Social Media and the Politics of Ironic Belonging in Dubai
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8968870 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sonali Pahwa (0000-0002-6584-2087, University of Minnesota, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 569-584 |
| Publication date | 2024-11-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal Middle East Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7438 • E-ISSN: 1471-6380 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s002074382400076x |
| OpenAlex | W4407114939 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 10 |
Social media content creation is hugely popular with second-generation Arab immigrants to the UAE who lack a path to naturalized citizenship, particularly as a space to perform their belonging in the nation. This essay analyzes the work of two Arabophone content creators on Instagram and YouTube who use comedy to perform as quintessential “Dubai kids.” While they align with the state mission of presenting the UAE positively on social media, these creators produce ironic content that makes visible practices of belonging by second-generation youth who distance themselves from inherited politics of national and gender identity. The affective communities that form around these satirical content creators offer a model of belonging in which binaries of citizen and noncitizen can be elided, staging performances of immigrant identity uniquely local to the UAE
Media studies · Political science · Politics · Social media · Sociology · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Gender Studies · History · Law · Socioeconomic Development in MENA · Urban and Rural Development Challenges
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |