Dress Culture
From the Windrush Generation to British Bangladeshi Muslim men in the East End of London - how culture, stigma and discrimination impact clothes choices.
Laurie Taylor talks to Fatima Rajina, Senior Legacy in Action Research Fellow at the Stephen Lawrence Research Centre, De Montfort University, Leicester, about changing perceptions of dress among British Bangladeshi Muslim men in London’s East End. Why has the thobe, a garment traditionally associated with the Arab States, come to signify a universal Muslim identity? And why have Muslim men's clothing choices attracted so little scrutiny, compared to Muslim women's? Also, Teleica Kirkland, Lecturer in the Cultural and Historical Studies Department at the London College of Fashion, explores the performative elegance of the Windrush generation, whose respectable presentation was a route to seeking dignity and respect in British society. What were the limitations of using fashion as a way to gain acceptance?
Producer: Jayne Egerton
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Guests and further reading
- , lecturer in the Cultural and Historical Studies Department at the London College of FashionÌý
Performative Elegance: the Windrush Generation and the Politics of RespectabilityÌý by Teleica Kirkland in Dangerous BodiesÌý New Global Perspectives on Fashion and Transgression (edited by and Ìý) Springer
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- , Senior Legacy in Action Research Fellow at the Stephen Lawrence Research Centre, at De Montfort University, Leicester
Paper: British Muslim Men and Clothes: the role of stigma and the political reconfigurations around sartorial choices Ìýin Identities: Global Studies in Culture and PowerÌý
British Bangladeshi Muslims in the East End The changing landscape of dress and language ByÌýFatima Rajina (Manchester University Press)
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Broadcasts
- Tue 11 Mar 2025 15:30ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4
- Sun 16 Mar 2025 06:05ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4
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ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Thinking Allowed is produced in partnership with The Open University
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