1. Feminist Blogging in the Middle East:Subverting Oppressive Systems Through Social Networking Video Layla K., Agnieszka I., Samantha L., Lindsay S. Loyola University Chicago HONR 204, Fall 2010 George K. Thiruvathukal, Course Instructor/Professor

2. Basic Stats Type of Blog: 53/71 on Blogger 17/71 on WordPress

4. 23/71 blogs linked to personal Facebookaccount33/71 blogs linked to personal Twitter account15/71 Blogs linked to neither

5. Network Analysis

6. SaudiArabia Iran 6 3 1 1 3 4 2 9 4 7 6 5 2 9 8 8 5 10 7 10 Complex network structure Nearly non-existent network structure

7. Palestine Kuwait 1 5 4 6 1 7 10 8 2 9 9 2 3 3 8 7 6 4 6 5 Intermediate network structures

8. Links Within Individual Posts Saudi Arabia Palestine Lebanon Kuwait

9. Country Analysis

10. Lebanon

11. Palestine

12. EGYPT

13. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

14. Kuwait

15. Saudi Arabia

16. Iran

17. Email Interview: Why do you Blog? “Blogging came as mean of self-therapy to release the anger I had toward many taboos in our culture and religion. Blogging four years ago meant a free spot where I can freely voice my opinion and share my experience which represent a wide range of Arab females living in male-dominant culture.” -Arab Lady (UAE) “Recently after I confided my thought of quitting to another blogger friend who is Saudi, she wrote back to me, "Don't ever stop blogging, please. You are like a mirror in a fitting room, stark, well-lighted and honest. It makes us cringe and at the same time face the truth." I never imagined I would feel good about being compared to a mirror in a fitting room, but what she said gave me the push I needed to continue blogging, for now. “ -Susie of Arabia (Saudi Arabia) “I blog about issues considered taboo in the Middle East: feminism, sexuality, queer issues, social change, and there are very few mainstream media outlets who are interested in publishing anything I have to say. And so I publish them on my own blogs (and on other collective blogs with fellow activists) in order to reach out to readers and influence public opinion. You cannot do any successful activism anywhere in the world today if you are not strong online, and expanding your audience bit by bit.” -Nadine M. (Lebanon) “But it gradually morphed into the story of how the personal is violated and immersed with the political for Palestinians. When I was living in Gaza, blogging was my coping mechanism. It was cathartic. But it was also my window to the world and the world's window to Gaza. And in this context, I felt I had a duty to blog, as someone with the ability (linguistically, but also mentally, while under occupation) to do so. “ -Gaza Mom (Palestine)

18. Questions?

19. A huge thank you to all the bloggers who made this project possible, and an extra thanks to those who participated in the e-mail portion of it! Your time and efforts are greatly appreciated.

