The Keffiyeh: Modern Symbol of Hipster Ignorance

Posted by Nich Mulgrew at 11:22 AM

Flipping through a copy of the SL Magazine is rather annoying these days. The magazine is littered with photographs of hipster kids wearing square cotton scarves, identical to Arabian keffiyehs. They come in a variety of colours: purples, pinks and peuces made to match whatever huge sunglasses or bright skinny jeans they happen to be wearing, draped over their shoulders like some kind of hipster superhero cape. Their THC-drunk smiles relaying a kind of superficiality and ignorance usually reserved for the offspring of Hollywood celebrities.

The keffiyeh, for those that don’t know, is an Arab headdress for men, usually woven with a distinctive check pattern and lined with knotted tassels. It may not sound familiar, but trust me, you’ve seen one before: Yasser Arafat wore one, Lupe Fiasco wears them, and chances are that one third of postmodernism-loving Rhodes BA students wear them on a regular basis.

“So what?” you may ask. Well, bluntly put, the keffiyeh is a potent symbol of Palestinian nationalism. Much in the same way as the old driekleur flag is a symbol of Apartheid and repression in today’s South Africa, the keffiyeh represents a range of strong values: to Jews, it would represent terrorism; to Arabs, political resistance and nationalism; to young Western youth, a cute accessory to match with your edgy Che Guevara (“Oh, he’s that bicycle guy, right?”) t-shirt.

The keffiyeh began its ascent into Western fashion culture in the early 1980s when it caught on as a symbol of support for Palestinian freedom amongst politically-active non-Arab American students. Wearing the keffiyeh was a potent political statement to make too: The Independent called the keffiyeh “a symbol of Islamic militancy” while Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero was criticized by opposition parties after posing with a keffiyeh and was accused of “anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and Israelophobia”.

At this juncture in history, however, the keffiyeh is usually labeled as “cute”, “stylish” and “edgy” by fashion kids who know nothing about politics or current affairs outside of what they read in underground Cape Town fashion magazines. Vacuous hipster culture strips any sort of historical or cultural significance from garments in a ridiculous race to find the most ironic or esoteric clothes available. While Hollywood celebrities and American rappers may find the keffiyeh a radical accessory, the mass production and ignorant wearing of the keffiyeh cheapens the very values that it stands for, good or bad. To put it into perspective, I would liken the wearing of the keffiyeh by politically-retarded youths to the story of a friend of mine who wore a silver ring from the Silver Ring Thing (a movement that persuades youths to promise to not have pre-marital intercourse) while she consummated her relationship with her 16 year old boyfriend for the first time: she said afterwards that she only made the promise so that she could get “the sweet-lookin’ ring”.

Dumbass hipsters wearing keffiyehs is equivalent to gorilla-brained gangster rappers spouting ineloquent and violent lyrics while wearing giant crucifixes and, better yet, encrusting them with diamonds and rubies. The keffiyeh is as ubiquitous with Western perceptions of terrorism as HAMAS is, as symbolic of Palestinian and Arab liberation in so much as Timothy Leary is symbolic of LSD. Instead now, the keffiyeh is now symbolic of the constant and indifferent ignorance of “indie” hipsters today, of disrespectful Western society and part of a symbolic dumbing-down of intellectual culture. Along with Nietzsche and Chuck Palahniuk, the keffiyeh is now on the road to hipster decontextualisation, cultural stripping and assimilation into a self- and image-obsessed culture that feeds off of its own vanity and superfluousness.

(Dunno what a keffiyeh is? Bloody look it up, then!)

 

20 comments:

  1. Unknown said... November 23, 2008 at 8:50 PM

    This entire article is superfluous.

    You're speaking too much out of emotion and generalization to be taken seriously.  

  2. Anonymous said... August 15, 2009 at 8:14 PM

    I take it you're the kind of person who gets mad at straight people who want to wear clothing that feature rainbows?  

  3. Anonymous said... March 19, 2010 at 12:03 AM

    man i totally agree
    i was at a party, and before hand my girlfriend draped her keffiyeh on me (she is not muslim/supporter of palestinian nationalism) saying something like oh you look so cute in this. long story short this drunk and angry pseudo-intellectual basically rips me a new one for wearing it and not even knowing what it stands for. I had assumed it was just a weird scarf in my ignorant bliss. I do a little research only to find that if my poor 88 year old jewish grandmother were to have seen my wearing the wretched thing she'd have keeled over. So yes i think we all should be a little more educated about what we decide to wear and what message we display to the world.  

  4. V. Ajra said... September 10, 2011 at 1:46 AM

    @Rahrah:

    U mad?

    P.s. I agree with this article in its entirety, even if it is slightly emotional and generalized.  

  5. Anonymous said... March 17, 2012 at 10:03 PM

    The Keffiyeh is part of the U.S. military uniform in Iraq... Also, 90% of nations in the U.N. support Palestinian statehood. If you look at the statistics of the Isreali/Palestinian conflict, 15 times as many Palestinians have died, compared to Israelis. Palestinians are less than 10% of the population. They are being slaughtered. This is almost genocide, some say it is...

