The Snore Heard ‘Round the World

Last updated on: November 14, 2013 at 3:17 am by nicolejhm

The Snore Heard ‘Round the World 2013-11-14T03:17:07-04:00 nicolejhm

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A few days ago, my Facebook newsfeed was awash with people sharing articles about a new billboard that just went up in Los Angeles. It depicts a male American soldier embracing a woman wearing a niqab. The billboard is for a product called SnoreStop, and it also displays the hashtag #betogether.

Um…okay.

[Source].

Despite the buzz, the ad doesn’t catalyze brand recognition for me. Thus, I suppose in my case, the purpose of the ad is defeated. I can tell you that the ad has to do with snoring, but I have to keep going back to articles about the ad to find the brand name. StopSnore? SnoreAway? It just doesn’t click for me.

But the ad certainly got publicity. The Huffington Post covered it. Fox News covered it. (By the way, there are several different primers out there—like here and here—that detail some of the types of coverings that Muslim women might choose to wear, to which news writers may refer when needed. Not everything a Muslim woman wears is a “burka.” Although I realize that Fox News is likely the last media outlet to concern itself with such technicalities.) Local news stations covered it. And CAIR hailed the ad as a positive step toward integrating images of Muslims into mainstream media, calling it “a worthy image.”

As is often the case, the most interesting coverage was to be found in the responses on social media. In my own Facebook newsfeed, I observed debates about whether or not the woman in the ad was a “real Muslim.” The woman’s Muslim-ness, according to commenters, could be effectively determined by knowing whether or not she wore a “burka” in real life, or by observing that she wore nail polish in the ad.

The interrogatory nature of the response to authenticity of the figures featured in the billboard was, as far as I could observe, exclusive to the woman’s appearance in the ad. I saw no question as to whether or not the man in the ad was a “real soldier.” I find myself wondering about the implications of this. Is it because we Americans tend to see military personnel as inherently trustworthy, and Muslims, especially Muslims whose clothing obviously identifies them as such, as inherently suspicious? Is it because we tend to see men as more likely to be stalwart and trustworthy and women as more likely to be mysterious and duplicitous? Is it both? Or neither?

Although there has been the occasional piece that discusses the ad as disrespectful toward Muslim women, I haven’t been seeing much of that. But many commenters, as reports have pointed out, felt the ad disrespectfully misuses the image of military personnel. This was especially confusing to me. Why would it be disrespectful for a soldier to be portrayed as in a relationship with a Muslim woman? Isn’t that what so many people want—for Muslim women to be “rescued” by white, English-speaking, American men? Is it “disrespectful” because despite having seemingly “rescued” this Muslim woman, the military man was apparently not powerful enough to pull her away from her religion?

Or does the “disrespect” stem from the idea that by embracing a Muslim woman, the soldier has somehow crossed into enemy territory? Is there an assumption that since the woman has obviously not renounced her religion or culture in order to pursue a relationship with the soldier, he must have defected to “her side”?

In any case, most concerns that I observed about any “disrespect” shown by the ad make it abundantly clear that despite the narrative to the contrary that American presidents have been attempting to sell for years, the American military and Muslims really are, in some fundamental way, enemies…at least in the minds of many Americans.

To be honest, the connection the ad was attempting to make did not immediately click in my mind. I mean, I think I kind of get the concept. For a multitude of reasons, it could certainly be difficult for a couple such as this to be together. Snoring can also make it difficult for couples to be together. I think that’s the connection being made here, although drawing a parallel between geopolitical conflict and nocturnal nasal noise seems laughable at best, and, well…disrespectful at worst. But if I’m right, it would seem that StopSnore (SnoreAway? SnoreStop? I never can remember) is attempting to sell their product by peddling some rather troubling implications about culture, religion, gender, and pretty much everything else right along with it.

Previous Post

November 12, 2013

A Hijabi in Healthcare: The Story of Dr. Lailiyya

Next Post

November 15, 2013 Friday Links | November 15, 2013

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advertisements Art/Theater Books/Magazines Cinema Comics/Cartoons Culture/Society Events Fashion Film Friday Links Merchandise/Commodities MMW Announcements MMW Highlights Music/Radio News Photography Politics Profile Ramadan 2012 Ramadan 2013 Ramadan 2014 Ramadan 2015 Roundtable Satire Social Media Sports Technology/Science Television Uncategorized Video Web

Select a Month November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was thrown into a den of lions for praying?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Peter Paul Andrew Daniel