A leaked Lady Gaga song called “Burqa” is causing controversy among the Muslim community for its sexualized lyrics about the body beneath the traditional Islamic garment. HuffPost Live’s Dena Takruri hosted a panel of Muslim women to get their take on the track. Among them was Keziah S. Ridgeway, a fashion blogger and high school history teacher who said Lady Gaga is walking a dangerous line by fetishizing a culture that she and, more importantly, her fans may not fully understand. “It’s very similar to blackface,” she said. “You don’t have the black experience, you don’t know what it’s like to be African American in society, but you’re going to cover your face in black paint and wear your cap turned backwards and your pants down low and make fun of this entire culture, and you don’t live it. You have no idea what it’s about.” Hind Makki, a blogger for Patheos, added that “there is a thin line between artistry and appropriation and between appropriation and solidarity.” Makki said Lady Gaga’s song takes the significant political charge out of the issue of burqas and women in Islamic culture. “This is real life issues that are affecting women right now, today, and what she’s essentially saying is, ‘I’m going to use this conversation about power and sex and sexuality and women of color and kind of just use that ironically so I can sell some CDs, and that’s the thing that’s offensive to me,” she said.
