Section 5: Deductive Fallacies, Horne pp 51-60
Task 1: Ad verecundiam fallacy is insisting that a claim is true simply because a valid authority
or expert on the issue said it was true, without any other supporting evidence offered.
Task 2: Five years ago, in July 2015, Fortune magazine declared in a headline that Muslim
women were the “next big untapped fashion market.” To the apparent surprise of Fortune’s
audience, Muslims spend billions on clothing each year. Multinational retail corporations quickly
took note. H&M produced an advertising campaign that featured a veiled Muslim woman. Zara
and Tommy Hilfiger introduced “modest” clothing lines to target Muslim shoppers. While this
was new terrain for these corporate retailers, Muslim-owned clothing companies like Haute
Hijab and viral-video producers like the Mipsterz (a play on the term “Muslim Hipsters”) had
been promoting cutting-edge fashion for years. And Muslims on social media had been creating
and sharing fashion-forward styles long before Fortune took note. Indeed, for anyone paying
attention, the merger of religion and fashion was hardly a new trend.
Task 3: In this section of the article the writer is uses the what Fortune magazine said as its
figure of authority. There was no other evidence provided to confirm if what the magazine said
was true.
Task 1: Appeal to Common Belief fallacy is when the claim that most or many people in general
or of a particular group accept a belief as true is presented as evidence for the claim.
Task 2: Whether it is the proliferation of cross necklaces for Christians, hand-woven saris for
Hindu women, fur hats for Hasidic men, or brightly-colored silk veils for Muslim women,
clothing matters greatly in many religious communities.
Task 3: In this part the writer associates certain items with a religion group. They are assuming
that the item listed is like a symbol of that religion for all its followers.
Task 1: A slippery slope fallacy occurs when someone makes a claim about a series of events
that would lead to one major event, usually a bad event.
Task 2: Clothing can provide insights into socioeconomic issues, gender expectations, racial
politics of respectability, and people’s religious beliefs.
Task 3: The writer makes it seem that the definition of clothing is to express our beliefs or parts
of ourself with the world. This however can lead to people making assumption on others based
off clothing alone which is not a good habit.
Task 1: Non sequitar arguments have conclusions that do not follow from the premises
Task 2: For many of us, our clothing choices are circumscribed and policed by employers,
family, and strangers. This is one reason why transgender women face heightened risks of
physical violence.
Task 3: In this section the writer states the because our clothing choices are scrutinized by others
that this is a reason why transgenders face more physical violence. The evidence/premises used
is quite weak and does not provide a clear connection between the two statements.
Task 1: Ad misericordiam is the attempt to distract from the truth of the conclusion by the use of
pity.
Task 2: Far too many people oppose their sartorial presentation and use violence to send a
message about what they consider appropriate dress.
Task 3: According to this statement the writer wants the reader to pity and focus on the fact that
there is large amount of violence towards trans gender people and that there is not enough
attention on this issue. It distracts people from the main point of clothing and religion.
Task 1: Argumentum ad Baculum (fear of force) is the fallacy committed when one appeals to
force or the threat of force to bring about the acceptance of a conclusion.
Task 2: As we continue to face the pandemic’s dangers, spiraling unemployment, police violence
against Black Americans, and the possibility of a contested presidential election, we can easily
forget how our routine, daily choices about what we wear can matter greatly.
Task 3: The writer uses different factors that worry the reader especially right now in a crazy
time. This way there are using the fear to focus back to their main idea of clothes because that is
something we can control in a time of chaos.
Task 1: A guilt by association fallacy occurs when someone connects an opponent to a
demonized group of people or to a bad person in order to discredit his or her argument
Task 2: Hats of a certain red hue can invoke disgust.
Task 3: The writer clearly aims at the people who wear a “Make America Great Again” and
associated them with everything that it stands for. However, there is a chance that they are
accusing an innocent person who doesn’t share those view.
Website: https://therevealer.org/special-issue-religion-and-fashion/
Published: September 3, 2020
Dear Revealer readers,
Five years ago, in July 2015, Fortune magazine declared in a headline that Muslim women were
the “next big untapped fashion market.” To the apparent surprise of Fortune’s audience, Muslims
spend billions on clothing each year. Multinational retail corporations quickly took note. H&M
produced an advertising campaign that featured a veiled Muslim woman. Zara and Tommy
Hilfiger introduced “modest” clothing lines to target Muslim shoppers. While this was new
terrain for these corporate retailers, Muslim-owned clothing companies like Haute Hijab and
viral-video producers like the Mipsterz (a play on the term “Muslim Hipsters”) had been
promoting cutting-edge fashion for years. And Muslims on social media had been creating and
sharing fashion-forward styles long before Fortune took note. Indeed, for anyone paying
attention, the merger of religion and fashion was hardly a new trend.
