Private citizens, through their surveillance of Muslim women’s bodies, create an environment where Muslim women feel pressure to alter and change their dress because of these antagonistic stares. The act of changing one’s attire to disrupt the gaze reveals that although there is a power dynamic in these social interactions, Muslim American women still exert some agency in response to their surveillance. By altering their appearances, Muslim women are trying to limit their racial experiences in public spaces. The uncomfortable gaze and the scowling looks create a hostile environment they have to navigate. Ironically, Muslim women feel they lack choice or free will in how they dress not because Muslim men oppress them, but because they are under the watchful eye of their fellow citizens. Controlling for dress is one of the ways Muslim women participate in the discipline of their own bodies while they rearticulate what it means to wear the hijab.

Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, loc. 377