THE POWER OF PODCASTS: FEMINIST DISCOURSES OF MUSLIM WOMEN IN THE DIGITAL PUBLIC SPHERE

The representation of Muslim women in Dutch mainstream media continues to be one-sided and stereotypical, resulting in misinformed assumptions and perceptions of media consumers toward Muslim women. Podcasts enable Muslim women to bypass mainstream media power structures and represent their own positions, stories, and experiences on their own terms, as such, providing alternative discourses to the mainstream narratives. The primary goal of this study has been to investigate discourses of feminism among Muslim women in Dutch feminist podcasts, in order to provide new insights from a mostly underrepresented (intersectional) perspective of Muslim women. From the context of Dutch secularism and postfeminism, digital feminism, and the theoretical concepts of intersectionality and situated knowledge, a qualitative ‘podcast’ content analysis of ten episodes of Dutch feminist podcasts has been conducted. The findings indicate that podcasts facilitate Muslim women to attract power by constructing their discourses of feminism. By accentuating differences, Muslim women counteract the one-sided mainstream media representation. Discourses of feminism are centred around intersectionality, and interpreted from the positionality of the oppressed. In the podcasts, Muslim women illustrate how one’s experiences with patriarchal oppression stems from positioning. Yet, patriarchy is universal. In conclusion, the layered identity of Muslim women is reflected in their construction of discourses of feminism. The diverse voices represented in podcasts provide complicated and nuanced perspectives which should be more included in (media) discourses of feminism and other societal/political topics. Key words: Feminist podcasts, Representation, Muslim women in the Netherlands, Intersectionality, Situated knowledges, Digital agency