A definite study in contrasts, and it hits on multiple levels. To the eyes, it may seem ‘Valley Girl’ vs. ‘Ethnic Stereotype’; but that’s not the whole picture.
There’s modern vs. traditional
Secular vs. Islam
Color vs. Monotone
Foregner vs. Native
Kinda pretty vs. Not quite so…
Blonde vs. None (!)
‘Infidel’ vs. ‘Purity’
Perhaps the ‘valley girl’ is well educated, and the traditional girl is not. Or the other way around?
Perhaps the tradional girl is embarrassed being so close to bare flesh..
Perhaps the ‘valley girl’ is embarrased being so close to someting so unstylish..
A picture speaks a thousand words, yet does so silently. It is up to the viewer to make their judgement!
(and of course Steve’s first thought is a ‘beauty’ judgement on the ‘Valley Girl
mahmood
Re: Sisters
especially when you consider that the picture was taken at a London bus-stop!
anonymous
Re(1): Sisters
I figured it was taken somewhere in the west. You certainly wouldn’t see a scene like that in Saudi Arabia. ๐
[deleted]0.95776700 1099323586.392
Re(1): Sisters
Hey, she’s only THIRTY years younger than me, Mahmoodski. She’s probably tired of all those fumble-fingered young guys who make her life nothing but miserable and is dying to meet an old, fat, bald, opinionated fart like me who will appreciate her.
It could happen, that’s all I’m saying.
Steve
[deleted]0.95776700 1099323586.392
Re(2): Sisters
Not without seeing through the window a mob of religious police rushing up in a fury with their canes swinging in the air.
Steve
[deleted]0.95776700 1099323586.392
Re: Sisters
[quote]Ethan: of course Steve’s first thought is a ‘beauty’ judgement on the ‘Valley Girl
bahraini_by_nature
Sisters
This is a picture that you see everyday in London and which i think the reason that makes London a multi colour city. It is nice to see contradictions meeting at a point.
chalk66x
Sisters
I grew up in the age of bobby socks and sweaters. When women burned their bras and the mini skirt came along I cheered. Back then panty hose was my bane. Now when my daughter dresses to go out I have to control the reflex to quiver with fear over the Britney Spears look. Bring back panty hose and sweaters ๐
If fashion would ever remember how seductive a little hiding of the merchandise can be many fathers would be eternaly gratfull.
Great picture and I like the tatoo.
anonymous
Sisters
me in London and i don’t think this is a bus stop. maybe i need to go out more often
anyway,
Interesting picture but somewhat offensive to Islam. Why? long story short, it enforces stereotypes.
anonymous
Sisters
Dear all,
The picture was taken by me at a bus-stop in east London (so Mahmood could you change from ‘uploaded by’ to ‘taken by’ – thanks). It is absolutely not offensive to Islam – It is not a ‘stereotype’ or reinforcing such, but is a real and not uncommon scene.
Clive Power
anonymous
Sisters
wonderful picture
i love it
[deleted]0.95776700 1099323586.392
Re: Sisters
Well done, Clive. Obviously there is more female inspiration to be found boarding the mass transit of London than there is on the mass transit of Washington, DC in which pretty girls have been prohibited by law. You could wait years before you see a similar ray of sunshine here. Years!
I blame Bill Clinton.
Steve
anonymous
Re(1): Sisters
Politically correct, hardly.
My annoyance stems from the fact that there was more to the image than ‘ooh, lets compare hawt Brit to homely Muslim’; physical beauty is only part of the equation.
Far as we know, the white girl could be the bitchiest dame on the planet, or it could be the other way around! That’s what I find interesting, you cannot judge people by their clothing (Take that Muttawa!)
anonymous
Re(2): Sisters
[quote]lets compare hawt Brit to homely Muslim'[/quote]
What on earth is a “hawt Brit”?
anonymous
Sisters
I don’t know but I am struck by what is missing in this picture. On the one hand you have a hard girl and the other I see as a depressed woman both using their own defenses. Where is the healthy, non-angry…wholesome girl ? Both seem depressed to me.
thinker-USA (a female)
[deleted]0.95776700 1099323586.392
Sisters
She’s OK but she’s a bit too gimmicky for me and I don’t like the tattoo. But she is a slim, cute girl. The photo is a very sly composition of contrasts. It’s funny.
