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This study traces feminist markers by analyzing expressions of feminism in popular Arab songs across various media through the feminist and social role theoretical frameworks. The applied portion of the study is limited to YouTube. For the methodological framework, the study adopts a mixed approach. This is established through a congruent triangulation to collect and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data, as well as via critical discourse analysis (CDA) tools across developmental, textual, and contextual aspects. Moreover, the study analyzes frameworks and inferences. Additionally, van Dijk’s ideological square of power and hegemony is also utilized. A gender-based social role analysis is also conducted to arrive at the necessary descriptive/quantitative data. The study examines a selected sample of eighty-four Arabic songs that date from 2011 to mid-2023. The selected samples all met the minimum threshold of no less than one million views each. According to the findings, feminist allusions and markers have evolved. More specifically, these markers have developed from merely airing grievances regarding discrimination or violence into more affirmative stances of resistance, right to equality and independence, and even superiority and dominance over males. The psychological implications reveal a similar evolution as they evolved from expressions of surrender into resistance, defiance, pride, and disrespect directed toward males. Those allusions and markers do not maintain a coherent feminist discourse with a clear feminist theory, nor do they define new societal gender-based roles for females or males. Instead, they express various roles within the framework of a male/female relationship that involve fluctuating scales of power.

Link to full translated manuscript: https://www.arabmediasociety.com/?p=8294

الدلائل النسوية في الأغنية العربية المعاصرة: دارسة تحليلية للخطاب والجندر