The construction of gendered identities in Moroccan radio phone-in programmes

Abstract

ABSTRACT The restructuring of the media landscape and access to new radio outlets resulted in the popularity of interactive programmes among Moroccans. Many phone-ins now exist that offer advice on a variety of social problems. Some address issues that pertain specifically to the modern Moroccan woman. The interactive aspects of phone-ins offer an opportunity to study the ways gender is co-constructed by lay callers and the experts providing advice. This article offers an Ethnomethodological account of two calls to Kif Lhal, a popular Moroccan radio phone-in. It describes the ways callers mobilised the categories wife, mother, father and husband to construct specific gender identities. Methodologically, Membership Categorisation Analysis is used to describe how callers deployed gender categories, and how their deployment betrayed patriarchal worldviews. The article argues that an ethnomethodological analysis can offer a glimpse at the emic logic of gender relations in everyday life. It can also trace the ways this logic spills over into the discourse of Kif Lhal as a media text. While their positive impact is undeniable, phone-ins run the risk of inadvertently importing patriarchal modes of discourse to the public sphere of media, where major strides have been made towards gender equality.