Between the blogosphere and the public sphere : egyptian women bloggers before and after the January 25th revolution -

Abstract

This study examines how Egyptian women bloggers have engaged in public issues and become significant interlocutors in an online public sphere in Egypt. The project aims to answer the following research questions: What have Egyptian women blogged about in terms of harassment, religion, and personal life? Did their content orientation vary after the outbreak of the Egyptian revolution of 25 Jan. 2011? The study relies upon a qualitative textual analysis of five blogs by five Egyptian women. The findings reveal that these five Egyptian women bloggers have indeed constructed new social dynamics within their blog space. At the same time, however, they have also reproduced older forms present throughout history in other media, in the speech of women who challenged religion and the male gaze, in the work of writers who worked under the cover of anonymity, in the political satirists who used humorous insinuations and sarcastic hinting as form of political resistance, and in the blogging of activists who challenged dominant narratives in mainstream media reportage.