Subtle Orientalism: Moroccan Self-Criticism and Poor Hygiene as Tools for Western Representations

By analyzing Jeffrey Tayler's Glory in a Camel's Eye (2003) and Tahir Shah's The Caliph's House (2006), this paper considers the more elusive elements of Orientalism in contemporary travel writing. While earlier colonial era writers were less subtle often in obvious terms suggesting backward and undeveloped narratives to the point of being almost negative these visceral accounts are bound up with the skillful deployment of local voices that serve as a weaponized device for endorsing Western constructions. They often use the self-critical words of Moroccans to disguise their prejudices, granting them an appearance of impartiality and legitimacy. The paper argues that even in its most nuanced form, teaching culture through such subtle comparison sustains Orientalist frameworks by comparing a “modern” West with the primitive East. Using a more subtle, strategic representation of Western dominance as instantiation enables the study to show in scrutinizing travelogue passages that local voices of Morocco had been weaponized to promote/propagate white supremacy and live among larger narration for cultural imperialism. This study also explores how these travelogues capitalize on representations of dirt, poor hygiene, and otherness in Moroccan life, serving to highlight how depictions of uncleanliness and animal-like imagery continue to dehumanize and exoticize non-Western peoples.