The Gaze

Gaze has a significant part in this study. The concept of an Islamophobic gaze is used to understand the gendered dimensions of manifestations of Islamophobia in the public sphere. The Islamophobic gaze represents stereotypes about the hijab coupled with assumptions about Muslim women’s subservience when they are looked upon by the public (Said, 1978). Islamophobia is a fear or hatred of Islam that translates into ideological and material forms of cultural racism against obvious markers of “Muslimness” (Richardson, 2004). The hijab carries a strong symbolic load of Muslim identity that makes Muslim women visibly different from the rest. Thus, they often are looked upon as others by the white gaze, making this Islamophobic gaze gendered in nature towards Muslim women. Their hijab is often seen as an oppressive and subordinating practice by the white public. The Orientalists of the dominant culture think that they “know” these Muslim women, and as members of the dominant culture, they have fabricated and continue to fabricate these racialized subjects, forging stereotypical concepts of identity upon Muslim women. The interpretation of the hijab among Western society fabricates a false recognition of the hijab and of the women who wear it every time the gaze is enacted (Fanon & Philcox, 2007).
Muslim women are often considered to have low self-esteem as they avoid eye contact in response to the white gaze. However, it was important to look into the research to find the association between maintaining the gaze and modesty. A gaze is deeper than glancing at someone. It has to do with what is in the eyes. When we look in another’s eyes, if their pupils dilate, it is a sign of attraction and emotional arousal (Janisse, 1973; Siegle et al., 2002; Bradley et al., 2008). When making eye contact with someone, if their pupils dilate, we judge them to be more trustworthy, whereas if their pupils constrict, it is a sign of fear or feeling threatened, and then we judge them as less trustworthy.
Muslim women’s identities can be understood to be evaluated and challenged each day with stereotypes about their dress and their lowered gaze that are based on white supremacy and colonial concepts. Unveiling their bodies and modernizing them can be seen as ways to discipline the Muslim man, who is considered to be empowered with patriarchy, ultimately pleasing colonial power (Razack, 2011). From childhood, Muslim women are trained to keep their gaze lowered, as it mentions in the Quran (verse 24:30): “Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and protect their private parts. That is purer for them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do.”
Although the verse is directed to believing men, this verse is mostly applied to Muslim women only. They are trained to keep their gaze lowered in everyday life to show modesty. However, an interpretation of this verse is to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things) in terms of being modest and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.) to be pure. When Muslim women migrate to Canada, they face cultural barriers in relation to their gaze. They are often assumed to have low self-esteem and low self-confidence because they are often unable to make more prolonged eye contact. This idea comes from the research in white supremacy, where self-esteem is associated with eye contact, and more specifically, gaze avoidance and gaze duration. Gaze avoidance is defined as the breaking of eye contact and avoidance of the other’s gaze. Gaze duration is defined as the length of time during which eye contact is maintained (Vandromme, Hermans, & Spruyt, 2011). Various studies show that people with high self-esteem can make more prolonged eye contact than those with lower self-esteem (Duncan, 1969; Fugita et al., 1977; Harper, Wiens, & Matarazzo, 1978).
Gaze and eye contact are often associated with one’s self-confidence and/or self-esteem. Self-esteem involves looking at an individual’s personal feelings and judgment of their own self-worth (U’Ren, 1971). Research shows that higher self-esteem is associated with reduced breaking of eye contact, whereas lower indirect self-esteem is associated with breaking eye contact more frequently (Vandromme, Spruyt, & Hermans, 2011). Many other studies associate gaze with self-esteem (Kleinke, 1986; Knackstedt & Kleinke, 1990; Kuzmanovic et al., 2009; Wirth et al., 2010; Conty, George, & Hietanen, 2016). In one study, it was found that individuals are judged to be more likable, credible, and imbued with self-esteem when exhibiting high levels compared to low levels of eye contact (Kleinke, 1986).
Looking into the effects of gaze and eye contact, one study found that, for example, models displaying high amounts of eye contact in 1-minute videotapes were judged to be more confident, potent, attractive and mature than models displaying a lower amount of eye contact (Knackstedt & Kleinke, 1990). More recent studies show that eye contact, even with an animated face, can lead to enhanced positive evaluations. For example, a direct gaze displayed by animated faces holding the gaze for different durations showed higher likeability ratings for faces with a more direct than averted gaze. Moreover, the longer the gaze was held, the more likely the likeability ratings (Kuzmanovic et al., 2009) increased. Another study reported that a 2-minute period of direct gaze with filmed actors led participants to infer the actors had more positive personality traits (Wirth et al., 2010). So, the gaze is not just connected to the person’s self-esteem but also has an impact on the self-esteem of the person being looked at (Conty, George, & Hietanen, 2016).