Seems like neither person has a choice in how they dress. There’s the pressure to be fashionable and the pressure to wear what men deem appropriate. Either way, neither woman is in control.

I think the artist is trying to say not to be too extreme in either direction. I do not agree that women should be forced to wear something they don’t want to. I also do not personally think that exposing as much skin as possible is necessarily empowering either. Women think that the only way to feel beautiful and attractive is to expose themselves with the result being insecurity and discomfort. But to each her own.

Mr. Fish is obviously a cisgender straight male.

This is a false dichotomy. Not all Western women dress like, what I presume the cartoonist believes are “whores.” We dress like professionals, nurses, police officers, students, we wear jeans and sweaters and sure tank tops and mini skirts when we want to, but that’s the point. We where what we want. We will never be tortured or imprisioned for wearing what we want, going where we want or doing what we want. Arab women don’t have a choice, what they were is legislated in the Arab world and strictly controlled by fathers and brothers in North America. I should know, a girl from my high school was murdered by her father for refusing to wear a hijab. That happens.

Majd,

Perhaps it is you who is “ignorant” - have you taken
the trouble to research Afghan women’s attitudes
towards the burqas they are forced to wear? Say what
you will about Western modes of dress - at least
women who reject them aren’t beaten, shot, or stoned
to death. We have actual choices. Dressing like a
skank is but one of these. This cartoon represents a
ridiculous and reductionist outlook, drawing a false
distinction whereby a woman is either a nun or a
whore. And far from making the point it is apparently
aiming for, the take-home message is STILL; “Women,
we will judge you on how you dress.” Yeah, really
enlightened stuff.

I don’t believe the cartoonist would dare draw such
an insulting cartoon depicting a man in a djellaba vs
a man in a business suit.

The issue isn’t who’s wearing a burqa and who’s wearing skanky clothing. I think people often miss the point of this debate. Women should be allowed to wear what they want. The problem starts when men start choosing what females should wear for them.

Women’s bodies and the way they dress should be
regulated by women. If a woman wants to wear a
burka, let her, if she wants to wear regular
clothes, let her. The problem is men trying to
control it. It really just boils down to a man’s comfort. I (a man) am jealous that my
girlfriend/wife etc is hot and other men look at
her, I will make her dress differently for my own
comfort. I will then look with contempt on other
women who dress the way I have forbidden my wife to
dress. all awhile objectifying her in my brain. I’m
a dude by the way, and all people are created equal,
it just so happens that men have a tendency to be
more powerful and exploit it on the women they supposedly love.

I don’t understand is this suppose to funny…?

I don’t get what makes either one the lesser sex.

LOVE IT! LOL so truuuee!
Haha @sweeper, your ignorance is astounding. As a
female citizen of the ME, let me tell you that while a
few women here are forced to wear the burqa, many,
believe it or not, simply love the fact that it makes
them feel closer to their God.
“...the woman you see as “sexualised” is only rendered
that way by the your sexualised gaze”  TO ALL FEMALES
OF THE WORLD: LETS GO OUT NAKED! IT IS FILTHY MEN’S
EYES THAT SEE US AS SEXUALISED, WE REALLY AREN’T DOING
ANYTHING WRONG. -_-

So, according to this cartoon, a woman displaying her
natural body shape (high heels not withstanding)is
dehumanised in the same way as one who is forced by
archaic religio-cultural archetypes, to cover every
part of herself, including her face, prohibiting
meaningful social interaction. It’s just so
brilliantly “ironic” that we Western women should
object to that sort of treatment of our gender. And
yet you fail to notice the clear irony in the fact
that the woman you see as “sexualised” is only
rendered that way by the your sexualised gaze. You
imply that she is dressing for you.

You’re a satirical genius. Not.

hahahahaha!

I am a male, grown as a muslim in ME and now an atheist living in a western country.
Make no mistake, I think Mr. Fish is brilliant. He is a one of a kind artist. But I have something to say on this.
Suppose the burka lady says the same thing to the high heel lady: “Put on this burka, or you are the lesser sex”.
The point is that she, the burka lady has reached to this conclusion by the continuous brain wash of the male dominated society in muslim world.
I know there is brain wash in western societies as well. But nobody forces you physically to wear high heels or shorts. The burka is being forced.
Burka lady does not have any other choice and is uneducated. The high heel lady does have many other choices and a voice.