    You don't hear much about this on the news. Only the suicide bombers. Why do you think they do that? Because they are being slaughtered and fighting back.

    I don't condone terrorism, but this is what happens when people are brutally oppressed.

    I know, it is vogue in conservative American culture to suck up to Israel. Their lobbyists have lots of money, the Palestinians don't. But check out the facts from reputable sources...

    Remember the foreign aid workers being killed when they tried to bring supplies into Gaza? That was just a glimpse of the brutality of Israel. Yes, they wear uniforms, but they are terrorists too...  

  6. Anonymous said... March 17, 2012 at 11:05 PM

    It is not too hard to believe that some people wear these and know the truth about the situation in Israel. Hipsters are douches, but they also tend to not buy into mainstream b.s. One facet of mainstream b.s. in this nation is that the poor Israelis are victims of brutal Palestinian terrorist...

    If you look at it, artists like the Pixies and U2 have pulled out of shows in Israel, the former, specifically because of the slaughter of foreign aid workers trying to bring aid into Gaza.

    Hipsters, with their Keffeyehs and their Neutral Milk Hotel playing on the iPhone, may indeed have a political motivation... At least some of them. The occupy movement is also indicative of politically active youth.

    That said, the U.S. military uses the Keffiyeh as part of their uniform in Iraq. It keeps out the dust.

    Palestinians wear pants too... Are they now verboten?

    But it is funny how many people blindly support Israel, because of their lobbying and PR campaign. Oh, the poor victims, who kill 15 times as many Palestians!

    Just goes to show how much one can do with a lot of money... They can turn wrong into right, and a lot of people will believe it, because that is what's on the news.

    There are better sources than the news. I have a degree in international relations. You can read academic works instead of the manufactured consent of the corporate news. Journalists are just glorified English majors who take lying politicians at face value... They work on the behalf of news directors, who are responsible for the interests of the private corporation... Yadda yadda... The news is mostly baloney. Once in a while the truth is uttered, unwittingly, in front of an open mic... Yep, Netanyahu is a big, fat liar... I saw him lie his pants off on Pierce Morgan.

    Now they want to get us in a war with Iran. I don't want Iran to get nukes, but if you took away Israel's nukes, which are pointed at Iran, I bet they would play ball.

    See -- it is very biased. It's ok for Israel to have nukes, but these crazy Muslims in Iran can't. Those crazy Muslims in Pakistan have been pointing their nukes at those crazy Hindus in India for quite some time. Indeed, most IR theorists would say parity and mutually assured destruction create peace. After the Mumbai terrorist incident, which implicated Pakistan, India could do little to retaliate. The risks are simply too high, with both nations having nuclear weapons...

    I'm not saying Iran should have nukes, but that Israel should be disarmed of nuclear weapons.

    An Iranian nuclear weapon could not hit the U.S. It is only a threat to Isreal, but from Iran's point of view, they need nukes to protect themselves and have parity against Isreal. You have to get over the crazy mooslam crap, and look it at from their point of view, for a moment. Israelis are just as meshugga, with a bit more chutzpah. You know? They're both a-holes, and I want to live in a world where neither has those kind of weapons...

    Now, the one nation that can hit the U.S. with nukes is North Korea. Their missiles have enough range to hit the west coast. What do we do about it? Nothing. We know as crazy as they are, if they even thought about it, we'd get crazier with our nukes. In fact, apart from the minor border skirmishes along the DMZ, nothing much has happened in terms of U.S. engaging North Korean forces.

    All this stuff about Iran is indicative of the lobbying and cash given to politicians. Especially at election time, when the cash is flowing, it's almost like Romney's going to convert to Judaism!

    This is not right vs. wrong. This is "you give me money, so I will support your side". Period.

    I think I will go out and buy a Keffeyeh right now! Maybe a dozen...  

  7. Anonymous said... November 17, 2012 at 11:19 PM

    You my friend are educated, unlike the author of this article who don't even know the difference between anti-zionism and anti-semitism.

    I'm jewish but I hate Israel because it kills people in the name of jews.  

  8. Jeremy said... December 3, 2012 at 2:28 AM

    Yes, this article of clothing can be used and has been used as a political statement before. However, it is a common article of clothing in the middle east and it is simply becoming common in the western world. Not everything has to have a meaning attached to it. Your opinion is similar to saying, "Well, the pink ribbon campaign has strongly marketed many clothing products to stand for breast cancer awareness, so if you wear pink because you like the color and not because you support breast cancer awareness you are an imbecile."

    It's clothing, not a common symbol for religion or politics, just clothing.  

  9. Anonymous said... December 12, 2012 at 12:02 AM

    Even if it is "clueless hipsters' wearing the keffiyeh's then at least the discussion of this should lead to conversation on the plight of the Palestinians. If complimented lots of 'hipsters' keffiyehs and questioned them on knowledge of palestine. The majority are aware of the symbolism of wearing a Keffiyah and wear it in solidarity. The few that don't know will generally be interested and then research the situation and the history of palestine themselves. Surely that is a positive thing.  

