I sometimes wear a head covering, sometimes do not. Most of my female friends do the same. Some don't wear any head coverings other than to pray. Some cling to wearing a heavy hijab at all times when in public, or in front of none familial males. As you have obviously noted, a lot can be done with a hijab to actually make oneself look better and more alluring, which is not the point.
As to why I see it as a privilege, of course one has to be in a somewhat protected situation to be able to wear it. I have worn them and almost been attacked, try to get a job wearing one. Even if one does get employment, the general reaction is negative. People either seem to be hateful, or afraid of the hijab wearing female.
I don't know any woman who wears one because her husband, or father orders her to. In all cases I am familiar with, it's the female who wears it out of her own choice. When I wear a head covering I feel my energy is "contained" so to speak. Without it, I feel like my energy is sort of escaping all over the place, and I am more vulnerable. Wearing hijab feels like an invisible mother's embrace.
I feel there is a certain dignity to wearing a head covering, without it, I feel sort of naked, although I do not feel it is absolutely mandatory and frequently go out without it. Rather I seek other ways to cover that do not draw attention or cover in a more subtle way. To each their own. I would not want to impose my ideas on anyone. It has to come from the heart.
You may want to read some of Riffat Hassan's work as well. She is a Muslim feminist. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riffat_Hassan
http://www.religiousconsultation.org/hassan2.htm
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