“Wig-burning is the new bra-burning”

“Wig-burning is the new bra-burning” is the tagline The Wall Street Journal places over a photograph of a public wig-burning bonfire. The phrase turns a communal spectacle into a pointed comparison, and its meaning in the narrative emerges through the gap between the newspaper’s mockery, Devorah’s partial understanding, and Zeidy’s disapproval of the event’s noisy publicity.

The Bonfire Behind the Phrase

The bonfire takes place in front of a synagogue in the Satmar Hasidic community. Men bring their wives’ wigs and throw them into the fire as a crowd cheers. Police erect barriers to stop people spilling into the roads and to prevent riots, but the shouting continues until dawn. Journalists take countless photographs, a detail that intensifies the crowd’s rage and ensures the event will be seen beyond the gathering itself.

A Newspaper’s Comparison

The next morning, Zeidy brings home The Wall Street Journal, whose front cover shows the bonfire. Its tagline, “Wig-burning is the new bra-burning,” recasts the scene through a familiar phrase associated with public protest. The analogy is concise and deliberately provocative: it invites readers to see the burning wigs not simply as a communal spectacle but as an image that can be compared with a wider cultural symbol. In the scene, however, the line is experienced as mockery rather than explained or unpacked.

Two Responses to Publicity

Devorah does not quite understand what the tagline means, but she recognizes its mocking tone. Zeidy, meanwhile, reads the article with disappointment and mutters angrily about the decision to make a fire and let outsiders see what the community is doing. His objection is directed at the event’s public, conspicuous form: he wonders why it could not have been done quietly and dismisses the young people’s apparent need to shout. The phrase therefore marks a clash over visibility as well as interpretation: the newspaper turns the bonfire into a public image, Devorah senses the ridicule without grasping its full reference, and Zeidy resents the exposure itself.