@article{discovery10204936,
         journal = {The Sociological Review},
       publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell},
            note = {This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.},
           title = {Young Muslim Women on Nadiya Hussain, Turbanisation and the
Politics of Respectability. Navigating Public Space and Islamophobia},
            year = {2025},
            issn = {0038-0261},
        keywords = {Nadiya Hussain, Turbanisation, Fashion, Hijab, Muslim, Racialisation, Religion,
Respectability, United Kingdom},
        abstract = {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 nonMuslim 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 paper 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.},
             url = {https://journals.sagepub.com/home/SOR},
          author = {Appleford, Katherine and Rajina, Fatima and Sharma, Sonya}
}