Middle East. Her work has appeared in publications including Condé Nast Traveler, The Observer Magazine, The Times Literary Supplement, BBC News, Al Jazeera English, Bloomberg Businessweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The Rumpus. She was awarded a Jack R. Howard Fellowship inInternational Journalism to attend the Columbia Journalism School and holds degrees in politics and Middle Eastern studies.
Hankir applied the “Page 99 Test” to her new book, Eyeliner: A Cultural History, and reported the following:
Page 99 discusses the cultural and personal significance of eyeliner, or sormeh, to Iranian women, reflecting the cosmetic's aesthetic and medicinal values. One woman describes how sormeh brings life to a "soulless state" and accentuates the natural beauty of "black and beautiful eyes," which are considered a defining feature of Iranian women. Another woman expresses a deep affinity for eyeliner, also saying that she feels "soulless" without it. She notes, however, that many young Iranian women have distorted their beauty by relying on cosmetic surgery; she favors a "natural" look with minimal enhancements. The text also mentions that while some Iranian women are cautious about how they apply eyeliner in public, they are influenced by both local and Western celebrities.Visit Zahra Hankir's website.
Page 99 offers a glimpse into the specific cultural context of eyeliner (sormeh) in Iran and its significance to Iranian women. It touches on themes of identity, tradition, beauty standards, and the influence of celebrities both within and outside of Iran. After reading the page, I'd imagine that readers might gain an understanding of how eyeliner is more than a cosmetic product; it's a symbol of personal and cultural expression, and a commentary on societal attitudes towards beauty. That said, I do think this is just a snapshot into the book's overall themes and the breadth of the topics covered.
The gist of my book is that there is more to eyeliner than meets the eye. Eyeliner transcends aesthetics; it exists at the intersection of beauty, power, religion, and race. It conveys messages about identity, heritage and spirituality, and it can even be political or rebellious (especially among diasporic communities). It can guard against the evil eye and ward off malevolent spirits, and it can protect against the glare of the sun. While different communities and cultures around the world have worn eyeliner in different ways, it is also an intersectional product that unites us. The book additionally seeks to uplift and celebrate the cultural traditions of communities of color especially, seeing as eyeliner originated in Ancient Egypt and is used widely in multifaceted ways across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
--Marshal Zeringue
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