As a Muslim woman, this is especially horrific given the importance of modesty in our religion and cultures. Having your underwear displayed and captured as 'war prizes' is degrading and dehumanizing for anyone. As a woman who wears the hijab, as many women in Gaza do, going to great lengths to ensure that not even our hair is shown in public, this would be devastating. It makes me sick.
Didn't know about the history of 'sweetheart lingerie' or that there even was such a thing, thank you for sharing this is a lot to think about.
I actually have seen the first image in a notoriously cynical forum, the kind populated by reactionaries, and it's rather telling that even there, the unanimous reaction was disgust at the conduct of the IDF soldiers and concern for the fate of the owner of those clothes (someone - imo correctly - also pointed out that there were overtones of disbelief on the part of the soldiers at the idea that Muslim women can be sexual beings and are so of their own volition, I'm trying to phrase it in a less crude way than they did but that was the gist). I don't know how anyone could do this without suffering the phenomenon you describe, 'soul loss' seems to be the accurate way of putting it.
I'm old enough to remember when wearing kufiya caught on among young non-Palestinians in the 00s as a symbol of solidarity with Palestine or even as a trend (shameful as turning any tradition into a trend is, but a lot of people wore them). Back then if any of them were captured on a street style blog (this being before the days when 'street style' = 'sponsored/borrowed outfit outside a fashion show'), you could count on having multiple comments calling them things like 'terrorist sympathiser' and such. Now I see people attacking teenagers online for wearing a sweatshirt with a watermelon on.... like they're busy shaming Palestinian solidarity that's sartorially expressed by choice but those same people are perfectly fine with IDF soldiers turning Palestinian women's intimate gear into public consumption.
This was both heartbreaking and captivating. It's all too easy to overlook the profound significance of clothing in the historical narrative, particularly for women, where clothes can serve either to disempower or empower.
Last summer, I visited the Museum of Palestinian People, where they showcased an exhibit on Palestinian embroidery (tatreez). Back in the 1980s, Israel banned any political symbols showing Palestinian pride—no colors, no flags allowed (hence the 🍉) Women began stitching Palestinian flags, the Dome of the Rock, and other symbols of pride onto their Thobe dresses because clothes couldn't legally be confiscated. Over time, the stitches evolved to include symbolism of missiles and various other meanings. It was fascinating to see this evolution -- but would be so easy to overlook without historical context.
thank you, remembering clothes have meaning beyond the sartorial is important. sometimes fashion spaces can feel so removed from current events so it’s great to see this role of writing
So impressed by your work as always. A deeply unsettling reminder of our tendencies to simultaneously romanticize and condemn the past, only to repeat the same actions later.
So terrible, what the IDF is doing on so many levels. I had no idea that "sweetheart lingerie" existed, or its dark history. Thanks for pointing out that the paternalism of the WWII men sending these "care packages" back and the absolutely brutality of IDF soldiers is part of the same imperial patriarchal thread.
thank you for sharing this history and its connections to what we are seeing with the IOF stealing and flashing the lingerie of the women they have assaulted and murdered. I did not know about the history of the sweetheart lingerie, but I connected it back to the imperialist history of bomber jackets/souviner jackets. And also in interrogating lingerie, especially vintage, whenever I see Victoria’s Secret, I am reminded of their history of using prison labor to produce their garments. It is truly perversive and disgusting.
As a Muslim woman, this is especially horrific given the importance of modesty in our religion and cultures. Having your underwear displayed and captured as 'war prizes' is degrading and dehumanizing for anyone. As a woman who wears the hijab, as many women in Gaza do, going to great lengths to ensure that not even our hair is shown in public, this would be devastating. It makes me sick.
absolutely. thanks for sharing this point
Didn't know about the history of 'sweetheart lingerie' or that there even was such a thing, thank you for sharing this is a lot to think about.
I actually have seen the first image in a notoriously cynical forum, the kind populated by reactionaries, and it's rather telling that even there, the unanimous reaction was disgust at the conduct of the IDF soldiers and concern for the fate of the owner of those clothes (someone - imo correctly - also pointed out that there were overtones of disbelief on the part of the soldiers at the idea that Muslim women can be sexual beings and are so of their own volition, I'm trying to phrase it in a less crude way than they did but that was the gist). I don't know how anyone could do this without suffering the phenomenon you describe, 'soul loss' seems to be the accurate way of putting it.
I'm old enough to remember when wearing kufiya caught on among young non-Palestinians in the 00s as a symbol of solidarity with Palestine or even as a trend (shameful as turning any tradition into a trend is, but a lot of people wore them). Back then if any of them were captured on a street style blog (this being before the days when 'street style' = 'sponsored/borrowed outfit outside a fashion show'), you could count on having multiple comments calling them things like 'terrorist sympathiser' and such. Now I see people attacking teenagers online for wearing a sweatshirt with a watermelon on.... like they're busy shaming Palestinian solidarity that's sartorially expressed by choice but those same people are perfectly fine with IDF soldiers turning Palestinian women's intimate gear into public consumption.
thanks for sharing your memories of how symbols of solidarity were worn/responded to in the 00s, great connection.
This was both heartbreaking and captivating. It's all too easy to overlook the profound significance of clothing in the historical narrative, particularly for women, where clothes can serve either to disempower or empower.
Last summer, I visited the Museum of Palestinian People, where they showcased an exhibit on Palestinian embroidery (tatreez). Back in the 1980s, Israel banned any political symbols showing Palestinian pride—no colors, no flags allowed (hence the 🍉) Women began stitching Palestinian flags, the Dome of the Rock, and other symbols of pride onto their Thobe dresses because clothes couldn't legally be confiscated. Over time, the stitches evolved to include symbolism of missiles and various other meanings. It was fascinating to see this evolution -- but would be so easy to overlook without historical context.
Thank you for sharing with us!
This is horrifying to learn about. Thank you for sharing.
It’s a good reminder that there’s always a story to be considered in our consumption
As a Filipino woman, I'm a little ashamed to say I didn't know about this. Thank you for shedding some very necessary light on this topic! 💗
we are all learning together ❣️❣️
thank you, remembering clothes have meaning beyond the sartorial is important. sometimes fashion spaces can feel so removed from current events so it’s great to see this role of writing
So impressed by your work as always. A deeply unsettling reminder of our tendencies to simultaneously romanticize and condemn the past, only to repeat the same actions later.
So terrible, what the IDF is doing on so many levels. I had no idea that "sweetheart lingerie" existed, or its dark history. Thanks for pointing out that the paternalism of the WWII men sending these "care packages" back and the absolutely brutality of IDF soldiers is part of the same imperial patriarchal thread.
thank you for sharing this history and its connections to what we are seeing with the IOF stealing and flashing the lingerie of the women they have assaulted and murdered. I did not know about the history of the sweetheart lingerie, but I connected it back to the imperialist history of bomber jackets/souviner jackets. And also in interrogating lingerie, especially vintage, whenever I see Victoria’s Secret, I am reminded of their history of using prison labor to produce their garments. It is truly perversive and disgusting.
thank you for this work!
Excellent as always. Thank you Viv :)
This was hard to read but I always appreciate your raw and honest work.
Thoughtful as always 🖤
Amazing work. Thank you!
really appreciate your work, connecting our clothing with war and our histories of war and colonization. <3
I appreciate you writing this. It hit really hard.