Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Assistant Professor, Institute for Research and Development in the Humanities (SAMT), Tehran, Iran
Abstract
One of the notable conflicts within Islamic religiosity is the phenomenon of self-display (self-ostentation) alongside hijab. According to Islamic teachings, tabarruj—self-adornment in any form—is considered reprehensible for Muslims. Generating income through the exhibition of one's body and decorative makeup while wearing hijab represents a novel strategy for gaining an audience and advertising on Instagram. To identify the motivations of users who engage in self-display through hijab, this study employed in-depth interviews. Twenty-five such users were interviewed. The objective is to identify their motivations, so that cultural officials and policymakers may prevent these incongruous religious and cultural contradictions and innovations. These Instagram users cited motivations including achieving high income, maximizing audience and fan base, gaining visibility and desirability from the opposite sex, and competing with or surpassing same-sex rivals. The methodology is qualitative, and semi-structured in-depth interviews were used for data collection. Female interviewers spent a minimum of six months establishing familiarity and rapport with the participants to build trust and foster a more intimate atmosphere, while adhering to research ethics and upholding the dignity of all parties. This approach aimed to gather data with considerable validity and reliability. Sampling was conducted via snowball sampling, and interviews continued until theoretical saturation was reached, concluding with 25 interviews.
Extended Abstract:
Introduction
The expansion of social media platforms, particularly Instagram, has transformed how individuals construct, display, and negotiate their identities in digital environments. Among the emerging phenomena in Muslim societies is the increasing visibility of users who employ hijab not only as a religious symbol but also as a means of self-presentation, audience attraction, and personal branding. This phenomenon has generated important debates regarding the changing meanings of religious symbols within digital culture and the attention economy. The present study aims to identify and interpret the motives of Instagram users who engage in self-presentation through hijab-oriented content. Rather than approaching such behavior through a normative or theological lens, this study seeks to understand the lived experiences, motivations, and meaning-making processes of these users within the context of digital platforms.
Drawing on theories of self-presentation, digital identity, and attention economy, this study explores how hijab functions as a symbolic, cultural, and economic resource in online environments. Findings indicate that users perceive hijab as a multidimensional symbol that simultaneously conveys religious identity, cultural belonging, aesthetic value, and opportunities for visibility. The analysis reveals four major thematic categories: the economic value of hijab as symbolic capital, the representation of cultural-religious identity, experiences of platform-based competition, and the desire for visibility and digital self-representation. The study demonstrates that the use of hijab on Instagram cannot be reduced to purely religious or economic motivations; rather, it emerges through the interaction of platform algorithms, identity construction, audience engagement, and symbolic competition. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the transformation of religious symbols in contemporary digital environments and highlight the complex relationship between religion, identity, and platform culture.
Digital technologies and social media platforms have fundamentally transformed contemporary processes of identity construction. Instagram, in particular, has become one of the most influential spaces for self-presentation, social interaction, and audience engagement. Through visual content and algorithmic visibility mechanisms, users continuously negotiate and reconstruct personal, cultural, and religious identities.
Within Muslim societies, the increasing presence of hijab-oriented influencers, bloggers, and lifestyle content creators has generated new forms of digital religious expression. While hijab has traditionally been understood as a religious and cultural symbol associated with modesty and privacy, digital environments have enabled alternative interpretations and functions. Users increasingly incorporate hijab into strategies of branding, audience attraction, and identity performance.
Previous studies have examined digital religion, online identity construction, and social media self-presentation. However, relatively limited attention has been paid to the lived experiences and motivations of hijab-oriented users who actively engage in self-display practices on Instagram. Existing research often focuses either on religious representation or on digital marketing, leaving the intersection of symbolic identity, platform competition, and attention-seeking behavior unexplored.
This study addresses this gap by examining how users themselves interpret their activities and understand the relationship between hijab, visibility, identity, and economic opportunities in the Instagram environment.
Materials and Methods
This study employed a qualitative interpretive approach using thematic analysis. The qualitative design was selected because the primary objective was to understand the meanings, motivations, and lived experiences of participants rather than to measure predefined variables.
Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with 25 active Instagram users engaged in hijab styling, religious blogging, and lifestyle content production. Participants were selected through purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Inclusion criteria consisted of at least one year of continuous Instagram activity, regular production of hijab-related content, and a minimum of 5,000 followers.
Interviews focused on participants' perceptions of economic opportunities, identity representation, audience engagement, social recognition, and experiences of competition on Instagram. Data collection continued until thematic saturation was achieved. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed according to the thematic analysis framework proposed by Braun and Clarke.
To enhance credibility and trustworthiness, coding procedures were conducted independently by multiple researchers and reviewed through peer examination. Ethical considerations, including informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity, and voluntary participation, were strictly observed throughout the research process.
Discussion and Results
The findings reveal that participants do not perceive hijab solely as a fixed religious symbol. Instead, they understand it as a flexible and multifunctional resource capable of generating social visibility, symbolic distinction, and economic opportunities.
The first theme concerns hijab as symbolic-economic capital. Participants reported that hijab contributes to differentiation in a crowded digital environment and facilitates connections with specific audiences and commercial brands. Economic opportunities often emerged after visibility and audience growth had already been established.
The second theme relates to the representation of cultural and religious identity. Participants described hijab as a means of expressing personal beliefs, cultural affiliation, and individual identity. Rather than viewing digital representation as contradictory to religious identity, many participants considered Instagram a platform through which religious identity could be translated into contemporary forms of communication.
The third theme focuses on platform competition. Participants emphasized that Instagram's algorithmic environment creates continuous competition for visibility. They reported that successful content creation requires combining religious themes with aesthetic presentation, storytelling techniques, and audience-oriented strategies.
The fourth theme concerns visibility and digital self-representation. Many participants expressed a strong desire to be recognized, heard, and socially influential. Visibility was not interpreted merely as superficial attention-seeking but as a mechanism for achieving personal impact, social relevance, and digital recognition.
Overall, the findings suggest that self-presentation through hijab is shaped by the interaction between identity construction, platform logic, audience expectations, and economic incentives. These dimensions collectively contribute to the emergence of new forms of digital religious expression.
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that hijab-oriented self-presentation on Instagram is a complex social phenomenon that cannot be explained through a single causal factor. Users engage with hijab as a multidimensional symbolic resource situated at the intersection of religious identity, cultural belonging, platform competition, audience engagement, and economic opportunity.
The findings indicate that digital environments facilitate the reinterpretation and reconstruction of religious symbols. Hijab functions simultaneously as a marker of identity, a tool of self-representation, a source of symbolic capital, and a mechanism for audience attraction. Rather than representing a simple departure from religious values, these practices reflect ongoing negotiations between traditional identities and the demands of contemporary digital culture.
Future research may further explore comparative differences between various groups of digital influencers and examine the broader implications of platform-mediated religious identities in different cultural contexts.
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