Summary: Amani Al-Khatahtbeh is the founder and editor-in-chief of MuslimGirl.com. She recently wrote a book, Muslim Girl: A Coming of Age, which details what is like for her growing up as Muslim woman in America.
Read an excerpt from her piece below:
“‘The media is hype about Muslim women right now, but only the ones that fit a certain kind of image,’ I told Contessa Gayles. I was finishing up my makeup in the bathroom of Muslim Girl’s overpriced Williamsburg studio as she taped our conversation, getting footage for a CNN interview we were about to shoot.
“It’s so meta. You have to wear a headscarf, of course, because the media’s lazy perception of Muslim women — and the only visual they’re keen to perpetuate — is that all of them wear headscarves.
“Plus, the Muslim community can more easily see you as a woman leader if you satisfy this requirement. That’s the qualifier. Then, after that, you have to be some level of attractive, of course. In societal terms, that means a lighter complexion is a major bonus.
“That privilege has been on my mind a lot this year: If I was a Muslim woman with darker skin, maybe a chocolate color rather than the honey-caramel flavor that was acceptable for being not too foreign but just enough, then I doubt I’d be getting as much airtime as I am right now. Maybe not nearly as many people would care about hearing what I have to say.”
Read the full story @ The Cut …