news

"I'm honoured." Meet the first woman to pose for Playboy wearing a hijab.

With a 126,000-strong Facebook following, Noor Tagouri is renowned for creating a conversation.

As a self-titled storyteller and anchor, the 22-year-old challenges society’s beauty myth, its perception of young people and, above all, its type-casting of Muslim women.

A first-generation Libyan-American, Noor stirs up controversy with her modesty-positive message. In between vlogging from events like Istanbul Modest Fashion Week, Noor shares aspirations with her YouTube fans, including her dream to become the first Amercian hijabi anchorwoman.

Her CV is beyond impressive – boasting a range of journalistic and entrepreneurial pursuits, but it’s her latest addition that might just be the most significant – and confusing.

Noor Tagouri. (Image: Instagram)

Noor has been named as one of Playboy Magazine's Renegades of 2016a campaign which has seen her become the first woman to pose for the publication in a hijab.

It's a curious decision from the magazine, whose attempt to rid itself of sleaze and sexism has been an increasingly overt one.

After decades of centrefolds, Playboy decided to introduce a strict no-nudity policy in October 2015. Now, the introduction of a woman like Noor appears to cement that change, that the once-misogynistic men's magazine isn't only now woman-friendly, it's apparently culturally sensitive too.

Whether you buy into that shift is another matter entirely.

But donning a leather jacket, black pants, and a gold head scarf, Noor calls the title of a Playboy Renegade and opportunity to feature in the magazine next month an 'honour'.

ADVERTISEMENT

In what some avid fans dubbed "impressive negotiation", Noor appeared in the shoot fully clothed, sticking to her value of modesty.

In the piece, she also discusses how her experiences as a Muslim-American allow her to better relate to the people she meets as a journalist.

"People want to be valued and heard. Their experiences are so personal and they want their voices to come through in a story," she told the publication.

ADVERTISEMENT

"... To be honest, I think being a hijabi Muslim woman, helped me gain that trust. I know what it’s like to have the narrative of our community be skewed and exploited in the media. I was like, “Hey, I know what it’s like to be misrepresented in the media. I won’t do that to you. I want to tell your story because it’s important and deserves justice."

Meanwhile, opinion on Noor's decision to partner with Playboy has been confoundingly split.

An essay titled 'I fail to see why I should celebrate a hijab-wearing Muslim woman appearing in Playboy for the first time,' was promptly published on the Independent, echoing the same sentiment many Muslim readers vocalised online: "Why should we celebrate this?"

"No doubt this feature has aided her public profile, but beyond that I see very little point in the supposedly boundary-pushing feature," fellow Muslim hijabi woman Nishaat Ismail wrote.

"Forgive me if I don’t see what there is to celebrate when a hijabi woman – member of an already maligned part of society – makes the “revolutionary” choice to join  forces with a sexist establishment that has debased other women by reducing them to sexual objects for generations."

Twitter was also abuzz with conflicting commentary on Noor's decision to join forces with the publication.

ADVERTISEMENT

While opinions swirl around her, Noor says she is insulated from them, steadfastly refusing to read the comments populating the walls of social media.

"I don’t read or pay attention to any of [the hate or criticism]," Noor told Playboy. "It’s just negative energy and unhealthy. I make sure to keep a great circle of people around me who keep me grounded."

"... I just do the best I can to not worry about people who get upset because they don’t like something that I wear or say."

Whether this is a win for activist feminism or for blatant self-promotion is unclear.

What we do know is that Noor Tagouri has got men and women talking. Again.