Muslim Sportswomen as Digital Space Invaders: Hashtag Politics and Everyday Visibilities

Abstract

This article examines the ways Muslim sportswomen are using social media to challenge stereotypical representations and to build community. Drawing from an 8-month digital ethnography of 50 different social media profiles across four different platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter) and interviews with 20 Muslim sportswomen, we reveal some of the various ways they are using social media to challenge dominant portrayals of Muslim women as in need of “saving”. We draw upon and elaborate Nirmal Puwar’s concept of “space invaders” to explain how Muslim sportswomen are using social media to challenge dominant discourses, build connections, and represent aspects of their sporting lives in culturally specific ways. The article focuses on two key strategies of the sportswomen, firstly their political use of hashtags and secondly the diverse politics of everyday visibilities. Ultimately, this article creates space for Muslim sportswomen’s voices to reveal the various culturally specific forms of agency and politics being employed in the digital realm.