From Revolution to Fashion Trend

A funny thing happened on a recent trip to Spain with friends. As we wandered around some of the towns and villages, we kept seeing people wearing keffiyahs, the wrap/headscarf traditionally associated with Palestinian nationalism. These were people from all walks of life, from hip young kids to professionals to even kindly looking pensioners.

In the US, people I know who might wear keffiyahs would do so as an overt political statement-- to express solidarity with Palestinians. But as we noticed this overflowing sea of keffiyahs all over the place, something seemed off. Had the whole nation of Spain suddenly discovered its heartfelt loyalty to the Palestinian cause? Or was something else going on?

We decided to ask. Here are some of the responses we got, in rough translation from Spanish.

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Setting One: A Massive New Years Eve Party in the Town of Gandia, Valencia Province. A huge outdoor tent, with mud floors, loud music, and lots of young people.


Emma: Out of curiosity, why are you wearing that scarf? In the US, it would be a political statement. Is that why you are wearing it?

Guy #1: No. Well my mom went to Turkey on holiday and she got one for me. And it's really warm. Cold tonight, isn't it?

Emma: Cool, can we take a photo with you?

Guy #1: Um. Sure.

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Paula: Hi, mind if I ask you a question? Was wondering about the keffiyah you're wearing. Do you call it a keffiyah?

Guy #2: Oh, this palestino?

Paula: Right. The palestino...I was curious as to why you're wearing it. Palestino- that means its about the Palestinians?

Guy #2: (Shrugs). It's fashion, I think. It's trendy.

Paula: Okay. Interesting. Could we possibly take your picture? (Guy shrugs indicating mild unenthusiastic consent)
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Setting #2 - Valencia Town

A bougie couple chooses from many different colored variations of the keffiyah, some even with gold or silver decorative thread.

Emma later asked the shopkeeper later whether there was any politics involved at all with this item. He said no, it was just a fashion trend.




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Setting #3 - Barcelona

Two Australian tourists in a cafe wearing keffiyahs. And lots of gold and pearls. And headbands. Eating delicate pastries. An interesting combination.

Emma: Hi there, out of curiosity, where did you get those scarves?

Taller girl: Oh these, don't remember.

Emma: Is it a political statement about Palestinians?

Taller girl: Oh, no, not at all. They're nice looking. They're warm.

Emma: Yeah, they are nice. Would you mind if we took your photo?

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(Two Taiwanese tourists looking around Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia.)

Me: Hi there, just out of curiosity, I was wondering about your scarf. Did you get it here in Spain?

Girl with Scarf: Um, I think so. Where are you from?

Me: California.

Girl with Scarf: Oh. I'm going to be a student in the U.S. I'm from Taiwan.

Me: That's great. (Some small talk.) So, do you know where the scarf comes from?

Girl with Scarf: I don't know. I just liked the way it looks.

Me: Do you mind if we take your picture?

Girl with Scarf: (Hesistates.) Um. Um, yeah I guess. If you take one of me with my friend.

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And the grand finale:

Dog with keffiyah! Bright and orange, no less.











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Dry, academic commentary:

Wikipedia actually has a fabulous entry on this topic: how keffiyahs came to the west first as statement of lefty/radical politics and gradually just became a fashion item as they got more trendy. I gather that in Spain, the importation of the keffiyah happened first amongst separatist nationalist movements-- in Catalonia and Valencia for example (which happened to be where we were traveling). These were people who, rightly or wrongly, associated the plight of the Palestinians with their own plight in Spain.

In the beginning it was probably somewhat of an overt political statement. Then it became more just a hip thing to wear in left-leaning circles, acquiring general overtones of liberal/radical politics, but losing its literal association with Palestinian nationalism. And finally, shopkeepers realized they could make some money by selling them cheaply, so now they are in every street corner shop, at about 4 Euros each or even cheaper.

The story of the keffiyah trajectory- from revolutionary garb to fashion trend-- actually is extremely relevant to my current project about how social causes go mainstream. One thing that always happens as a political idea or symbol reaches mass popularity is that it loses some part of its original meaning. In this case, it lost almost all of it.

