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. Bor-
rowing 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 contradic-
tion faced by the Muslim community between upholding traditional religious values and the pursuit of con-
temporary 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 be-
tween secular and conservative censures. This research suggests how cultural authenticity can be preserved
despite globalization.