Aquila

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

For those familiar with women’s “lifestyle” magazines, the call to be “sexy” in some way or another is not new. We women need to have “sexy” everything: attitude, legs, skin, armpits, you name it. So pervasive is this message that I’m surprised that no one has spontaneously combusted from sexual arousal at the sight of a women’s magazine devotee. And then we have the new Aquila magazine, whose key buzzwords are modesty and fabulousness.

As the “world’s first English fashion and lifestyle magazine for cosmopolitan Muslim women in Asia” that is based in Singapore, Aquila serves up the standard menu of any glossy: tips on make-up, shopping, book and film reviews, and some lightweight advice on career-building.

Aimed at readers from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, modesty and fabulousness are far from alien concepts: Muslim women of all ages, hijabis in particular, in Southeast Asia are intensely responsive to new faith-based sartorial trends, perhaps more so than women who do not cover their hair.

That said, Islamic consumerism, as cynical as it sounds, is a fairly new phenomenon in which women in the region form an active role. Aquila is an obvious byproduct of the purchasing power of Muslim women in Southeast Asia, but whether or not it aims to be representative of its target audience is quite another matter. So let us explore this issue by breaking it down to three parts, based on how well it’s doing for its intended readers thus far:

The good: The one thing I can generously say about Aquila is that there seems to be an intention that it offers something for everybody: from articles on face creams to an as yet developed page on “science,” which I hope will be a more informative take on scientific breakthroughs, instead of the science of eye creams and hair serum.

The bad: The beating heart of any self-respecting popular publication is the opinion piece. Often brief and pseudo-philosophical, the op-ed is, for me, what makes fashion magazines human and less banal. But that was what I thought before I came across the first opinion piece on Aquila. Entitled “Leap of Faith,” it reveals the thoughts of a Muslim man whose moral dilemma about his daughter dating a non-Muslim seems to completely eclipse his social drinking habits, at his favorite drinking hole no less! The piece ended on a cryptic note that suggested a sense hypocrisy that plagues the urban, middle-class and the selectively liberal Muslim communities in Southeast Asia, but lacked any insight or depth in what is a serious issue that very much concerns the intended reader.

The could-be-better: Though brand-spanking-new with the impressive accolade of being a kind of landmark magazine for Southeast Asian Muslim women, Aquila looks more like a half-built project with little pizazz. The graphics leave plenty to be desired, but then that wouldn’t be such an issue if it had more substantial content. I get the feeling that Aquila isn’t really targeted at parents, as it lists “kids” as a “lifestyle” issue that sits at the bottom of the drop down list. But I shouldn’t really be asking for the moon here, as most fashion and beauty magazines rarely figure parenthood as a particularly “trendy” subject.

In sum, Aquila is far from divinely inspired. It is a bland derivative of many beaten dead horses called women’s fashion magazines, except with less exposed flesh. It reminds me why I’ve stopped reading such things for good. I’m also not entirely convinced that it is trying hard to be representative of the young, upwardly mobile Muslim women who are taking Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia by storm. If the magazine’s not so modest vision of being “the world’s most trusted authority on the intelligence of affluent Muslims” is anything to go by, I would suggest Asian Muslim women to read elsewhere for fabulous inspiration.

Written by: Alicia Izharuddin, June 2nd 2010

AsiaPacifiQueer: Rethinking Genders and Sexualities

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:53:00 +0000

By Fran Martin, Peter A. Jackson, Mark McLelland, Audrey Yue

University of Illinois Press

Aside from a women’s studies class I took as an undergraduate, of which I remember very little, thoughts on gender and sexuality typically have not taken up much of my time. AsiaPacifiQueer: Rethinking Genders and Sexualities totally changed my perception on these subjects. As a self-proclaimed tomboy, who happens not to be a lesbian, society is much more accepting of my “ways” than they would be if I were an effeminate man. The essays and examinations gathered here by the editors take this subject to an infinitely crucial level in understanding what it means to fall outside of another proverbial box, from a non-Western cultural perspective.

AsiaPacifiQueer brings into focus the dynamics of colonialism, language, and religion, and their shaping of a particular culture seeking to understand itself. It begins with post-World War II Japanese homosexuality and its manifestations through an occupational perspective. In this essay, white collar and working class occupations both play a major role in how work ethic is portrayed in shaping masculinity. This masculinity still finds prevalence in male-male companionship, as evidenced by its over-representation in personal advertisements for male-male companionship.

The essay “Grrrl-Queens” by Clare Maree captures the use of how Japanese language is used not only as a powerful tool with which to communicate across gender lines, but also as a means in which to protest traditional uses of expected gendered communication. One-kotoba is considered a type of language and speech pattern used traditionally by gay men, and is "a parody of stereotypical women’s language," considered to be a hyperfeminine style of speech. However, it is purposely used by some lesbian women as an act of resistance to stereotypes of the "butch" lesbian.

In Kam Yip Lo Lucetta’s essay, "Recognition Through Mis-Recognition," the concept of masculine women in Hong Kong is one of a right of passage. Tomboyism is considered a phase that teenage girls go through before maturing to femininity. It does not generate as much anxiety and can even bring benefits in the workplace (the capable worker), provided it is temporary. Needless to say, for those who continue this phase on through womanhood, it represents a failed woman and a disqualified adult.

AsiaPacifiQueer represents a critical discourse though works that are about more than just queer studies. It opens up a much needed dialogue on how society uses gender and sexuality to dictate its economic, creative, and interpersonal relationships with its every conceivable contact. It is inevitable that in this examination, given the aforementioned hopes, it should create a wider spectrum with which to reevaluate the relationship between gender and sexuality.

Written by: Olupero R. Aiyenimelo, February 19th 2009