I'm sure the people who originally brought keffiyahs to Spain probably now look with disdain at the masses who wear them. This is another thing that usually happens. The original proponents of an idea or cause-- the purists-- tend to walk away when they see their cause diluted by popular participation. It's quite ironic, as the whole point of advocating on a social issue is to change everyone's minds and behaviors about that issue. But there is always a tension between depth of understanding and breadth of public reach. It's usually nearly impossible to get mass 'consumption' (not sure if that word choice was intentional or subconscious) of a social cause without diluting it to some degree.

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(Many thanks to Emma and Adrianne, my co-conspirators on these photos)

Poppies and Pride (a late second post)

In early November, I found myself in King's Cross station, London, sitting on a crowded bench, waiting to board a train to Newcastle.

Cops were walking around with dogs to sniff our luggage and make sure we had no explosives. People were milling about like mad, buying their last minute baguette sandwiches and coffees before heading on the train, talking on their mobile phones... and generally not paying any attention to each other.

But scattered around the station, I noticed a few people wearing red paper poppies in their lapels-- women and men alike, of all different ages.

For those of you who have lived in the UK, you will know that November 11th is Remembrance Day, a huge holiday to honor war dead. But I had no idea. (And at this point, it was still over ten days before Remembrance Day, when many more people would be wearing the flowers.)

The young woman sitting next to me on the bench was an African immigrant-- she looked about 18 or 19. She had braces and was wearing bright silver eyeshadow. I asked her if she knew what the red poppies were all about. She looked at me absent-mindedly and shook her head.

Meanwhile, another woman (who I assume was native-born English) had overheard my question and intervened. She appeared to be in her early thirties-- conservatively dressed, a bit overweight-- and told me she was a primary school teacher from the Midlands. She explained, beaming with pride, about how the British celebrate Remembrance Day ( ...In the 11th month, on the 11th day, in the 11th hour...), how the red poppies symbolize the earth upon which soldiers in Europe fell, disturbing the earth enough for huge fields of these flowers to spring up around their bodies.

But this wasn't just a technical explanation. Her eyes started to well up as she explained how her grandfather and uncle had served in World War II and how she always made sure all of her students took the holiday seriously. Her passionate explanation went on for almost 30 minutes; she almost made herself late for her train.

I was struck by the depth and sincerity of this woman's convictions-- the sheer upright conviction and morality which seemed to lay beneath them. For better or worse, it's hard to imagine Americans feeling a similar pride today about any of our past or present wars-- WWII included. Most people I know spend Veterans Day as just an extra day off (if they actually get it off, that is...which is a topic I shall have to save for another blog post.)

As the days wore on, I was up in the NE of the country, in tiny villages, and saw more and more people wearing these paper flowers in their lapels, which they bought from a national charity whose proceeds went to benefit war veterans. Birmingham had huge poppies decorating the city center (see photo below). Some people even wore 'alternative poppies' (see below)-- white flowers meant to symbolize a pacifist response to war-- but one that still acknowledged the sacrifice of war victims all the same.

Now I'm a human rights practitioner. I've spent years studying nationalism and patriotism in all its forms and tend to have a love-hate relationship with all of its many manifestations. So one would think I might not be super excited about witnessing other countries' forms of patriotism. And of course, there's an element of performance about the whole practice, also. BBC TV announcers, for example, are told they must wear the poppy in their lapel in early November; no choice about it. There's plenty of people who wear the poppy just because they can't be seen not doing so.

But somehow, still, the whole poppy practice struck me as a good and honorable thing. Perhaps the deep recognition of the debts we owe to those who came before us and their struggles. Perhaps the sense of gratitude that the freedoms we enjoy were not just dropped in our laps pricelessly (do I sound like a politician making a speech?).

There are many reasons one could postulate about why Americans don't take their war history quite as seriously. Perhaps that our land has never been physically threatened to quite the same degree, 9/11 notwithstanding. Perhaps just that our sense of history is so much less keenly developed-- given we have so much less of it to look back on.

It's understandable. And I'm the last person to glamorize war.

But, I have to say, I admire the way the British celebrate Remembrance Day. I think we've got something to learn from it.

Birmingham town centre with poppies

White poppies symbolize pacifist commemoration