Steve
mahmood
Re: Sisters
Steve! She’s 40 years younger than you are you perv.. and I’m talking about the luscious woman in black! ๐
chrisamillion
Re: Sisters
I would have to disagree with you there. Take the lady on the right and look at her eyes…they look alive. She looks like she is thinking about something. I don’t think she is depressed at all, in fact she looks like she is very wise and has a thousand stories to tell.
I can’t tell much about the girl on the left, can’t really see a face.
anonymous
Sisters
I guess I must be perverted. I had two thoughts.
1) Not everybody has a purty figure/face/whatever. If a woman is pretty she should be free to show it off if she wants to. It makes her happy and it makes other people happy. I like looking at pretty things from the sleek lines of a Porsche to an multicolored sunset to a pretty woman. Good for her.
2) If I was a transvestite then I would definitely pick the black outfit.
anonymous
Re(2): Sisters
[quote]I actually picked up ‘nervous worry’ from the both of them, on a second look.[/quote]
More likely “Where the hell is the damn bus?” worry.
anonymous
Sisters
Bleach Blond? Natural is best. The mahajaba is much better looking. The picture speaks a thousand words and asks a thousand questions. It challenges all of our stereotypes. Many people might look at the girl in hijab and think she is probably illiterate. I work with many women with hijab who have PhDs and their MDs. You might think that she is not American or British, but she could have been born and raised here. The bleach blond could be Russian……European, Columbian. You name it.
I lived in the UK for some years. One of the things I loved about London is that you seldom heard English spoke on the streets. Head towards north London and there are areas that make you think you are home in the Middle East, stree signs in Arabic, halal butcher shops, and street vendors selling schwarma.
The world is changing, when you look at a picture like this you can almost be sure any assumptions you make will be wrong.
anonymous
Sisters
Maybe this poem doesn’t quite fit, but the subject is women, sisters etc…
Sisters
We are amid untold haze
To trust sleep, to trust the days
Sisters
Wonder has no occasion for tolls
The beauty to ponder in our souls
Sisters
We persevere all we are in age
Courageously we turn the page
Sisters
I actually picked up ‘nervous worry’ from the both of them, on a second look.
anonymous
Re(3): Sisters
[i]hawt Brit[/i] – n. An attractive British person
anonymous
Re: Sisters
[quote]I lived in the UK for some years. One of the things I loved about London is that you seldom heard English spoke on the streets. Head towards north London and there are areas that make you think you are home in the Middle East, stree signs in Arabic, halal butcher shops, and street vendors selling schwarma. [/quote]
A dangerous thing for cultures to ghettoize in a society. In a truly multicultural nation, there would be no ‘chinatown’ or ‘muslimtown
anonymous
Sisters
[quote]A dangerous thing for cultures to ghettoize in a society. In a truly multicultural nation, there would be no ‘chinatown’ or ‘muslimtown
anonymous
Sisters
[quote]The true strength of the west is their ability to gather many cultures together without losing the identity of each individual. The swirling mix of ideas, cultures, and viewpoints creates innovation. [/quote]
In the UK, it also creates quite a lot of riots, beatings, and murder.
anonymous
Sisters
I am absolutly shocked and dis-heartened. This is a travesty of epic preportions. I simply cannot believe that anyone in the free world would be forced to carry around a bulky CD player instead of an I-pod. The least someone could do for this poor woman is offer her a basic MP3 player. You Bastards!!!!
anonymous
Sisters
Second comment:
I don’t see anything offensive in this picture. Do you?
mahmood
Re: Sisters
Done Clive, thanks for sharing your photography. Excellent photograph and as you see from the comments here, creates quite a mixed bag of emotion, as any good work of art should.
mahmood
Re: Sisters
sounds like you’re talking about Canada! We experienced part of this utopian world in Toronto..
