Representation Of Muslim Women In E-Media Caricatures

Abstract

This paper attempts to gain an understanding of the ways in which Muslim women are presented on the E-media in the broader world community by identifying and examining the linguistic and visual signifiers used in the caricatures. The sample selected for the current research work consists of 22 caricatures disseminated on the World Wide Web between years 2012 - 2013. From a theoretical perspective, the socio-cognitive approach to CDA introduced by Van Dijk (1992, 1993, 2000, 2012) on communication of ethnic biases and racial prejudices is combined with the visual semiotic model by Roland Barth (1978). The two approaches are merged to examine linguistic and visual aspects of caricatures for identifying signs which construct certain identities of Muslim women. This paper argues that in the collected caricatures the identity of Muslim women is constructed as distant and different from the (Western) social norm. The iconic images or visual identifiers used, function to transfer all the biased imagery and prejudice about Muslim women to the actual situation. Thus they serve the purpose to authenticate the stereotypical identity. This paper claims that the social caricatures collected, depict racial and ethnic prejudices against Muslim women.