The Subculture of Hijabi Fashion Influencers : Defining modesty in Islam through images on Instagram

Abstract

Modesty is practiced by people regardless of their class, sexuality, gender, race, or religion. However, there is an association between modesty, Islam, and the Islamic veil (or hijab). The hijab is an Islamic garment that is meant for Muslim women to wear if they choose to do so. The Qur’an has verses that regard the hijab as a compulsory practice for Muslim women. The hijab is meant to conceal the hair, neck, chest, and ears of a woman. When wearing the hijab, women are also expected to conceal other areas of their body by wearing modest clothing. There is variability in the definitions and understandings surrounding modesty. Veiled Muslim women practice modesty by concealing their hair, skin, and body. The veil is a signifier of their religious affiliation and modest lifestyle. This is a study of performance and visual enactment within the photos posted by a sample of veiled Muslim women influencers, which include Nawal Sari and Rawdah Mohamed. It uses visual rhetorical analysis to examine the captions and the clothing, pose, background, symbols, colours and textures present in the photos and videos. The research question that this study answers is: how do hijabi influencers define modesty in Islam through the photos and videos uploaded on their visual social media platforms? This research demonstrates that the definition of Islamic modesty can be understood beyond a binary perspective.