Reem
Re: Sisters
U do need to go out more…!!
it’s in England for sure, the red bench and the notice board are give it all away. Cud be london, but u won’t know unless u see the ticket dispensers on the side ๐
not like taking the bus is something to brag about, but something tells me that taking taxis on a daily basis is not on my budget! ๐
this scene would be totally normal in east london, bradford, leeds, birmingham… ehehe the list goes onn!!!
Steelangel
Re: Sisters
[quote]The swirling mix of ideas, cultures, and viewpoints creates innovation. Nations that aspire towards ethnic purity are seeking the systemic poison of stagnation and backwardness.[/quote]
We see the latter too often in places like Saudi! (Not surprising.. but still)
I believe that the real danger lies not in ‘cultural areas, but in cultural ghettoes, like the poster said. If all Chinese lived in one area and only spoke chinese and shuttered themselves away from the larger society.. that breeds problems. France is suffering that right now with ethnic slums leading to race riots! http://no-pasaran.blogspot.com/2005/04/just-waiting-for-white-riot-ils-ne.html
Multiculturalism is a balancing act. One culture’s failure to respect anothers’ leads to ruin. Ghettoization is the first step to this.
[deleted]0.95776700 1099323586.392
Re(2): Sisters
[quote]Ethan: My annoyance stems from the fact that there was more to the image than ‘ooh, lets compare hawt Brit to homely Muslim’; physical beauty is only part of the equation.[/quote]
We may be working from different equations, here, Ethan. I’m not so sure she is all that “hawt” either. She’s awfully cute but she’s kinda trashy, too. The best and most beautiful girls of the world don’t go strolling about half dressed with tattoos on their belly. I’m not much of a fan of the new trend toward stripper chic. Give me a little mystery, please.
[quote]Ethan: Far as we know, the white girl could be the bitchiest dame on the planet, or it could be the other way around! That’s what I find interesting, you cannot judge people by their clothing. [/quote]
If she’s a cute white chick with a posse of guys hounddogging her every step, you can be sure she is likely to be one bitchy dame, at least some of the time. It’s like a biological law. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
You’re absolutely right that you can’t judge women by their clothing. That’s why I judge them by their lack of clothing.
Steve
anonymous
Sisters
I still think the one on the right is depressed.
anonymous
Sisters
dunno ..
i have been both these women at different points in my life .. i have worn the hijab and the head scarf in saudi arabia – i wear it to condolences in bahrain .. and whilst i dont have a tatoo and a tummy ring, i have certainly worn jeans and a tshirt and waited for many a bus in london ..
i dont think you are defined by what u wear, but what ur spirit is. i will say one thing though, i have felt much more clothed in jeans and a tshirt than in an abbaye and hijab. the whole premise of covering up revolves around women being viewed as sex objects first, and people second.
If God didnt want people to have sexual urges, he wouldnt have created two different sexes. Period. God bless the mannequins.
JJ
anonymous
Sisters
[quote]i dont think you are defined by what u wear, but what ur spirit is. [/quote]
Reading your post, it occurred to me how much this debate always seems to be about clothing and sexuality. Personally I could never wear a hijab but it has nothing whatsoever to do with sexuality; it’s because I love and need to feel the wind in my hair. Likewise, I like to wear clothes that I feel comfortable in – clothes I can run in, climb a tree in, ride a bike in. What men think of my clothing is not my primary concern at all.
anonymous
Sisters
Well experience learnt me that there’s nothing interesting with blondes, even at the dead end of their minds; blondes are fading, without savor,flavor, nothing interesting, i’ve stoped fishing in the closet a long time ago.
i come from europe, and definitively i do respect a woman wearing hijab, with convictions or simply respecting traditions.
what could i get with the tatoo dog, hepathis C ?
chalk66x
Sisters
Don’t give up. Keep on experiencing blondes. I’ve only met one dumb one. She was a friend of my wifes who got a gum infection and went around telling people she had hoof and mouth disease.
