Stigmatization Through Positioning and Interpretative Repertoires: The Case of Honor Crimes in the Arab World

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the context of “honor” crimes in the Arab world, victims are subjected to stigmatization for deviating from societal norms by perpetrators seeking to assuage their culpability. Understudied is stigma as constructed by the Arab world’s general public to establish different positions in relation to these cruel acts. Taking a critical discursive psychological approach, this research analyzed comments posted on a YouTube video reporting the killing of the Saudi university student Nada Al-Qahtani. The study identified three positions through which the different individuals practiced stigmatization: 1) alignment with the perpetrator; 2) alignment with the victim; and 3) a partial alignment position involving avoidance to commit oneself to the crime. These positions were framed through an array of conflictual psychological, cultural, and religious interpretive repertoires. The study concluded that there is a shift in the discourse of HCs in the Arab world, where certain individuals position themselves and influence the positioning of others toward a more individualistic, self-centered, and autonomous approach for problem solving. It also suggested that social media platforms are a venue through which muted voices condemning such crimes should be promoted.