'I compare the veil to a Rorschach test,' WILL speaker says

By Michael Gaynor

Collegian Reporter

This semester's WILL speaker series began Tuesday night with a presentation on the controversial topic of women's veiling.

The guest speaker was Farzaneh Milani, a professor of Persian literature and women studies at the University of Virginia. She addressed a packed crowd with her lecture, "The Veil: A Modern Fetish," covering issues ranging from the veil's history, non-Islamic veiling institutions and cultural misconceptions about the practice.

"I compare the veil to a Rorschach test," Milani said. "We project upon it what we want to see in it."

Milani discussed the cultural complexities of the veil that have been muddied by the politicization of the symbol, and how Western fascination with the practice has produced little concrete understanding of the realities behind it.

Milani teaches courses in cross-cultural studies of women as well as Persian cinema and literature, topics that all require close examination of the institution of veiling.

"I've studied the veil for over 30 years," Milani said. "Because early on I realized I could not talk about Persian or Islamic literature without understanding the culture of veiling."

Melissa Ooten, associate director of the Women Involved in Living and Learning program, said the group invited Milani to speak in hopes of broadening student's understanding of the veil.

"I think we often speak about the Middle East in monolithic terms, as if the people there are all the same," Ooten said. "I hope this lecture dispels that so we can talk about complicated cultural issues like veiling more intelligently."

Milani is the first of three speakers in the "Politics of the Body" speaker series being presented by the WILL, Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Quest programs.

"We want to look at woman's issues and gender issues through the context of the body," said Ooten. "It's a broad look at the controversies today surrounding it."

Whereas WILL's past speaker series themes have dealt with topics including environmental justice and women in science, Ooten said this year the group chose to confront the contentious subject of the body through a variety of lenses.

In addition to Milani's talk on veiling, future speakers in the series will tackle the racial health divide in the United States and re-examine the global phenomenon of eating disorders.

WILL Director Holly Blake said she hoped the series would spark conversation on body issues both inside and outside of the classroom.

"We want students to think more deeply about the questions raised," Blake said. "We hope they'll go out and gain information and insight about these controversial issues and continue the discussion afterwards."

Alex Young, a senior member of WILL, said she had enjoyed Milani's presentation.

"She didn't only cover the tradition and history of veiling, but also the personal controversies surrounding it," Young said. "The rhetorical symbol of the veil, women loosing their sense of movement. I really liked it."

The next speaker in the series will be Harriet Washington, a journalist and editor in the field of bioethics. Her lecture, "American Apartheid: Race, History, and Medical Logic," will confront the American racial health discrepancy and what must be done to remedy the inequalities. It is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Oct. 30, in the Brown-Alley Room of Weinstein Hall.

Contact reporter Michael Gaynor at michael.gaynor@richmond.edu