban encapsulates both misogyny and anti-Muslim prejudice,
not their opposites. "How ironic, then, that the victim of Strauss-Kahn's
alleged sexual assault was a Muslim," Scott
writes<http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/05/18/are-french-women-more-tolerant/feminism-a-foreign-import>
.
It is understandable that media coverage should expound on the implications
of the demise of Strauss-Kahn, an international figure, for French politics
and for Jewish communities<http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/20/strauss-kahn-arrest-rattles-french-american-jewish-communities/>around
the world. But it would only compound the tragedy of this working
woman's fate if coverage ignores the link between sexism and Islamophobia
that his alleged attack has thrown into sharp relief.
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