  10. Anonymous said... January 20, 2013 at 8:05 PM

    Scarves are cool  

  11. Anonymous said... October 21, 2013 at 5:18 PM

    Get over yourself. Nobody is trying to make a political statement when they put on articles of clothing. Not everything in life needs social commentary or have historical significance. Address your anger issues and everything else will sort itself out. My guess is that keffiyehs and hipsters are the least of your problems.  

  12. Dustin said... December 18, 2013 at 6:53 PM

    I'm Native American. I live in Gallup, New Mexico. Believe it, or not, almost all stores and hotels are owned by Whites or Arabs. I have Arab friends. I work with Arabs on a daily basis. I love the way the Keffiyeh look. Since I was a child I've loved them. I got online an ordered one for my wife for Valentines day. It wasn't the normal patterns, but I purchased it from the Arab American National Museum. I asked if it was okay that I ordered it and that My wife wear it, as we were not Arab or Muslim. They responded that it was just dry desert/hot weather head gear for men, or a light shawl/scarf for women and that I should not feel bad about wearing it. They said that I should be proud that my wife could create a bridge of understanding and not isolation by denying mid-east clothing. I ended up buying one for myself too. I wear it in the winter time in rotation with other scarfs.

    My cousins serve in the military in Irag and Afghanistan. They were encouraged to wear Keffiyeh as part of their uniform. For the simple reason that it works for what it is made for. It was not worn to mock anyone or support anything.

    My two cents.  

  13. Anonymous said... February 11, 2014 at 8:00 AM

    I work and live in the deserts here in the US. If you saw me wearing one, would you call me a hipster? Keffiyehs were created for practicality, not for a political statement. That's why armies who fight in deserts and people who live in deserts use them. It only recently became a political thing, and now people like you are calling me "hipster" because I use this as an essential part of being safe at work.

    So if you want to come here to 105 F degree weather and call me a hipster, by all means go ahead, but feel free to burn to a crisp and get sand in your face all day as you protest not wearing one.  

  14. Anonymous said... April 17, 2015 at 10:07 PM

    I canot beleive your childish views of the Keffiyeh. It has never been a symbol of terrorism!!!  

  15. keith_laborde said... October 5, 2016 at 6:27 PM
    This comment has been removed by the author.
  16. keith_laborde said... October 5, 2016 at 6:32 PM

    I bet you would have called T.E. Lawrence, a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia a cultural appropriator. It is definitely a piece of clothing, or a headress, or you can use it in any way you want...it's a piece of cloth! Just like the kanga/kitenge in Africa. It's used as dress, towel, diaper, headress, baby carrier, sleeping mat, I could go on. A rectangular, useful piece of cloth that some would say is off limits to westerners because we didn't start it. Guess what? The East Africans got their kanga idea from the Arab traders in Zanzibar...cultural appropriation? Orrrrrr maybe just a rational, economical, multi use piece of cloth that a sane person would never think twice about whether they're offending a culture.

    There is no such thing as complete originality, if you live an unsheltered life then your experiences, thoughts, ideas, encounters, all mold you into who you are and how you express yourself so don't try to keep westerners in this code of conformity. It stagnates our cultural interaction, makes visiting other places seem superficial if you can't live and learn from others with good ideas. Go wander through the desert, and when a Bedouin offers you a keffiyeh, and you refuse it out of respect, I'm sure you'll get some funny, confused looks.  

  17. Ana said... February 21, 2017 at 11:43 AM

    Thank you for this info.
    I'm Brazilian and would like to have one but I don't buy because what is at the market is not from Palestine.
    I would like to use as a way to support the Palestine cause.
    After reading what it really represents I don't want it anymore.
    Free Palestine!  

  18. Anonymous said... September 8, 2017 at 4:51 PM

    I wear an Olive colored keffiyeh for utility. It kept the dust out of my face when I was in Afghanistan with the US Army. I don't give a shit if I'm stealing it from another culture. It's a piece of clothing with a job to do and it does it well, keep the sun and dust out.  

  19. Unknown said... July 27, 2018 at 10:06 PM
    This comment has been removed by the author.
  20. Anonymous said... March 23, 2019 at 4:30 AM

    LMAO! The shemagh doesn't have a political meaning.. It is a multi-function survival tool for daily life in harsh weather conditions. At the very best the color has had some regional meanion and only darker blues have anything beyond that. Darker blues stating that the wearer be descended from a prophet. Shemagh are not a middle eastern political statement or they've been in widespread use glocally since man has had cotton cloth in the desert.. LOL Hyper politicized nonsense. God forbid people come together over anythings you might offend people who have absolutely nothing to do with the subject about which they are magically offended.. LOL You're destroying the world because you can't live and let live.. :P Have you tried rebooting your ideology?  

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