Because western popular culture is defined by cultural misappropriation; in this particular case, because the head scarf went out of vogue sometime back in the 60s, and now we associate it more with its 'other' context (niqabi) than with its domestic context (Grandma keeping her hair neat on windy days). It's cultural tourism, a subversion of someone else's symbol, rather than something dowdy and old-fashioned.

Wait a minute . . . didn't Aunt Jemima wear a head scarf?

I associate it with women of the 1950s and 60s and giant hair curlers.

Well the way Westerners wear head scarves may have something to do with it. Look at that picture. She has her hair in a head scarf much like Jackie O and not like a Muslim woman. Too much hair showing!

The hair around the face has a softening effect. From a fashion point of view, it looks very feminine, very graceful, very elegant.

The way a hijab is worn is specifically to make sure the hair around the face doesn't show. It looks much more austere.

Sometimes we're just cold.

I hate it when westerners, male or females, wear keffiyehs.

I like sarongs, hijab, etc. I think they look dignified and elegant. I somewhat envy the fact that the wearer doesn't have to go through absurd beauty rituals to look lovely.

But when Westerners wear headscarves casually, all I see is my elderly Polish grandmother's babushka flapping in the wind. Charming? Yes. Stylish? Ehhhhhh...

It's our severe lack of dust storms and convertibles that causes our reaction.

American women in headscarves just makes me think they drive a convertible.

I see the idealized imagine of my great-grandmother, personally.

Well, I'm either cold, waiting for my hair to dry, or my hair won't be contained by anything else. It's as shockingly utilitarian as that.

When a Western woman wears a scarf on her head, it's called a "scarf" not a "headscarf." It is worn in no context other than style. My mother wore one fashionably until 1979.

Is that Natalie Merchant?

"Verdi Cries" is a great song from the great album In My Tribe. That is what I am think of when I see her with or without a headwrapping.

... Women wear head scarves? Sorry, this is news to me.

I do see the occassional bandana. Same concept?

"If this is the case, we must next explain why is it the case"

Why? Why do we have to explain why that is the case? Sometimes a banana is just a banana, Charles.

I've got nothing but hampers of ironing to do - and my diet pill is wearing off.

What we have is the collision of two different fashion modes: the traditional western scarf worn by grandmas and Jackie O, and the traditional eastern scarf worn by Muslims and south Asian women. Each mode has completely different reasons and rules for its use; the tension comes from those two styles growing together toward a more homogenized third mode.

I think the only reason you posted this is because it gave you an excuse to once again post the fodder your wet dreams are made of.

Insightful viewpoint, Greg @17.

@13: it's always Natalie Merchant.

i think it's ridiculous to have to justify wearing head scarves. just because a style didn't originate in the us, doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to adopt it in the same way that we share trends with the uk and china.

keffiyehs look rad and haters should step off. you shouldn't have to be of middle eastern descent to sport them.

see her hair peeking out? now shut up.

Yes, Tiffany. Especially with a Che Guevara tee shirt.

this is so sexist ... & hegemonic

@11: I'll add that it is one of the few, if not only, items that won't cause hat head. I like to wear scarves in the winter because of that plus it covers my ears and keeps them warm.

Really, Charles, if you have questions about women/fashion maybe you should, I don't know, *ask* a couple of women?

how is a woman wearing a scarf on her own free will sexist and hedgmonic?

"If this is the case, we must next explain why is it the case"

Because they're not forced to wear one - its being done out of their own free fashionista will.

Natalie Merchant wears a head scarf to try to distract Charles from looking at her tits.

@25: You assume Chaz knows, let alone speaks to, any women.

OK, I'm living in Istanbul and I'll tell you one thing: headscarves are no joke over here. There are plenty of neighborhoods where I can walk around without any problem but there are lots of places where I am publicly scolded if my hair is showing. I am a whore if I don't adopt their religious restrictions. And I know you'll all say I should be religiously sensitive. Well Turkey is a secular country and I'm a western non-Muslim and I'm not particularly interested in covering my head unless its raining so until women over here can walk around without experiencing social pressure to cover their heads (and think about the submissiveness of that act in itself, our heads are our mind) I think it would be absurd for western women to co-opt this as some newfangled fashon statement. It undermines the entire issue of headscarves. While I know that headscarves are a choice for many women, they are manditory for some who would choose not to wear one if they had that freedom. The fact that wearing a headscarf is not a choice for so many women makes wearing one as some post modern ironic statement wrong. (and I'll admit that I have made similar mistakes in the past with a few of my halloween costumes) Figure it out ladies, the way to change the world has nothing to do with what you wear on the streets of Seattle, you actually have to DO something. The fight for equality may be virtually over in the US but there is a LONG way to go over here. So go on with your Jackie O but let's not mix it up too much or we'll completely obscure the larger issue at hand.

@30...ummm, maybe some women just like to wear a head scarf because they like the way it looks and aren't thinking about all the political and religious aspects of how it affects women in other countries. That's the great thing about the good ol US of A, if we want to wear a scarf, we can, if we don't we don't have to. You chose to live in Istanbul, and you choose whether or not you follow their religious culture. If I want to put a fucking scarf on my head because I think it looks pretty I will.