The influence of social media on gendered identity in Saudi Arabia, in relation to the religious curriculum throughout Saudi schools: media, politics and human development

This thesis addresses the influence of Twitter on the development of female individualism in Saudi Arabia in relation to the religious curriculum. It reveals the process of this development through two different environments, the physical environment in religious education and the virtual environment in the form of Twitter. The thesis is based on a combination of methods (largely qualitative data obtained from observations, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires). It develops a theoretical framework based on gendered identity as the central concept of this research. the framework positions this concept within two fields of research : feminist approaches to gender and psychological approaches to identity. This thesis presents and innovative approach to the analysis of female individuality. Methodologically, the thesis establishes a position that informs the overall analysis between two different settings, i.e., the physical environment of Saudi schools, which illustrates long-established definitions of the Saudi female as the foundational unit of the analysis. It then moves to an analysis of these definitions in the virtual environment of Twitter, revealing how the different characteristics of the virtual environment influences definitions of identity, the formation of perceptions and the relationships between authorities. In conclusion, the thesis presents significant findings and recommendations.