The Infamous Checked Scarf
There’s been a whole lot of raucous about the colorful checked scarves that have made their way into the fashion world and onto the necks of our NYU boys and girls. Certainly you’ve seen them, if not artfully draped on the ultra trendy milling about what’s left of Washington Square Park, then definitely swaying in the breeze on St. Marks where the vendors hock them for eight to ten dollars.
They’re everywhere on our little campus.
I'm going to level with you here, I want one. I think they're cute, quite fashionable, and useful since it's definitely scarf season, but between people decrying them left and right as tools for political incendiaries and my own unwillingness to be called a hipster, I was more than a little hesitant. Then I realized, "Okay, I've heard about what these scarves are supposed to be and I see who's wearing them, but I don't actually know what they're about." So, I thought I'd do a little research and see what's truly going down with these scarves.
According to grapeshisa.com, a website on clothing guidelines of the United Arab Emirates (a country separated by two other countries from the conflict) the scarf is referred to as a Guthra, a head covering “sported by males.” They come in all colors, the most popular being the red and white or black and white checks. Often, they can indicate status. They are made out of tough material and help to protect one’s head from the sun and sand. I have it on good authority that the winds in the Middle East are no joke and that sandstorms have been known to take the paint off of cars, so that makes a whole lot of sense. So does the use of the Egal, the black rope used to keep the headscarf in place. Not many know that the Egal serves what I find a comedic dual purpose in that “in days gone by, these would be used by Bedouin [ancestors of the current peoples] to tie their camel's feet down during the night while they were traveling." Awesome. However, younger guys in the Emirates don’t often wear the Egal and instead opt for a method of tying it called hamdaniya. The UAE and several other Arab countries have been sporting this look since ancient times.
The current atmosphere surrounding these scarves reminds me of another style upset in American history. Ever heard of Angela Yvonne Davis? I won't go into detail for the sake of time, but very recently a piece about her by Coco Fusco (curated by NYU professor Deborah Willis for the Gulf and Western Gallery) outlined, among other things, how when Davis went into hiding, the feds had trouble finding her because they could not nail down an accurate enough description of what she looked like. All they had to go was that Davis was light skinned in complexion and rocked an afro. In turn, they started apprehending and questioning any women they could find with an afro. Silly, right? Cause, I mean, logic would dictate that not every woman with an afro was Angela Davis and further, that not every woman with an afro supported Angela Davis.
Not everybody with a checked scarf is down with Palestinian nationalism.
So, it would seem to me that the only real discrepancy here is that girls are wearing them too, but since when have NYU girls been known to play by the rules and leave stuff for the boys? Psh.
Now you're in the know.
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