Cultural citizenship processes on social media: How women negotiate identity online

Summary, in English

Cultural citizenship suggests that people negotiate what it means to be a citizen and belong to a nation. Social media is an online space where women can practise citizenship, where the sense of belonging and norms of what it means to be a citizen are negotiated. This study explored how women in the United Arab Emirates use social media as a public space for negotiating an Emirati identity. Focus groups were conducted with young Emirati women. Results reflected the complexities of women’s move from private to public online spaces in a society where it is uncommon for women to participate in public life. This research offers theoretical implications for the role of social media in facilitating cultural citizenship processes outside Western contexts.

• Author: Leysan Storie; Sarah Marschlich
• Department/s: Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies (CMES); Department of Communication; MECW: The Middle East in the Contemporary World; Department of Strategic Communication
• Publishing year: 2025-03-12
• Language: English
• Pages: 989-1006
• Publication/Series: Media, Culture and Society
• Volume: 47
• Issue: 5
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/01634437241308733
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Topic: Media and Communication Studies
• Keywords: cultural citizenship; digital media; gender; women; identity; middle east; social media; United Arab Emirates; UAE
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1460-3675