20. Works Cited Saudi Arabia 1) Susie’s Big Adventure: http://susiesbigadventure.blogspot.com/p/in-news.html 2) An American Journalist in Riyadh: http://www.globalpost.com/bio/caryle-murphy 3.) In the Making: http://ayshak.blogspot.com/ 4.) Crossroads Arabia: http://xrdarabia.org/ 5.) Expatriate blogs about Saudi Arabia: http://www.expat-blog.com/en/directory/middle-east/saudi-arabia/ 6.) Hala in USA: http://hala1.wordpress.com/ 7.) Hning’s Asia: http://www.hning.asia/2008/09/tau.html 8.) My Favourite Professor: http://angeletadros.wordpress.com/ 9.) Omaima Al Najjar: http://omaimanajjar.wordpress.com/ 10.) Palestine Telegraph: http://paltelegraph.com/index.php 11.) Qusay: http://qusaytoday.com/en/ 12.) Princess Basmabint Saud’s blog: http://basmasaoud.blogspot.com/ 13.) Relativity Online: http://www.relativityonline.com/ 14.) Sabria’s Out of the Box: http://saudiwriter.blogspot.com/ 15.) Sand Gets in My Eyes: http://sandgetsinmyeyes.blogspot.com/ 16.) Saudi Alchemist: http://saudialchemist.org/ 17.) SaudiAmber: http://saudiamber.blogspot.com/ 18.) SaudiJeans: http://saudijeans.org/ 19.) Saudiwoman’s Weblog: http://saudiwoman.wordpress.com/ 20.) American Bedu: http://americanbedu.com/ Iran 1.) Iranian Girl: http://iranian-girl.blogspot.com/ 2.) I Am an Iranian Daughter: http://iraniandoughter.blogspot.com/ 3.) Iranian Diaries: http://iraniandiaries.blogspot.com/ 4.) Inside Iran: http://jadi.civiblog.org/ 5.) My Mind Stories: http://nazzynameh.blogspot.com/ 6.) Narges: http://livinginiran.livejournal.com/ 7.) My Small Life: http://smalllifeofmine.blogspot.com/ 8.) The Feminine Life in Iran: http://femiran.blogspot.com/ 9) BlueBirdEscape: http://www.bluebirdescape.com/ 10) Persian Paradox: http://ebtekarm.blogspot.com/ 11) Faith Today: http://cyberfaith.blogspot.com/ 12) Rotten Gods: http://www.rottengods.com/ 13) Rooz 1303: http://www.roozonline.com/english/about-us.html 14) Shahrazad: http://shahrzaad.wordpress.com/ 15) View from Outside Iran: http://viewfromiran.blogspot.com/ 16) Pedestrian: http://www.sidewalklyrics.com/ 17) Neo-Resistance : http://www.iranfacts.blogspot.com/ 18) Eyeranian.net: http://www.eyeranian.net/ 19) IranWrites: http://iranwrites.blogspot.com/ 20) HUMAN first, then a proud IRANIAN: http://www.humanfirstthenproudiranian.blogspot.com/ Palestine/ Israel 1) My Palestine: http://avoicefrompalestine.wordpress.com/ 2) In Gaza: http://ingaza.wordpress.com/ 3) Palestinian Mothers: http://palestinian.ning.com/profiles/blog/list 4) Derry Friends of Palestine: http://www.derryfriendsofpalestine.org/ 5) An Arab Woman Blues - Reflections in a sealed bottle... : http://arabwomanblues.blogspot.com/ 6) Layla Anwar’s Kitchen: http://laylaanwarkitchen.blogspot.com/ 7) A Thousand and One Stories: http://arabwomanstories.blogspot.com/ 8) The Arabist: A website on Arab politics and culture: http://www.arabist.net/ 9) Conflicts Forum: listening to political Islam, recognizing resistance: http://conflictsforum.org/ 10) Displaced Palestinians: http://displacedppalestinians.blogspot.com/ 11) Reality Check Point: http://draykcab.wordpress.com/ 12) The Electronic Intifada: http://electronicintifada.net/ 13) Palestinian World: http://palestinianworld.blogspot.com 14) Rebellious Arab Girl: http://www.rebelliousarabgirl.net 15) IshaL'Isha - Feminist Newsletter: http://feministnewsletter-isha.blogspot.com/ 16) Jigsaw's Guide to Feminist Theory: http://jigsawfeministtheoryguide.blogspot.com 14) International Solidarity Movement: http://palsolidarity.org 15) 'Just World News' with Helena Cobban: http://justworldnews.org/ 16) Poetry for Palestine: http://poetryforpalestine.blogspot.com/ 17)Respect Discussion: http://resspectdiscussion.blogspot.com/ 18) Silver Lining: Food for Thought: http://realisticbird.wordpress.com/ 19) Uprooted Palestinians: http://uprootedpalestinians.blogspot.com/ 20) Ali Abunimah: http://aliabunimah.posterous.com/ 21) Live from 300km squared of Chaos: http://livefromgaza.wordpress.com/ 22) Here, I was born: SameehaElwan: http://sameeha88.wordpress.com/ 23) Gaza: diaries of peace and war: http://msuliman.wordpress.com/ 24) أفيُون: www.ibashar.wordpress.com 25) Palestine: Memory Drafts and Future Alleys: http://ranabaker.wordpress.com/ 26) In my journey: http://ibtihalinlife.blogspot.com/ 27)A Voice From Palestine: http://yelkhoudary.blogspot.com 28) Israelity Bites: http://israelitybites.blogspot.com/ 29) Body On The Line: http://bodyontheline.wordpress.com/ 30) Al-Falasteenyia: http://alfalasteenyia.blogspot.com/ 31) Uncensored Arab Woman Blues: http://uncensoredarabwomanblues.blogspot.com/ 32) Life in Fragments: www.feministpalestinianwriter.blogspot.com 33) Lulwa's Logic: http://lulwalogic.blogspot.com/ 34) Gaza Mom: http://www.gazamom.com/ 35) Promised Land: News and Opinion from Israel: http://www.promisedlandblog.com 36) Tabula Gaza--in between lines of fact and fiction: http://tabulagaza.blogspot.com/ 37) Palestine & Ireland: http://irish4palestine.blogspot.com/ Other sources Lowenstein, Antony . The Blogging Revolution. Melbourne University Press: Australia, 2008. Print. http://www.vpnaccounts.com/blogging-in-syria.html http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MzA4NzY4OTcx http://www.hilaliya.com/2010/01/kuwait-times-article-govt-atte-1.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/18/uae-men-can-beat-wives-an_n_766467.html

