Aside from the fact that they remind those of us who were exposed to Japanese movies of ninjas, why are veiled women so disconcerting? I bring this up because Jack Straw over in England is causing a controversy by talking about the fact that when he meets female constituents who are veiled he asks them to remove it. Of course some Muslims are saying that their religion demands a veil, which is utter bullshit, their interpretation of their religion demands it. I know from personal experience that even many Muslims find the veil disturbing and are uncomfortable with it. Occasionally people will laugh at the fact that "you can't see them, but they can see you," but I think this highlights a basic psychological reality: we are highly dependent on facial expression in interacting with each other. Our species has a gestalt ability to recognize and perceive emotion in faces. This is innate, it isn't learned, we're born with it. I offer that the hijab, which only covers the head, or a turban, or a some other such distinctive garment, are not as disturbing because the face is still visible. Fundamentally, while some types of clothing are markers of distinction and difference, the veil is one which forces a separation between two human beings on a very deep level. The interaction between a veiled and unveiled individual is fundamentally asymmetrical as one individual can still absorb all the critical facial information while the other goes "blind." When veiled women lived mostly in seclusion in pre-modern times this was not a great consideration, as they went unveiled amongst themselves, but today some veiled women assert the right to a public life, in the professions, and what not. And so of course new problems emerge. Can you imagine the sort of debate that would erupt if a veiled woman asserted the right to enter a poker tournament?
The discussion is fine as it is on focusing on the social-cultural dimension. My only point is that there is a neuropsychological difference between particular forms of dress which seem atypical, and the veiling of the face. The latter elicits a "gut" sentiment which is not necessarily learned in my opinion. Some Westerners make the assertion that Black Moving Objects, the Saudi women in their abayas, are dehumanized. On a rational level this isn't so, they bleed red like you and me, but as human beings we recongize conspecifics by particular cues, and I do believe that the shapeless form of these outfits combined with the facelessness of these individuals does render them in-human on an instinctive level.
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Try working in a cleanroom. It will bring out your innate ability to interact with people sans facial cues.
It will bring out your innate ability to interact with people sans facial cues.
1) well, even if people aren't give obvious & clear facial cues, often there is a subconscious layer of perception.
2) a teacher-student relationship, in my opinion, is not a 'normal' situation in that i think the former should pretty much control the input of the latter and dictate affairs.
The other situation where this effect works is the erotic tease, for the same reasons. I did some ethnomusicological research and found this example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VD1TvMO3fk
Razib,
Cleanroom, not classroom. Masked & hooded.
Personally, I have a problem with tone resolution. I can hear just fine that something is being said, but it's somewhat fuzzy. I listen to talk radio more loudly than I would otherwise need to. I often rely on lip-reading to give me cues regarding the words in face-to-face encounters. Though, when interacting with veiled women, I simply ask them to repeat themselves if I miss something. It's never a problem beyond that mild inconvenience.
Another issue came up a few years ago having to do with the fact that we use facial images as low-tech biometrics on IDs. <google> Here it is: http://www.local6.com/news/2211189/detail.html -- I wonder if police carrying some sort of portable biometric device (fingerprints, retinal images) might have changed the ruling, allowing for a reasonable alternative to quickly connect an ID to the holder.
The Jack Straw row rumbles on. Straw now says he would like Muslim women not to wear veils at all, though of course he is not saying it should be banned. It seems brave of Straw to take this line, as about 1/4 of his electorate is Muslim. It is like a New York congressman protesting at kosher slaughter of animals!