Lecture 6

Question 1

what was Lila Abu-Lughod’s book called and what was it about?

Answer 1

called Veiled Sentiments

writing against a mountain of orientalist assumptions that depicted women of the Middle East

Question 2

what were the orientalist assumptions for women in the middle east?

Answer 2

women totally excluded from public places

didn’t play any role other than fulfilling domestic duties

had no agency so needed a saviour

Question 3

when does the question of voice become important in terms if Middle Eastern women?

Answer 3

When the world sees a group of people (here: Middle Eastern women) as helpless

Question 4

what is a voice in the Middle East a metaphor for? why?

Answer 4

agency; you can advocate for yourself if you have a voice, otherwise you’re voiceless

Question 5

what is silence a metaphor for? why?

Answer 5

oppression; to silence
someone is to suppress their agency and voice.

Question 6

who are the female stars that represent the powerful idea of turning a voice into a metaphor?

Answer 6

Qamar, Umm Kulthum, Fairouz

Question 7

why were the female singers Qamar, Umm Kulthum, and Fairouz turned into metaphors?

Answer 7

Because of their high cultural and social status in a particular period,
their emergence as stars often were entangled with the birth of a new
era in the history of their nations.

Question 8

who was the Iranian diva?

Answer 8

Googoosh

Question 9

who is Googoosh? when did they burst into the scences?

Answer 9

multitalented artist who burst onto the scene during the 1960s as a singer, dancer, actress, and fashion icon

Question 10

what was the significance of Googoosh’s emergence as a superstar?

Answer 10

coincided with Iran’s Shah’s new
ideas for a more Westernized and modern country

paved the way for rapid and vast developments of the
new pop culture industries (popularity of TV and the new 45 rpm
records as the new platforms of broadcasting music)

Question 11

what did Googoosh’s career benefit?

Answer 11

the birth of the new pop culture industry in Iran and its developments

Question 12

what happened in 1979?

Answer 12

there was a revolution in Iran causing a complete ban on popular music

Question 13

what did the silence forced on Googoosh symbolize?

Answer 13

the oppression of Iran

Question 14

what did the complete ban on popular music also oppress?

Answer 14

her entanglement with the pre-revolutionary era, and its flourishing pop music industry as they went to silence simultaneously

Question 15

When did Googoosh leave Iran and what happened when she did?

Answer 15

She finally left Iran in 2000 and represented a new and more powerful symbolic era for Iran

Question 16

what are the consequences of powerful metaphors for women and music in the Middle East?

Answer 16

Highlighting the “metaphor” of voices diminishes is physical and technical properties

Focusing too much on divas overshadows other female musicians who are not superstars

Emphasizing the female voice marginalizes female instrumentalist and instruments

Question 17

What does shifting the focus from voice and divas to female instrumentalist do?

Answer 17

Provides a new perspective of women and music in the middle east

Question 18

How has instagram been an important platform for Iranian musicians?

Answer 18

Only global major social media platform that is not monitored by Iranian authorities. So it is easy to access both audience and musicians

Many male and females agree that given the complexities of performing live in Iran, instagram is a better platform to stay in touch with fans

Question 19

Who is Menraz Debirazah?

Answer 19

Instagram Iranian musician known for playing the tombak

Question 20

What is an example of criticism that female musicians on instagram are criticized for?

Answer 20

Using the sexual attractions of their bodies to gain more attention on Instagram despite having a low quality performance. Therefore, they were accused of compensating for what that lack musically with the sexual attraction of their bodies

Question 21

How does Dabirzadah respond to criticism?

Answer 21

She mainly ignore them but sometimes responds in interviews saying that she has not used plastic surgery to change her appearance and would do nothing to change her appearence

Question 22

Why did Dabirzadah receive a paradox response compared to Googoosh in terms of who their music serves?

Answer 22

For divas, their bodies and voices whether metaphorical or physical were used to serve a greater collective force; the nation.

People like Dabirzadah music talents are meant to serve her and her career

Question 23

Why did Dabirzadah receive a paradox response compared to Googoosh in terms of the body?

Answer 23

For divas, there is a collective control imposed on the body that makes it invisible

For people like Dabirzadah, her appearance is controlled by only her which may lead to what is seems like hypervisibility of her body

Question 24

Why did Dabirzadah receive a paradox response compared to Googoosh In terms of freedom?

Answer 24

The type of presence Dabirzadah creates anxiety whereby an individuals freedom is not accepted