A Kaur’s Thoughts |

A primer on everyday racism

December 3, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The blog A Kaur’s Thoughts offers a four-part primer on micro-aggression — the subtle, everyday messaging in our culture about racial stereotyping and bias — particularly from a Sikh perspective: For about 10 years of my life, starting in 4th or 5th grade and going through high school, I felt like I didn’t belong; I felt excluded and out of place. School was a semi-hostile place for me. I wasn’t beat up or physically hurt. I had friends, and was […]

Categories: Resources • Tags: A Kaur's Thoughts, microaggression

What does a Sikh woman look like?

September 10, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On A Kaur’s Thoughts, blogger Lakhpreet Kaur considers the physical identity that defines or describes the Sikh woman, asking: what does a Kaur look like? …since the Kaur’s physical identity is in constant flux and not universally consistent, it is difficult to say Kaurs are visually different from non-Kaurs. The social category of “Kaur,” is not as solidified as “Singh,” because it is impossible to define what Kaur physically looks like. What is she not? How is a Kaur visually […]

Categories: Reflections, Sikhism • Tags: A Kaur's Thoughts, Lakhpreet Kaur, physical identity, Sikh women, Women in Sikhism

A Sikh woman with a rabab, a traditional Sikh instrument. (Photo credit: Karaminder Ghuman)

The experiences of Sikh women who wear turbans

June 14, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The blog A Kaur’s Thoughts presents results of a survey about women who wear turbans (dastar). While it is not as common for Sikh women to wear this article of faith as it is for men, it appears that its adoption among Sikh women is growing. One chart was particularly noteworthy. On the question about whether other women in their families wear a dastar, one type of response was the most common: Interestingly, over half of the respondents (there were […]

Categories: Reports/Studies • Tags: A Kaur's Thoughts, Sikh women, turbans, Women in Sikhism

Tiglath-Pileser III, king of Assyria in the 8th century. (source: Wikipedia)

A hitchhiker’s guide to the turban

January 9, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The blog A Kaur’s Thoughts presents an interesting condensed survey of the global history of the turban, beyond its relevance to the Sikh faith: By, “…1000 A.D., the turban had evolved from a strictly utilitarian piece of clothing into something used to connote nobility and power,” said Brannon Wheeler, associate professor of Islamic studies at the University of Washington, (2). “Just as shoes evolved from a practical foot covering into an item of clothing that reveals a person’s class and […]

Categories: Resources • Tags: A Kaur's Thoughts, history of the turban, Turban

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: A Kaur’s Thoughts

A primer on everyday racism

What does a Sikh woman look like?

The experiences of Sikh women who wear turbans

A hitchhiker’s guide to the turban