Whether it is the proliferation of cross necklaces for Christians, hand-woven saris for Hindu
women, fur hats for Hasidic men, or brightly-colored silk veils for Muslim women, clothing
matters greatly in many religious communities. For this reason, I am pleased to bring you the
Revealer’s special issue on religion and fashion.
Far from superfluous, fashion reveals much about people and society. Clothing can provide
insights into socioeconomic issues, gender expectations, racial politics of respectability, and
people’s religious beliefs. For many of us, our clothing choices are circumscribed and policed by
employers, family, and strangers. This is one reason why transgender women face heightened
risks of physical violence. Far too many people oppose their sartorial presentation and use
violence to send a message about what they consider appropriate dress. It is also why veiled
Muslim women and Sikh men in turbans experience disproportionately higher rates of hate
crimes in the United States and Western Europe. Fashion is not simply about trends. Fashion is
about lives, deaths, power, privilege, who matters most in society, and how people use clothing
to demand cultural change.
The articles in this special issue explore the merger of religion and fashion during the
coronavirus pandemic, why race matters when thinking about religion and dress, and what
clothing can reveal about people’s religious convictions. The issue opens with Liz Bucar’s
“Islamophobia and Americans’ Problems with Face Masks,” where she argues that opposition to
Muslim women wearing veils contributes to people’s resistance to embrace masks during the
pandemic. Next, in “Queer Nuns and Digital Dragtivism in the Age of COVID–19,”
photojournalist Lauren Pond explores how the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an international
order of queer activists, has transformed their ministry during the pandemic to continue their
social justice work for Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ equality.
Two articles in our special issue look specifically at religion and men’s fashion. In “Bowties,
Beards, and Boubous: Black Muslim Men’s Fashion in the United States” Kayla Wheeler
examines how Black Muslim men’s clothing reflects their religious beliefs and how their styles
have influenced the broader culture. Next, in “How Long is God’s Beard?,” Ed Simon reflects on
the history that links beards with religious masculinity.
The special issue also contains two articles that consider Christianity and fashion. In “Everybody
Being Themselves Real Hard,” Jeanine Viau interviews theologian Linn Tonstad about the ways
her fashion choices reflect her theological views on gender, race, respectability, and God. And in
an excerpt from her book Religion in Vogue, Lynn Neal explores Coco Chanel’s famous cross
jewelry and accessories.
Our special issue also features the sixth episode of the Revealer podcast: “Black Muslim Men’s
Fashion.” Kayla Wheeler joins us to expand on her article from this issue, discuss the increased
media, corporate, and retail attention on Muslims, and reflect on how some Black Muslims use
fashion to send a message about their religious priorities. You can listen to the episode on Apple
Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play.
As we continue to face the pandemic’s dangers, spiraling unemployment, police violence against
Black Americans, and the possibility of a contested presidential election, we can easily forget
how our routine, daily choices about what we wear can matter greatly. But t-shirts can send a
political message. Hats of a certain red hue can invoke disgust. Makeup on a boy can announce
his fabulousness. And the veil on a Muslim woman can proclaim her pride in her religious
identity. I hope the articles in this special issue open your eyes to what fashion can reveal about
society and illuminate the ways your aesthetic choices can help revolutionize our world.
Yours,
Brett Krutzsch, Ph.D.
Task 1: Post hoc ergo propter hoc is an informal fallacy that states: “Since event Y followed
event X, event Y must have been caused by event X.”
Task 2: It was being forced to do something against my will. Like mask-wearing – it was
supposedly for our own good, but nobody enjoys expectations crammed down his/her throat.
Secondly, my dislike of church was grounded in the hypocrisy the person taking me there never
personally engaged in the church activities she insisted were so beneficial for me.
Task 3: In this part of the article the author writes about why she hated going to church. She
describes it in a format as to say since event she was forced into it followed event her own
parents were engaged even when in church, then these events must have been caused her to hate
the church.