Comments
Sisters
A definite study in contrasts, and it hits on multiple levels. To the eyes, it may seem ‘Valley Girl’ vs. ‘Ethnic Stereotype’; but that’s not the whole picture.
There’s modern vs. traditional
Secular vs. Islam
Color vs. Monotone
Foregner vs. Native
Kinda pretty vs. Not quite so…
Blonde vs. None (!)
‘Infidel’ vs. ‘Purity’
Perhaps the ‘valley girl’ is well educated, and the traditional girl is not. Or the other way around?
Perhaps the tradional girl is embarrassed being so close to bare flesh..
Perhaps the ‘valley girl’ is embarrased being so close to someting so unstylish..
A picture speaks a thousand words, yet does so silently. It is up to the viewer to make their judgement!
(and of course Steve’s first thought is a ‘beauty’ judgement on the ‘Valley Girl
Re: Sisters
especially when you consider that the picture was taken at a London bus-stop!
Re(1): Sisters
I figured it was taken somewhere in the west. You certainly wouldn’t see a scene like that in Saudi Arabia. ๐
Re(1): Sisters
Hey, she’s only THIRTY years younger than me, Mahmoodski. She’s probably tired of all those fumble-fingered young guys who make her life nothing but miserable and is dying to meet an old, fat, bald, opinionated fart like me who will appreciate her.
It could happen, that’s all I’m saying.
Steve
Re(2): Sisters
Not without seeing through the window a mob of religious police rushing up in a fury with their canes swinging in the air.
Steve
Re: Sisters
[quote]Ethan: of course Steve’s first thought is a ‘beauty’ judgement on the ‘Valley Girl
Sisters
This is a picture that you see everyday in London and which i think the reason that makes London a multi colour city. It is nice to see contradictions meeting at a point.
Sisters
I grew up in the age of bobby socks and sweaters. When women burned their bras and the mini skirt came along I cheered. Back then panty hose was my bane. Now when my daughter dresses to go out I have to control the reflex to quiver with fear over the Britney Spears look. Bring back panty hose and sweaters ๐
If fashion would ever remember how seductive a little hiding of the merchandise can be many fathers would be eternaly gratfull.
Great picture and I like the tatoo.
Sisters
me in London and i don’t think this is a bus stop. maybe i need to go out more often
anyway,
Interesting picture but somewhat offensive to Islam. Why? long story short, it enforces stereotypes.
Sisters
Dear all,
The picture was taken by me at a bus-stop in east London (so Mahmood could you change from ‘uploaded by’ to ‘taken by’ – thanks). It is absolutely not offensive to Islam – It is not a ‘stereotype’ or reinforcing such, but is a real and not uncommon scene.
Clive Power
Sisters
wonderful picture
i love it
Re: Sisters
Well done, Clive. Obviously there is more female inspiration to be found boarding the mass transit of London than there is on the mass transit of Washington, DC in which pretty girls have been prohibited by law. You could wait years before you see a similar ray of sunshine here. Years!
I blame Bill Clinton.
Steve
Re(1): Sisters
Politically correct, hardly.
My annoyance stems from the fact that there was more to the image than ‘ooh, lets compare hawt Brit to homely Muslim’; physical beauty is only part of the equation.
Far as we know, the white girl could be the bitchiest dame on the planet, or it could be the other way around! That’s what I find interesting, you cannot judge people by their clothing (Take that Muttawa!)
Re(2): Sisters
[quote]lets compare hawt Brit to homely Muslim'[/quote]
What on earth is a “hawt Brit”?