21. Works Cited Cont. Egypt 1) Arabic Literature (in English): http://arablit.wordpress.com/ 2) UnbraInwasher: http://unbrainwasher.blogspirit.com/ 3) 3Arabwy: http://www.arabawy.org/blog/ 4) Baheyya: Egypt Analysis and Whimsy: http://baheyya.blogspot.com/ 5) Arabist: http://www.arabist.net/hatshepsut/ 6) Arab Feminisms Conference: http://www.feministcollective.com/arabfeminisms/ 7)Women's Sphere: global women’s news, views, opinions: Nawal El Saadawai: http://womensphere.wordpress.com/ 8) The Immigrants: http://myswrk.blogspot.com 9) Institute of Women's Studies: Birzeit University—Palestine: http://www.birzeit.edu/institutes/wom_std/ 10) Socialatic: http://socialatic.posterous.com/ 11) The Female Genital Mutilation / Cutting (FGM/C) News Blog: http://fgcdailynews.blogspot.com/2010/11/female-genital-mutilation-practice.html 12) BikyaMasr: http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=20756’ 13) The West, Islam and Sharia: http://thewestislamandsharia.blogspot.com/ 14) Al-DarbDiya: http://al-darb.blogspot.com 15) Tales of a Fattractive Egyptian Woman: http://fattractive.wordpress.com/ 16) Egyptian Chronicles: http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/ 17) Egypt – The Reality! (By Isis) http://www.egyptreality.blogspot.com/ 18) Inanities: http://allthegoodnameshadgone.blogspot.com/ 19) Living in Egypt: http://living-in-egypt-manisha.blogspot.com/ 20) Dalia Ziada: http://daliaziada.blogspot.com/ 21) Women Against Shariah: http://womenagainstshariah.blogspot.com/ Desert Girl on Kuwait: http://desertgirlkuwait.blogspot.com/ Kuwait 2) Kuwait Times: Govt Attempts to Censor Blogs ‘Unacceptable: http://www.hilaliya.com/2010/01/kuwait-times-article-govt-atte-1.html 3) Lyda Morehouse: A Day in the Life of an Idiot: http://lyda222.livejournal.com/191338.html 4) Kuwait Times: What the Quran Says About Women’s Rights: http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MzA4NzY4OTcx 5) Matador Pulse: Kuwaiti Women Make Political Gains: http://matadornetwork.com/pulse/kuwaiti-women-make-political-gains/ 6) Aswat: Joelle’s Blog: http://www.aswat.com/en/blog/1033 7) Ben Rivard: http://q80dictator.blogspot.com/ 8) Kia ora from Kuwait: http://kiwi_nomad.blogspot.com/ 9) wfeo-kuwait.org: http://wfeo-kuwait.org/ 10) Kirmalack: http://kirmalak.blogspot.com/ 11) Pocket Full of Sunshine: http://pocketfullofsunshine.wordpress.com/ 12) Ladies Who Do Lunch in Kuwait: http://www.ladieswhodolunchinkuwait.com/ 13) The Wasta: http://www.thewasta.com/ 14) Snow in Q8: http://snowinq8.blogspot.com/ 15) Wood Turtle: http://woodturtle.wordpress.com/ 16) The Kuwaiti Femme: http://thekuwaitifemme.blogspot.com/ 17) Kuwaiti Babble: Bold: Outrageous: Uninhibited Thoughts: http://q80-babbler.blogspot.com/ 18) So I Want to Be an Astronaut: http://q80girl.blogspot.com/ 19) Reema’s Blog: http://tempella.com/ 20) NourHaha!: http://nourhaha.blogspot.com/ 21) Life After Marriage: http://newq8bride.blogspot.com/ United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah) United Arab Emirates 1) Gender Across Borders: A Global