Muslim women are portrayed with a dichotomous image: on one side, as the victims of the patriarchal Muslim men and, on the other, as the violent associates of the Muslim terrorist (Maruoka, 2008). The act of head covering, the most visible Muslim-identified marker, has thus assumed an outsized space in research of Muslim women. However, while studies on Muslim women are voluminous, little research focuses solely on uncovered Muslim women. This grounded theory study aimed to describe the process of Muslim college women who do not veil to establish their identity. Drawing upon intersectionality theory (Cho et al., 2013; Collins & Bilge, 2016; K. Crenshaw, 1989, 1995), this study sought to understand the multidimensionality of uncovered college women's identity and how social, cultural, and political contexts shaped their identity. Data was collected from 13 self-identified Muslim college women who did not cover. These young women contested an imposed Muslim identity by challenging the complicity of misusing religion to justify the cultural practices that relegated women to a powerless position. Using an unapologetic gendered lens, they questioned religious rules and norms and asserted that "religion is more internal than external" when making decisions about how to live their lives. They grappled with an emerging Muslim woman's identity as an invasion of external sociopolitical events, an invasion that forced them to try to occupy a space within this racialized country. At the intersection of gender, religion, skin color, and race, these young women wrestled with their power, privilege, and lack thereof in their lives. Ultimately, they claimed an imperfect racial identity to stand in solidarity with other marginalized groups amid internal and external turmoil. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]