Sisters
I don’t know but I am struck by what is missing in this picture. On the one hand you have a hard girl and the other I see as a depressed woman both using their own defenses. Where is the healthy, non-angry…wholesome girl ? Both seem depressed to me.
thinker-USA (a female)
Sisters
She’s OK but she’s a bit too gimmicky for me and I don’t like the tattoo. But she is a slim, cute girl. The photo is a very sly composition of contrasts. It’s funny.
Steve
Re: Sisters
Steve! She’s 40 years younger than you are you perv.. and I’m talking about the luscious woman in black! ๐
Re: Sisters
I would have to disagree with you there. Take the lady on the right and look at her eyes…they look alive. She looks like she is thinking about something. I don’t think she is depressed at all, in fact she looks like she is very wise and has a thousand stories to tell.
I can’t tell much about the girl on the left, can’t really see a face.
Sisters
I guess I must be perverted. I had two thoughts.
1) Not everybody has a purty figure/face/whatever. If a woman is pretty she should be free to show it off if she wants to. It makes her happy and it makes other people happy. I like looking at pretty things from the sleek lines of a Porsche to an multicolored sunset to a pretty woman. Good for her.
2) If I was a transvestite then I would definitely pick the black outfit.
Re(2): Sisters
[quote]I actually picked up ‘nervous worry’ from the both of them, on a second look.[/quote]
More likely “Where the hell is the damn bus?” worry.
Sisters
Bleach Blond? Natural is best. The mahajaba is much better looking. The picture speaks a thousand words and asks a thousand questions. It challenges all of our stereotypes. Many people might look at the girl in hijab and think she is probably illiterate. I work with many women with hijab who have PhDs and their MDs. You might think that she is not American or British, but she could have been born and raised here. The bleach blond could be Russian……European, Columbian. You name it.
I lived in the UK for some years. One of the things I loved about London is that you seldom heard English spoke on the streets. Head towards north London and there are areas that make you think you are home in the Middle East, stree signs in Arabic, halal butcher shops, and street vendors selling schwarma.
The world is changing, when you look at a picture like this you can almost be sure any assumptions you make will be wrong.
Sisters
Maybe this poem doesn’t quite fit, but the subject is women, sisters etc…
Sisters
We are amid untold haze
To trust sleep, to trust the days
Sisters
Wonder has no occasion for tolls
The beauty to ponder in our souls
Sisters
We persevere all we are in age
Courageously we turn the page
Sisters
Copyright รฦรขโฌลกรโรยฉ 1992 Pamela Boulais
Re(1): Sisters
I actually picked up ‘nervous worry’ from the both of them, on a second look.
Re(3): Sisters
[i]hawt Brit[/i] – n. An attractive British person
Re: Sisters
[quote]I lived in the UK for some years. One of the things I loved about London is that you seldom heard English spoke on the streets. Head towards north London and there are areas that make you think you are home in the Middle East, stree signs in Arabic, halal butcher shops, and street vendors selling schwarma. [/quote]
A dangerous thing for cultures to ghettoize in a society. In a truly multicultural nation, there would be no ‘chinatown’ or ‘muslimtown
Sisters
[quote]A dangerous thing for cultures to ghettoize in a society. In a truly multicultural nation, there would be no ‘chinatown’ or ‘muslimtown
Sisters
[quote]The true strength of the west is their ability to gather many cultures together without losing the identity of each individual. The swirling mix of ideas, cultures, and viewpoints creates innovation. [/quote]
In the UK, it also creates quite a lot of riots, beatings, and murder.
Sisters
I am absolutly shocked and dis-heartened. This is a travesty of epic preportions. I simply cannot believe that anyone in the free world would be forced to carry around a bulky CD player instead of an I-pod. The least someone could do for this poor woman is offer her a basic MP3 player. You Bastards!!!!
Sisters
Second comment:
I don’t see anything offensive in this picture. Do you?
Re: Sisters
Done Clive, thanks for sharing your photography. Excellent photograph and as you see from the comments here, creates quite a mixed bag of emotion, as any good work of art should.
