Veiling and blogging: Social media as sites of identity negotiation and expression among Saudi women

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Journal of International Women's Studies

Publication Date

1-1-2015

Abstract

© 2015 Journal of International Women's Studies. This paper aims at assessing how Saudi Arab young women use social media for negotiating and expressing their identity. Through in-depth interviews with a sample of seven Saudi females aged 20 - 26, the research revealed that the internet, with its protection of individual privacy, provided the participants a space to negotiate the boundaries imposed on them by cultural and societal rules. Participants employed several tactics of negotiation such as using nicknames, concealing their personal images and using first names only in order not to be identified by their family names. Using multiple accounts is also popular among participants. Without gatekeepers, the internet brings new ways of self-expression and identification among Saudi females, thus creating a safe space where female body, predominant in daily life, is nonexistent and only thoughts count.

ISSN

1539-8706

Publisher

Bridgewater State College

Volume

16

Issue

2

First Page

115

Last Page

127

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

Gender, Identity, Saudi arabia, Social media, Women

Scopus ID

84932160951

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

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