Whether seen as erotic or as romantic, a symbol of oppression or a sign of piety, modesty, or purity, the veil carries thousands of years of religious, sexual, social, and political significance. Using examples from both the East and West -- including Persian poetry, American erotica, Iranian and Indian films, and government-sanctioned posters -- Faegheh Shirazi shows that the veil has become a ubiquitous symbol, utilized as a profitable marketing tool for enterprises as diverse as Penthouse magazine and Saudi advertising companies.

She argues that perceptions of the veil change with the cultural context of its use and over time: in a Hindi movie the veil draws in the male gaze, in an Iranian movie it denies it; photographs of veiled women in Playboy aim to titillate a mainly male audience, while cartoons of veiled women in the same magazine mock and ridicule Muslim society.

Shirazi concludes that the practice of veiling, encompassing an amazingly rich array of meanings, has often become a screen upon which different people in different cultures project their dreams and nightmares.