Young Muslim women on Nadiya Hussain, turbanisation and the politics of respectability: Navigating public space and Islamophobia

Using the changing image of British celebrity and Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain as a catalyst for exploration, we consider young British Muslim women’s attitudes and practices towards the turbanisation of the hijab and the politics of respectability. Drawing on focus group data with young Muslim women based in London, England, we examine this sartorial practice, which Nadiya Hussain represents in her celebrity career, and argue two overlapping points. First, the adoption of a turban style of hijab is considered by our participants to be a more contemporary form of veiling, and more palatable to white and non-Muslim audiences. It is perceived to obscure their religious identity, affording them a greater level of respectability, enabling them to traverse often burdensome representations of their faith, racialisation and Islamophobia encountered in the public sphere. Second, while the turban allows for respectability in the context of white society, the women doubt if it is ‘proper hijab’, and thus turbanisation presents a potential challenge to their religious respectability. As such, the article contributes to theoretical debates concerning respectability and appearance, showcasing the complexity of managing the expectations of religious practice and white society for young British Muslim women. It reveals the significance of turbanisation as a tool for acquiescing and merging into the dominant white society for these women, and it emphasises the intersections between fashion, celebrity, religion and race.