I Don't Wear Black: Professional Muslim Workers and Personal Dress Code

Abstract

Based on qualitative data from a large study exploring Muslim experiences in the workplace, this chapter explains how Muslim dress standards inform identity and are influenced by US cultural ideals about self-presentation and perceived anti-Muslim hostility. Theoretical sampling was used to find 25 men and 59 women, 32 of whom are veiled. These individuals worked at major corporations as numerical minorities or held professions where they encountered non-Muslims regularly. Informed by theories of orientalism and social identity, findings examine hegemonic representations of organizational power and describe how men could employ masculine practices to navigate anti-Muslim discourse and foster a sense of belonging at work. Within immigrant-centered workplaces, women face cultural backlash for appropriating Western styles deemed immodest. While working outside their community, women who wore hijabs emphasized their femininity through softer colors, makeup, or “unpinning” their veil to offset the visceral reaction to their hijab. Thus, adapting to workplace dress expectations is structured by intersections of gender, religion, and workplace location. This chapter illustrates how Muslim dress strategies indirectly reflect how Western standards of dress, behavior, and self-expression determine qualifications and approachability within workplace structures, marginalizing Muslims and reproducing racial and gender hierarchies.

Citation

Aboulhassan, S. (2024), "I Don't Wear Black: Professional Muslim Workers and Personal Dress Code", Hernández-Medina, E. and Maíllo-Pozo, S. (Ed.) Embodiment and Representations of Beauty (Advances in Gender Research, Vol. 35), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 117-135. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1529-212620240000035014