Communications
Zahra Ardekani Fard; MohamadJavad GholamrezaKashi
Abstract
AbstractSocial media brings the benefit to people to make their voices heard, an opportunity which was not accessible in the past. In this article, we have shown that this opportunity has led to the emergence of feminine religion. Women used to be less able to talk about religion - in terms of preaching, ...
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AbstractSocial media brings the benefit to people to make their voices heard, an opportunity which was not accessible in the past. In this article, we have shown that this opportunity has led to the emergence of feminine religion. Women used to be less able to talk about religion - in terms of preaching, advices, explanations and interpretations - but through these networks they have been able to produce extensive content about their religion and religious beliefs. The feminine religion is not always reflected in the same fashion, of course, but in a spectrum of beliefs among the women active in the social media. We can consider all the contents in this area in one picture and discuss the emergence of a new opportunity in Iranian society based on the commonalities between the contents. We have shown that the expression of women in religious life with the help of new media has put the traditional institution of religion in a new position. In addition to the challenges it has caused, unparalleled opportunities are also created for religion continuation. At the same time, feminine religious expressions have played a role in limiting the spread of anti-religious sentiments and have achieved many of the desired goals of religious intellectuals in practice. This study examines the feminine mediatized religion presented on Instagram analyzing the discourses in Iranian women's narratives of religion. For this purpose, five Instagram pages have been examined using the Fairclough discourse analysis method. The results indicate the existence of a feminine religious structure which is characterized by search for oneness, call to life, and production of new teachings in the field of religion.
Zahra Ardekani Fard; Seyed Noorodin Razavizadeh
Abstract
Influencers, through their posts on social media, are the online thought leaders who influence the behavior and decision-making process of the mass. Many Instagram influencers are now women. The image they present as women is an influential image of femininity. This research attempts to analyze the femininity ...
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Influencers, through their posts on social media, are the online thought leaders who influence the behavior and decision-making process of the mass. Many Instagram influencers are now women. The image they present as women is an influential image of femininity. This research attempts to analyze the femininity presented on Instagram. For this purpose, the pages of four Iranian female influencers were selected as a sample and the posts of these pages were analyzed using the social semiotics of the image of Cress and Van Livon. The research results show that there are four different ways of portraying femininity on these pages: “modern corporeal femininity”, “traditional femininity in new form”, “anti-dominant femininity”, and “femininity in public space”. These types have both similarities and distinct differences from each other. They pay attention to the two categories of “female body” and “traditional female roles”, and their representations are formed around these two categories. The female body and female roles are influenced by two processes of commercialization and socialization, one by capitalist discourse, the other by feminist discourse. Furthermore, in all the types of femininity presented, religious discourse is either completely rejected or ignored.
