Women Studies

Women Studies

Deconstructing the orthodox discourse in young women’s online live, a Case Study of Instagram

Document Type : -

Authors
Vahid Shalchi 1
Mohammad Mollaabbasi 2
mohammad taghi karami ghahi 3
Shima Farzadmanesh 4
1 Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Social sciences Faculty, Allameh Tabatabae'i University, Tehran, Iran.
3 Professor, Women sciences Department, Social Sciences Faculty, Allameh Tabatabai University
4 Sociology department, Social sciences faculty, Allameh Tabataba'i University. Tehran, Iran
10.30465/ws.2025.50887.4365
Abstract
The arena of women's identity arrangement has become a site of contestation and competition among diverse discourses in today's mediatized world. Each discourse seeks to position women within its desired subjectivities. This article aims to analyze the components of one such discourse that, within the discursive arrangement prevailing on Instagram, articulates the online lives of a segment of young women influencers. The central question of this article is: How is the "Orthodoxy" discourse articulated and given meaning in the online lives of young women on Instagram? The research methodology is Laclau and Mouffe's discourse analysis.
The findings indicate that while the Orthodoxy discourse holds a close affinity with the power and ideology governing formal institutions and policymaking in the public sphere, thereby constituting a hegemonic discourse, it emerges as a discourse of resistance in the virtual realm. In opposition to the dominant features of social media, such as consumerism and exhibitionism, it articulates its discursive moments around contentment, Halal entertainment, inner adornment, religious ritualism, familyism, and social distancing.
Keywords
Discourse analysis
orthodox
young women
Instagram
online life
articulation

Subjects

  • Receive Date 26 March 2025
  • Revise Date 24 July 2025
  • Accept Date 29 August 2025