Media Representations of Gendered Minority Practices: The Case of Polygamy in Israel
This paper critically examines how the mainstream media in Israel frame the phenomenon of polygamy among the minority Palestinian Bedouin community within the country. We identify four prominent media frames: (1) an “orientalist” frame, which considers Muslim women as in need of saving from their ow...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Religions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/2/162 |
| _version_ | 1827755763475415040 |
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| author | Sophia Abela Kiwanuka Asia Parker Lihi Ben Shitrit |
| author_facet | Sophia Abela Kiwanuka Asia Parker Lihi Ben Shitrit |
| author_sort | Sophia Abela Kiwanuka |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper critically examines how the mainstream media in Israel frame the phenomenon of polygamy among the minority Palestinian Bedouin community within the country. We identify four prominent media frames: (1) an “orientalist” frame, which considers Muslim women as in need of saving from their own culture and religion’s oppression by a modernizing state; (2) a “securitization” frame, which links the practice of polygamy to threats to the state’s security and to “Islamic terrorism;” (3) an “existential threat” frame, which reflects the Israeli Jewish majority’s anxieties about a demographic battle between Jews and Muslims in the country; and finally, (4) a “women’s rights” frame, which is the least prevalent, that addresses polygamy from the perspective of women’s equality and equal citizenship, and which is critical of the discriminatory policies of the state. Theoretically, the paper explicates how the media utilizes minority gendered practices to amplify Islamophobic sentiments in relation to a Muslim community, and how alternative framing and the featuring of critical Muslim women’s voices in the media might mitigate such harmful effects. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:13:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2f81274ca0144efb83c9f1a799833e08 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:13:34Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-2f81274ca0144efb83c9f1a799833e082023-11-16T22:58:58ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442023-01-0114216210.3390/rel14020162Media Representations of Gendered Minority Practices: The Case of Polygamy in IsraelSophia Abela Kiwanuka0Asia Parker1Lihi Ben Shitrit2Department of International Affairs, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USADepartment of International Affairs, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USADepartment of International Affairs, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USAThis paper critically examines how the mainstream media in Israel frame the phenomenon of polygamy among the minority Palestinian Bedouin community within the country. We identify four prominent media frames: (1) an “orientalist” frame, which considers Muslim women as in need of saving from their own culture and religion’s oppression by a modernizing state; (2) a “securitization” frame, which links the practice of polygamy to threats to the state’s security and to “Islamic terrorism;” (3) an “existential threat” frame, which reflects the Israeli Jewish majority’s anxieties about a demographic battle between Jews and Muslims in the country; and finally, (4) a “women’s rights” frame, which is the least prevalent, that addresses polygamy from the perspective of women’s equality and equal citizenship, and which is critical of the discriminatory policies of the state. Theoretically, the paper explicates how the media utilizes minority gendered practices to amplify Islamophobic sentiments in relation to a Muslim community, and how alternative framing and the featuring of critical Muslim women’s voices in the media might mitigate such harmful effects.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/2/162IsraelBedouinpolygamyMuslimwomenmedia |
| spellingShingle | Sophia Abela Kiwanuka Asia Parker Lihi Ben Shitrit Media Representations of Gendered Minority Practices: The Case of Polygamy in Israel Religions Israel Bedouin polygamy Muslim women media |
| title | Media Representations of Gendered Minority Practices: The Case of Polygamy in Israel |
| title_full | Media Representations of Gendered Minority Practices: The Case of Polygamy in Israel |
| title_fullStr | Media Representations of Gendered Minority Practices: The Case of Polygamy in Israel |
| title_full_unstemmed | Media Representations of Gendered Minority Practices: The Case of Polygamy in Israel |
| title_short | Media Representations of Gendered Minority Practices: The Case of Polygamy in Israel |
| title_sort | media representations of gendered minority practices the case of polygamy in israel |
| topic | Israel Bedouin polygamy Muslim women media |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/2/162 |
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