Re: Sisters
sounds like you’re talking about Canada! We experienced part of this utopian world in Toronto..
Re: Sisters
U do need to go out more…!!
it’s in England for sure, the red bench and the notice board are give it all away. Cud be london, but u won’t know unless u see the ticket dispensers on the side ๐
not like taking the bus is something to brag about, but something tells me that taking taxis on a daily basis is not on my budget! ๐
this scene would be totally normal in east london, bradford, leeds, birmingham… ehehe the list goes onn!!!
Re: Sisters
[quote]The swirling mix of ideas, cultures, and viewpoints creates innovation. Nations that aspire towards ethnic purity are seeking the systemic poison of stagnation and backwardness.[/quote]
We see the latter too often in places like Saudi! (Not surprising.. but still)
I believe that the real danger lies not in ‘cultural areas, but in cultural ghettoes, like the poster said. If all Chinese lived in one area and only spoke chinese and shuttered themselves away from the larger society.. that breeds problems. France is suffering that right now with ethnic slums leading to race riots! http://no-pasaran.blogspot.com/2005/04/just-waiting-for-white-riot-ils-ne.html
Multiculturalism is a balancing act. One culture’s failure to respect anothers’ leads to ruin. Ghettoization is the first step to this.
Re(2): Sisters
[quote]Ethan: My annoyance stems from the fact that there was more to the image than ‘ooh, lets compare hawt Brit to homely Muslim’; physical beauty is only part of the equation.[/quote]
We may be working from different equations, here, Ethan. I’m not so sure she is all that “hawt” either. She’s awfully cute but she’s kinda trashy, too. The best and most beautiful girls of the world don’t go strolling about half dressed with tattoos on their belly. I’m not much of a fan of the new trend toward stripper chic. Give me a little mystery, please.
[quote]Ethan: Far as we know, the white girl could be the bitchiest dame on the planet, or it could be the other way around! That’s what I find interesting, you cannot judge people by their clothing. [/quote]
If she’s a cute white chick with a posse of guys hounddogging her every step, you can be sure she is likely to be one bitchy dame, at least some of the time. It’s like a biological law. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
You’re absolutely right that you can’t judge women by their clothing. That’s why I judge them by their lack of clothing.
Steve
Sisters
I still think the one on the right is depressed.
Sisters
dunno ..
i have been both these women at different points in my life .. i have worn the hijab and the head scarf in saudi arabia – i wear it to condolences in bahrain .. and whilst i dont have a tatoo and a tummy ring, i have certainly worn jeans and a tshirt and waited for many a bus in london ..
i dont think you are defined by what u wear, but what ur spirit is. i will say one thing though, i have felt much more clothed in jeans and a tshirt than in an abbaye and hijab. the whole premise of covering up revolves around women being viewed as sex objects first, and people second.
If God didnt want people to have sexual urges, he wouldnt have created two different sexes. Period. God bless the mannequins.
JJ
Sisters
[quote]i dont think you are defined by what u wear, but what ur spirit is. [/quote]
Reading your post, it occurred to me how much this debate always seems to be about clothing and sexuality. Personally I could never wear a hijab but it has nothing whatsoever to do with sexuality; it’s because I love and need to feel the wind in my hair. Likewise, I like to wear clothes that I feel comfortable in – clothes I can run in, climb a tree in, ride a bike in. What men think of my clothing is not my primary concern at all.
Sisters
Well experience learnt me that there’s nothing interesting with blondes, even at the dead end of their minds; blondes are fading, without savor,flavor, nothing interesting, i’ve stoped fishing in the closet a long time ago.
i come from europe, and definitively i do respect a woman wearing hijab, with convictions or simply respecting traditions.
what could i get with the tatoo dog, hepathis C ?
Sisters
Don’t give up. Keep on experiencing blondes. I’ve only met one dumb one. She was a friend of my wifes who got a gum infection and went around telling people she had hoof and mouth disease.
billT