This is not an eureka moment, but it is a true story happened with me and since that time I am searching for the answer of the questions came to my mind when I noticed the same thing happened many times.
Before I tell you the story, I have to give you a little information about myself so you can understand what happened. Probably most of you by now know that I am from Lebanon. My religion is Islam and I wear a scarf “covers my hair”. It is part of my religion to wear it.
The story starts when I was in high school several years ago. Many times a group of girl will come to me and ask me why I cover my hair, did anyone force me to do that, what will happen if I don’t wear the scarf…. I always answer them and never felt embarrassing or anything. The one time I felt shy and wanted to quiet high school is when a group of guys came to me and said “Do I wear this thing on my head because I don’t have any hair, and to cover that I am bold.” I looked at them and start crying, but I told them that they are wrong because I have a very long hair, and I cover it because it is my religion.
Later on, when I start my job in the pharmacy many ladies will come and ask me same question. Why do I cover my hair? They never talked to me in any embarrassing way. But many males when they want to ask me about it, they will start by saying “are you a nun” and then I will explain to them that I am not, and nun do not wear their scarf the way I wear mine. One time I get sick of them that asking me if I am a nun instead of just asking me what’s that thing on my head, when one asked me I told him “have you ever saw a nun wearing a colorful scarf, I know nuns wear white and black only.” He looked at me and he walked away.
What I didn’t understand whether males feel shy to ask about the scarf because I am a female or they ask in an embarrassing why so they don’t show that they don’t know about other religion like when they said “If I am a nun, do I have hair,” The other I thought about is that women don’t feel shy to ask and learn.
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I do think there is a good deal of cultural ignorance involved, but perhaps it may just seem like men ask in such a manner because they are men. The women may not come off like the men do because it may seem more comfortable coming from someone of the same gender. I also think the men who do ask may come off as more ignorant because of what is engendered into their upbringing as viewing women as objects rather than people of different cultures/ways and with the subsequent sensitivity to those different cultures/ways. I know two wrongs don't make a right and I am being judgmental in my own wrong way by stating, but I can bet most of the men who do ask are not so much curious as they are either ignorant or asking out of criticism of something different. Personally, I would not be so bold to ask. Even if I did not know, I would still feel it an insult to ask publicly like that or make a comparison to something else like a nun's habit. I think it is rude, if I am interpreting the situations correctly.
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