Muslim YouTubers in Turkey and the Authoritarian Male Gaze on YouTube

Abstract

The increased digitalization in today’s world, including social interactions online, as well as digital practices and performances, has a significant impact on the identity formation of youth and reflects their self-representation in society and the global world. This article examines how gender identities shape online representations of religious youth in Turkey. To this end, this study particularly focuses on young Muslim YouTubers whose religious identity appears either as a part of their images (i.e., veiled women/hijabi YouTubers) or through the contents they create (Muslim male YouTubers). Presenting similarities and divergences between online representations of Muslim YouTubers, this study sheds light on how Muslim youth express religiosity as a part of their online identities through the digital content they create. Furthermore, this analysis explores different modes of utilization of YouTube by young female and male Muslims as manifested through their videos. Following Schiffer’s categorization of the functionality of objects, I will argue that socialization and individuality are highly prioritized in the contents created by hijabi YouTubers. At the same time, an ideological and authoritarian perspective becomes prominent among the YouTube videos created by Muslim male YouTubers in Turkey.

Keywords

• digital media platforms
• techno-religion
• digital religiosity
• muslim youtubers
• gender identity
• religious authorities