Of Being an Arab Woman Before and After September 11: The Enactment of Communal Identities in Talk

Abstract

This article examines the impact of September 11, 2001 on the communal identity enactment of 5 Arab women. The Communication Theory of Identity is used to explore which identity labels and associated core symbols the women use before and after September 11. Before September 11, the women referred to themselves mainly with their communal identities as Arab, Palestinian, Egyptian, and sometimes Arab American. The main core symbols related to these labels are family, public person, and respect. After September 11, the women emphasized their national identities. Furthermore, the core symbol family expands in meaning to include social relationships in a community organization. Overall, the study contributes to the existing literature on identity and communication in that it demonstrates how identity is enacted in talk and how a combined analysis of cultural core symbols and identity labels can provide insights into what it means to affiliate with a particular communal identity. The study might encourage more communication scholars to explore identity expressions in general and Arab identity expression in particular. It might also help people of Arab descent to gain a stronger voice in communication scholarship.