Communication ETDs

Publication Date

Summer 7-1-2024

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Muslim women are frequently misrepresented in U.S. mainstream media and often portrayed adversely as a homogeneous group of women defined and silenced by religious and gender oppression. Scholarly research has documented how this historical pattern of representation ignores their intersectional, complex identities and reinforces the discourse of Islamophobia. This thesis will explore this problem in the case of the first Muslim American women elected to the U.S. House of Representatives: Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan). Drawing on theories of media framing, intersectionality, and Islamophobia, the research examined 12 in-depth stories from 2019 and 2023 in three mainstream news outlets (CNN, Fox News, and PBS). The analysis shows how news texts reproduced and challenged Islamophobic tropes through fragmentation and contradictions in framing to complicate the discourse around Tlaib and Omar in mainstream media.

Language

English

Keywords

Muslim American women, news framing, intersectionality, Islamophobia, US politics, political discourse

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Communication

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Department of Communication and Journalism

First Committee Member (Chair)

Dr. Ilia Rodríguez Nazario

Second Committee Member

Dr. Jaelyn DeMaría

Third Committee Member

Dr. Nafida Banu

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