POLITICS OF CONFORMITY: POWER FOR CREATING CHANGE

Abstract

A common theme in feminist Middle Eastern literature is the use of conformist behavior (e.g., veiling) to survive and create social change. This article goes further to suggest that giving up the chance to change one social norm promotes creating another. It examines this argument through the life stories of Palestinian Bedouin women who were the first of their tribes to study in institutions of higher learning. These women accepted endogamous prescriptions, sacrificing their emotional lives and personal choices, in order to pave the way for future generations of educated Bedouin women. They helped create social change in three categories: conformity through personal behavior, conformity through patriarchy, and conformity of emotions. The women’s conformist behavior adopted a culturally accepted feminine self (relational and connective), which is crucial for their agency. Bedouin social structure is enacted though the women’s agency, as their selves are formed through agency and affected by structure.