Abstract
On Instagram, many Saudi Arabian fashion and lifestyle influencers engage in facial obscuring techniques to guard their face from public view. These techniques include blurring parts of the face, blocking the face with a phone or object, or crossing the face out using a digital pen, among other techniques. The practice of facial obscuring on social media allows women to remain dually in/visible, providing them an opportunity to engage in the digital public sphere while developing new, transformative and digitized ways of practicing modesty in online spaces. In this paper, I argue that facial obscuring techniques offer a pathway for women to perform modesty in online spaces while still retaining a public persona on social media. Using a content analysis, this paper identifies the how Saudi social media influencers practice modesty in their self-representation online. The findings suggests that Saudi influencers are engaging in digital veiling practices which provide the opportunity for them to remain in/visible in public online spaces.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Saudi Arabia, Modesty, Veiling, Social Media, Digital Spaces, Influencers
