NEW MEDIA IN THE JEWISH BEDROOM: EXPLORING RELIGIOUS JEWISH ONLINE DISCOURSE CONCERNING GENDER AND SEXUALITY A Dissertation by RUTH TSURIA Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chair of Committee, Heidi A. Campbell Committee Members, Tasha Dubriwny Claire Katz Cara Wallis Head of Department, Kevin Barge August 2017 Major Subject: Communication Copyright 2017 Ruth Tsuria ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the construction and negotiation of gender and sexuality in Jewish Orthodox online discourse. It explores how religious concepts of gender and negotiation were communicated online, and how they were supported or resisted by users and website authors. My approach conceptualizes online digital communication as a Foucauldian discourse, in which power and resistance operate. To understand this discourse, scholars have to consider both the digital affordances and the religious worldviews that inform that discourse. For that purpose, I consider three layers of the religious digital discourse: 1) the technological aspects, 2) the religious/cultural aspects, and 3) the discursive strategies. Three websites were selected (on the basis of popularity) to represent the Orthodox online discourse: Chabad.org, Aish.com and Kipa.co.il. From these websites various texts regarding gender and sexuality were sampled: questions and answers (Q&A); website articles; and videos. A total of n=60 Q&A, n=48 articles and videos, and n=1184 comments were sampled and analyzed. The material was divided into two chapters: one chapter focusing on practices, and the other chapter focusing on meaning making. It was found that the technological affordances (layer 1), by and large, allow for and encourage a participatory discourse. The second layer of analysis found that religious language was oversimplified, with minimum use of canonic religious sources, ii and was accompanied by modern and secular terms. The last layer of analysis highlighted twelve unique discursive strategies. The major finding of this research is that online communication was used to support traditional, strict, religious gender and sexual norms: most of the users and authors supported a literal reading of biblical and legal (halachic) texts concerning sexual behaviors and gender roles and a binary and patriarchal understanding of gender. However, this traditional approach to gender and sexuality tended to be framed through modern, spiritual, or neoliberal language that focused on self-actualization. There was little resistance or push for change of these religious traditional rules. Digital media affordances – the ability to comment and share, to participate in this discourse – by and large served to maintain religious sexual and gender norms. iii DEDICATION To my mother, the feminist; to my father, the technologist. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Every big project, and a dissertation is definitely a big project, is a collaborative process. Even if the project carries one name, there are countless of conversations, discussions, disagreements, challenges, rants and jokes that took place with many people, whose name is not on the cover. This is the place where I can mention at least some of these names. Firstly, to my adviser, mentor and teacher, Heidi A. Campbell, who extended her hand to me when I was still a wandering MA student, who led me into this topic, listened and advised as I stumbled through it, and reminded me that language matters, that methods matter, that order matters, and who helped me find my own voice in a sea of voices. To my committee, Tasha Dubriwny (who reminded me I was a feminist), Cara Wallis (who reminded me I was studying technology, as a feminist) and Claire Katz (Who reminded me I am looking at Judaism) – your advices, comments, and support were priceless. Thank you for listening, thank you for reading, thank you for allowing me to stand in this interdisciplinary circle and for pushing me to take a stance. To the Department of Communication at Texas A&M University, and especially to Kirstin Poirot that offered both mental and financial support. To my family, Abba and Ima, Shira, Lasse, Yoni, Achva, Daniel, Avigail, and sweet Carmel, in Austin and Jerusalem -- you were my best distraction. You made writing pleasurable because I knew I can talk to you when I’m done. You lifted me up when I was down or done and you kept reminding me that a good dissertation is a done v dissertation. You also reminded me that it is better to have something that is very important to you than to be a very important someone. To my friends in College Station and around the world, but especially Aya Yadlin-Segal who was always there to help, advise, and rant with. And to you, my love, what can I say? How can I put in words your support and help? Should I tell them that you always listen, that you made food, that you argued with me and that our morning breakfasts were the best dissertation hours? All of this is true, but you gave me so much more. I need to find more words to say I love you. vi CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES Contributors This work was supervised by a dissertation committee consisting of Professor(s) Heidi A. Campbell (advisor), Tasha Dubriwny and Cara Wallis of the Department of Communication and Professor Claire Katz of the Department of Philosophy and the Program for women and Gender Studies. Funding Sources Graduate study was supported by a fellowship from Texas A&M University Department of Communication, the STAR Award for Dissertation Writing from the College of Liberal Arts, Texas A&M University and a dissertation research fellowship from Texas A&M Women and Gender Studies program. vii NOMENCLATURE Q&A Questions and Answers SST Social Shaping of Technology RSST Religious Social Shaping of Technology ICT Information and Communication Studies CDA Critical Discourse Analysis viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................ii DEDICATION .................................................................................................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... v CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES ............................................................vii NOMENCLATURE ....................................................................................................... viii TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES ..........................................................................................................xii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 Context: Understanding Contemporary Judaism ........................................................... 4 Jewish discourse on sex and gender. .......................................................................... 9 Contextualizing Jewish discourse on gender. ........................................................... 10 Contextualizing Jewish discourse on sexuality. ....................................................... 14 Digital media and Judaism. ...................................................................................... 17 Approaching Orthodox Digital Discourse - The Three Websites in Focus ................. 20 The Chabad movement and Chabad.org. ................................................................. 20 Aish HaTorah organization and Aish.com. .............................................................. 22 National-Religious sect and Kipa.co.il. .................................................................... 24 Judaism, Digital Media and Gender/Sexuality – Dissertation Rationale, Thesis and Contribution ................................................................................................................. 26 Dissertation Structure ................................................................................................... 29 ix CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW: EXPLORING DIGITAL JUDAISM AS A DISCOURSE .................................................................................................................... 31 Media Studies – Understanding the Digital as a Discourse ......................................... 32 Gender and digital media. ........................................................................................ 34 The digital as a discourse. ........................................................................................ 36 Power, authority, gender, and digital media. ............................................................ 39 Digital Religion – Understanding Discourse in Terms of Technology and Religion .. 45 The study of digital religion. .................................................................................... 46 Theories of digital religion. ...................................................................................... 48 Jewish Sexuality and Gender Online: Problematizing the “Liberating” Assumptions ................................................................................................................. 54 Previous scholarship: Digital media as liberating. ..................................................