Closing the week 17
A weekly round up of writings on the Internet, some relevant for my research, some political, some funny but all of them interesting (Dutch/English).
Author: martijn
Against pornofication and sexualization – scratching the surface because you have to begin somewhere
As in some other countries such as the US there is a debate in the Netherlands about the pornofication and sexualization of Dutch society. In particular feminists have been active in this debate pointing out the objectification of women (reducing women to objects of sexual desire and moulding women into standardized models that fit the general pattern of what is sexually attractive to Dutch heterosexual men) and men (reducing men into objects that are determined by sexual lust and moulding them into standardized models of what a Dutch heterosexual man should find sexually attractive). Now we have one (!) Muslim man who is on a ‘crusade’ against, what he sees, as pornographic representations of women in commercial ads. ***UPDATED!***
"Don't think black and white…think Orange"
Queensday is in many cases a celebration not only for native Dutch people but also for migrants and in particular the younger generations. This time it has led to a new initiative called the Louka. A group of students will hand out more than 5,000 orange headscarves on 30 April to promote tolerance in the Netherlands in a ‘playful’ way. The orange headscarves will, according to the students, allow Muslim women to express their loyalty to their faith as well as to the queen. I’m afraid such an initiative, no matter how well intended it is, will contribute to the opposite.
Terrorism and radicalization according to the AIVD
The Dutch Algemene Inlichtingen en Veiligheidsdienst (AIVD – General Intelligence and Security Agency) has released its annual report 2008. In this post a short summary in English of those parts pertaining to terrorism and radicalization among Muslims with a few critical remarks.
'Islamisering' van Nederland
Moest Wilders bij Fitna I nog zijn toevlucht nemen tot de Firma List & Bedrog om door middel van verdraaiingen, misvertalingen, halve waarheden en hele leugens het idee van islamisering aannemelijk te maken, inmiddels zijn er diverse sites die proberen om lijsten van islamisering samen te stellen.
De vraag of er daadwerkelijk islamisering van Nederland optreedt is een interessante vraag maar gezien de diversiteit aan issues en de verschillende definities nauwelijks te onderzoeken. Wel interessant is het om te weten met welke voorbeelden mensen komen en waarom zij dat voorbeelden van islamisering vinden en wat volgens hen dan de mogelijke consequenties zijn. Ik zal de lijstjes met veel belangstelling op die manier volgen hier en u mag natuurlijk altijd zelf uw voorbeelden van islamisering of vertogen daarover insturen hieronder via de comments.
Closing the week 16
A weekly round up of writings on the Internet, some relevant for my research, some political, some funny but all of them interesting (Dutch/English).
Bert Brussen Zuilens dagboek
Netwerk had een interessante reportage over de wijk Zuilen samen met blogger Bert Brussen die een ‘Zuilens dagboek’ bijhoudt. Weliswaar met nauwelijks duiding, maar door de schrijfstijl en de treffende Netwerk-reportage (waarin ook de verloedering van de wijk zelf en de segregatie redelijk tot uiting komen) veel inzichtelijker dan veel andere stukjes over ‘hoe erg het toch allemaal is’.
Support for Ramadan and army chaplain Ali Eddaoudi
Tariq Ramadan and newly appointed army chaplain Ali Eddaoudi have been the topic of controversy due to statements they did (or did not) made in the past. Ramadan has been exonerated by an investigation of the city of Rotterdam and both men receive, besides much criticism, also (online) support by websites dedicated to their cause.
Imagining Women
The Dutch TV program ‘Lekker Slim’ (Pretty Smart) portrays women as beautiful and dumb, sexy and superficial. If we allow TV to portray women as such, do we still have reason to critique women who choose to cover themselves (Muslims or not) exactly because they do not want to be confronted with such stereotypes? Or does the fact that ‘we’ like women with headscarves as long as the rest of their clothes doesn’t leave much for imagination, mean that we also want to reduce these women into objects of sexism and ridicule?