Conservatism’s Paradox: How Popular Culture Transforms the Identity of Conservative Women

Abstract

This article investigates the paradox of conservative chic, whereby popular culture mediates the (re)construction of the self of religious women, specifically as practitioners of modest fashion in Turkey. Borrowing from ethnocultural and feminist literatures, it explores the impact of veiling, virtual communication and world fashion on the self and social roles of both devout women. The analysis emphasizes the contradiction faced by the Muslim community between upholding traditional religious values and the pursuit of contemporary aesthetic ideals, manifested in the emergence of hijab fashion and influencer culture. Articulating Turkish practices in relation to the global modest fashion phenomenon, the thesis elucidates how the culture of consumption and digital systems serve women's empowerment and their commoditisation. It maintains that religious women negotiate this paradox by blending tradition with modernity, but are in fact caught between secular and conservative censures. This research suggests how cultural authenticity can be preserved despite globalization.