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Incongruous and illegitimate: Antisemitic and Islamophobic semiotic violence against women in politics in the United Kingdom
Author(s): Kuperberg, Rebecca
Date: 2021
Topics: Antisemitism, Antisemitism: Discourse, Violence, Politics, Islamophobia, Social Media, Internet, Jewish Women, Main Topic: Antisemitism
Abstract: Violence against women in politics encompasses physical, psychological, economic, sexual and semiotic forms of violence, targeting women because their gender is seen as threatening to hegemonic political norms. Theoretical debates over these categories and empirical applications to global cases often overlook that backgrounds and lived experiences of women in politics can differ considerably. Using the United Kingdom as a case study, in this article I analyze different manifestations of online semiotic violence – violence perpetrated through words and images seeking to render women incompetent and invisible (Krook 2020, 187) – against female, religious-minority politicians. Through a qualitative discursive approach, I identify patterns and strategies of violence in an original dataset of Twitter posts that mention the usernames of seven prominent Muslim and Jewish female politicians. Results show that multiply-marginalized politicians are exposed to both sexist and racist rhetoric online. In this case, semiotic violence functions to render women incompetent using racist disloyalty tropes as well as to render women invisible by invalidating their testimonies of abuse.
“Please protect the Jews”: Ideology and Concealment in the Britain First Solidarity Patrol
Author(s): Burke, Shani
Date: 2017
Topics: Antisemitism: Far right, Islamophobia, Social Media, Internet, Main Topic: Antisemitism
Abstract: This research examined Facebook comments in response to Britain First’s ‘solidarity patrol’ video, in which Britain First is shown patrolling in Golders Green, North London, ostensibly to show support for the Jewish community after the shooting in the Kosher supermarket in Paris following the Charlie Hebdo attack. A Critical Discursive Psychological analysis was conducted on comments. Initial comments were identified as showing support and gratitude towards Britain First; however, comments became progressively anti-Semitic (e.g. by posing the rhetorical question, what benefits have Jews brought to Britain?). Results are discussed in terms of how Britain First has managed to achieve anti-Islamic rhetoric whilst trying to maintain support from the mainstream. This research has identified that discussions on Facebook have transitioned from Jews being constructed as vulnerable at the hands of Islamic extremism, to Jews being problematic and the aggressors.