Feminist Blog, Women’s Rights in Progress?: http://www.genderacrossborders.com/2010/05/29/the-united-arab-emirates-women’s-rights-in-progress/ 2) Aziza Discusses: http://azizaosman.blogspot.com/ 3) Suad’s Blogs: To Help in Educating the World: http://suadalhalwachi.blogspot.com/ 4)Secret Dubai Diary: http://secretdubai.blogspot.com/ 5)UAE Community Blog: http://uaecommunity.blogspot.com/ 6) Exposing United Hope UAE and SharalaMusabih: http://unitedhopeuae.blogspot.com/ 7) Arab Lady: Welcome to my Rebellious Kingdom: http://arablady.blogspot.com/ 8) Restless in Dubai: http://restless-in-dubai.blogspot.com/ 9) Women’s Health Blog: http://hpv-uae.blogspot.com 10) Dubai Yuki: http://insearchofmike.blogspot.com/ 11) Confession of a Khaleeji Girl: http://the-afohb-independent-khaleejiya.blogspot.com/ 12) One Big Construction Site: http://onebigconstructionsite.blogspot.com/ 13) His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum: http://www.sheikhmohammed.co.ae/vgn-ext-templating/searchContext/SearchServlet 14) Yahoo News (Maktoob): UAE Beacon of Women’s Rights in the Middle East: http://en.news.maktoob.com/20090000447338/UAE_beacon_of_women_s_rights_in_Mideast/Article.htm 15) Women’s Rights: UAE Gives Men the Okay to Beat Their Wives and Children: http://womensrights.change.org/blog/view/uae_gives_men_the_okay_to_beat_their_wives_and_children 16) Momentary Musings: http://shansenta.blogspot.com/ 17) UaEMaX: http://uaemax.blogspot.com/ 18) Dubai Sunshine: http://dxbsunshine.blogspot.com/ 19) Get out of My Way: http://dubaiinmyface.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html 20) Sex & Dubai: Quirky: funny: and honest outlook on what it is to be single and female in Dubai: http://single-in-dubai.blogspot.com/ Lebanon 1) What if I get free? Feminist Attempts and Re-Attempts : http://www.nadinemoawad.com/ 2) Maya’s Amalgam: http://mayazankoul.com/ 3) QifaNabki: http://qifanabki.com/ 4) Einmal ist keinmal: http://einmal-ist-keinmal.blogspot.com/ 5) [translated from Arabic] Without Sugar: http://nourbishouty.blogspot.com/ 6) Violatre: http://violatre.blogspot.com/ 7) Hanane Kai : http://hanane.me/blog/ 8) Rasha Moumneh: http://www.rashamoumneh.com/ 9) Feminist Collective : http://feminist-collective.blogspot.com/ 10) Layla Anwar Kitchen: http://laylaanwarkitchen.blogspot.com/ 11) Uncensored Arab Woman Blues: http://uncensoredarabwomanblues.blogspot.com/ 12) A Thousand and One Stories: http://arabwomanstories.blogspot.com/ 13) An Arab Woman Blues: Reflections in a sealed bottle: http://arabwomanblues.blogspot.com/ 14) PriapusDionysis: http://priapusdionysis.wordpress.com/ 15) The Identity Chef: http://theidentitychef.com/ 16) Suddenly Two: http://suddenly-2.blogspot.com/ 17) From Beirut to the Beltway: http://www.beirutbeltway.com/beirutbeltway/ 18) Shirin from Lebanon: http://shirin-from-lebanon.blogspot.com/shirin 19) South Lebanon: Home of dignitiy honor and steadfastness: http://jnoubiyeh.com/ 20) Sawt el Niswa: A Feminist Webspace: http://www.sawtalniswa.com/ 21) Nasawiya: http://www.nasawiya.org/web/