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The Impact of the Hijab: An Experimental Study of News Framing and American Audience Perceptions of Muslim Women Protesters in the Middle East & North Africa Region (MENA)

Mechehoud, Meriem
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1719058882608395

Abstract Details

2024, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, Media and Communication.
This study utilizes an experimental design to explore how different frames impact individuals’ perceptions of Muslim women when portrayed in news coverage of protests from the Middle East and North Africa region. Specifically, this research investigates the influence of news media frames on U.S. public perceptions of Muslim women activists, focusing on the impact of the hijab to test various perspectives related to minorities, gender, and stereotypical representations. In addition to examining the effect of text (positive and negative frames) and visuals (no visuals, visuals featuring veiled Muslim women, and visuals of unveiled Muslim women) on perceptions, this study also analyzes the influence of the interaction effect of the text and visual frames. This dissertation employed a factorial design, utilizing Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) to conduct an online experiment. Participants were exposed to different news frames describing protests to assess their perceptions of Muslim women activists. One of the key findings of this study highlights the influence of Western-centric notions on perceptions of Muslims. Results demonstrated that positive text frames accompanied by visuals featuring unveiled women facilitated more positive implicit perceptions compared to negative frames. However, exposure to visuals featuring veiled women fostered more support toward Muslim women's protests compared to those exposed to unveiled visuals, regardless of whether the text frame is positive or negative. Additionally, results exhibited that preexisting stereotypes of oppression and victimization, along with interactions with Muslims, emerged as the most influential predictors in shaping perceptions. iv Based on the results, the author urges editors and journalists to carefully consider the goal of their coverage of protest news from the Middle East to ensure accurate and balanced portrayals that contribute to greater social inclusion, diversity, and equity in media discourse. The author also highlight possible options Muslim women protestors can capitalize on these results to serve their protests’ goals and objectives. Finally, this dissertation calls for further investigation of the mechanisms underlying the interaction between textual and visual framing and their effects on audience perceptions. It also calls for a deeper inspection of visual framing effects and ways to optimize their persuasive impact in different communication contexts.
Louisa Ha, PhD (Committee Chair)
Kefa Otiso, PhD (Other)
Lara Langel, PhD (Committee Member)
Yanqin Lu, PhD (Committee Member)
210 p.
Mass Media; Middle Eastern Studies; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Womens Studies
news media frames; Muslim women; Middle East and North Africa (MENA); hijab; gender stereotypes & minorities; media discourse; media representation; public perception; online experiment; textual and visual framing;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Mechehoud, M. (2024). The Impact of the Hijab: An Experimental Study of News Framing and American Audience Perceptions of Muslim Women Protesters in the Middle East & North Africa Region (MENA) [Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1719058882608395

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Mechehoud, Meriem. The Impact of the Hijab: An Experimental Study of News Framing and American Audience Perceptions of Muslim Women Protesters in the Middle East & North Africa Region (MENA). 2024. Bowling Green State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1719058882608395.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Mechehoud, Meriem. "The Impact of the Hijab: An Experimental Study of News Framing and American Audience Perceptions of Muslim Women Protesters in the Middle East & North Africa Region (MENA)." Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1719058882608395

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1719058882608395
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© 2024, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.