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Being Me on Instagram: How Indonesian Hijabers Reframed the Nexus of Piety and Modernity

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Being Me on Instagram: How Indonesian Hijabers Reframed the Nexus of Piety and Modernity BEING ME ON INSTAGRAM: HOW INDONESIAN HIJABERS REFRAMED THE NEXUS OF PIETY AND MODERNITY Alila Pramiyanti Master of Science in Communication Management (University of Indonesia) Bachelor of Arts in Communication Science (University of Padjadjaran) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy CREATIVE INDUSTRIES FACULTY QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 2019 1 Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew. -Cicely Tyson- 2 KEYWORDS Authenticity Community Hijab Hijabers Fashion Feminism Identity Indonesia Instagram Modernity Piety Self-presentation 3 ABSTRACT Few researchers have explored the interplay between Muslim identity, social media, fashion, and religion. In this thesis I explore how twenty-six Indonesian hijabers redefined the self- presentation of hijab-wearing women through social media specifically, Instagram. These Indonesian hijabers, or young Indonesian hijab-wearing women who are fashion-conscious, have embraced the visual affordances of Instagram to perform their unique digital self-portraits. I used digital ethnography to delve into the motives, values, and impact of Instagram use on these well-educated, middle-class hijabers, aged 20-34, living in Indonesia’s larger cities, Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Gresik. These hijabers participated in in-depth interviews, participant-observations, and social media observations. This research used thematic and iconography analysis as methods of data analysis. Drawing on Goffman’s theory of self-presentation and the lens of women’s movement, this study revealed how these Indonesian hijabers use Instagram as a medium of self-expression, channel of dakwah (proselytising Islam), and to generate their feminism agendas. Therefore, they presented authenticity, religiosity, and collectivism by using Instagram as their stage. This thesis provides new knowledge of how the hijabers have expanded the motives, values, and impacts of ‘being me’ on Instagram. This thesis also found that these Indonesian hijabers advanced their visibility in the digital public sphere and challenged the stereotype of being voiceless, oppressed, and backward Muslim women. They reframed the nexus of piety and modernity not only in terms of the adoption of Western feminine context, but also in terms of adeptly using the visual affordances of Instagram to challenge dominant power structures, share Islamic knowledge, and enhance women’s agency and empowerment. 4 GLOSSARY OF ARABIC AND INDONESIAN TERMS Allah : the Arabic word for ‘God’ in Abrahamic religions Amanah : fulfilling or upholding trusts Aurat : body parts that should be covered Dakwah : preaching or proselytising of Islam Dhaif : weak Hadith : record of the prophet Muhammad’s daily practices Hijab : literally means curtain, but is used to refer to a long colorful shawl/pashmina pinned in many styles and layers to cover the chest combined with the loose and trendy outfit Hijabers : a term for Indonesian hijab-wearing young women who are fashion-conscious Hijrah : continual self-improvement to become more faithful Jihad : holy war (not essentially related to violence) Jilbab : a short square headscarf pinned in the chin and only wrapped around the neck Kekinian : contemporary and trendy Khimar : a long loose material covered the head until the hip used with abaya Kyai : Islamic leader Muslimah : Muslim woman Niqab : a face-veiled that leaves the area around the eyes visible Pencitraan : planned self-images Pengajian : Quran recitation and Islamic studying Pesantren : Islamic boarding school Quran : Islamic sacred book (also termed as Al-Quran, Qur’an or Koran) Riya : arrogant or show-off Sedekah : alms Syiar : spreading Islamic way of life Tabarruj : display the beauty Tausiyah : Islamic speech Ustadz : male Islamic teacher Ustadzah : female Islamis teacher 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS KEYWORDS ............................................................................................................................ 3 ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. 4 GLOSSARY OF ARABIC AND INDONESIAN TERMS ................................................... 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................ 6 LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... 10 LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. 13 STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP ................................................................ 14 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................. 15 FOREWORD.......................................................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 19 1.1 Research Background ...................................................................................................... 20 The Hijab: Contested Interpretations .............................................................................. 21 Indonesian Hijabers ........................................................................................................... 23 Islamic Culture Industry ................................................................................................... 26 Gap in Knowledge .............................................................................................................. 28 1.2 Research Question ........................................................................................................... 28 1.3 Outcomes of this Thesis ................................................................................................... 29 1.4 Chapter Breakdown ........................................................................................................ 31 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................. 32 2.1 Veiling Practices ............................................................................................................... 32 Veiling practices in Indonesia ........................................................................................... 34 2.2 Feminism ........................................................................................................................... 38 Feminism in Indonesia ....................................................................................................... 39 Piety Movement and Pious Agency .................................................................................. 41 2.3 Islamic Fashion................................................................................................................. 43 Islamic Fashion as Identity Expression ........................................................................... 44 Islamic Fashion: Negotiate Modernity ............................................................................. 48 2.4 Identity on Social Media .................................................................................................. 51 Instagram as Computer-mediated Communication (CMC) .......................................... 52 Self-presentation on Social Media .................................................................................... 54 Selfies culture on social media .......................................................................................... 56 Authenticity on Social Media ............................................................................................ 57 6 The Representation of Muslim Women on Digital Media ............................................. 59 Muslim Women’s Identity on Instagram ......................................................................... 62 2.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 64 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN .................................................................................... 66 3.1 Ontological and epistemological stance ......................................................................... 66 3.2 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 66 3.3 Methods of Data Collection ............................................................................................. 69 Interview ............................................................................................................................. 71 Participant-observation ..................................................................................................... 71 Screenshot of Instagram posting ...................................................................................... 75 3.4 Methods of Data Analysis ................................................................................................ 75 Thematic Analysis .............................................................................................................. 75 Iconographical Analysis .................................................................................................... 77 Example 1 of iconographical analysis .........................................................................
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