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Let’s talk about sex: Australian Muslim online discussions

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Abstract

Sex talk is ubiquitous, yet often remains difficult within more conservative or religious milieus. However, online forums provide younger digital native Muslims with novel environments where they can discuss sex-related issues with one another. Listening to the views young Muslims share on online forums can shed some light onto how members of an Australian online virtual community frame and conceive of a number of sex-related issues, the questions they pose, the discussions that ensue, and the answers they contribute. The aim is to explore what forum discussions can tell us about the views, understanding, and framing of sex-related issues with which young Australian Muslims, living in Muslim minority context, are confronted in their own lives, those of their kin, or of members of their communities, while, simultaneously and paradoxically, reiterating an unproblematic normative “Islamic” position. Might online forums foster expressions of more creative indigenous and hybrid gendered discourses, as online forum discussions often remain open-ended? The dynamics of online discussions are explored by looking, first, at sexuality related issues within the confines of marriage and, second, sexuality-related issues outside of its confines.

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Notes

  1. I would like to thank a former student of mine, Caitlin Major, who got me interested in the topic.

  2. Australian Muslims come from more than sixty different ethnic backgrounds, although they constitute only 1.5 % of the Australian population with their 300,346 individuals (2006 Census). Two thirds are first generation immigrants (according to the 2001 census, 10 % of first generation immigrants were from Lebanon, 8 % from Turkey, 3.5 % from Afghanistan, 3.5 % from Bosnia-Herzegovina, 3.2 % from Pakistan, and 2.9 % from Indonesia); the rest being second and third generation Australians.

  3. Although one should not forget that the Internet can also be subject to greater scrutiny, see, e.g., Mandaville (2004, 50).

  4. Muslims under the age of 25 make up almost half (49.5 %) of all Australian Muslims, with the majority (85.7 %) of them being Australian born (2001 Census) (see http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/multicultural/pdf_doc/Muslims_in_Australia_snapshot.pdf).

  5. “MuslimVillage Incorporated is a non-sectarian, non-profit organisation run by volunteers, and relies on the support and good will of brothers and sisters in the community to survive. Previously known as IslamicSydney.com, it was established in 2001 to provide a focal point for Muslims living in Australia, to bind the community together and be an extensive source of information for locals and visitors. We appreciate your efforts in contributing to this site to make it successful…”, cf. http://muslimvillage.com/about-muslimvillage

  6. As of late May 2009, the threads had each, respectively, over 12,700 posts and 210,900 views; over 5,000 posts and 88,000 views; over 5,500 posts and 68,000 views; over 2,200 posts and 61,500 views; over 1,100 posts and 38,200 views; over 1,300 posts and 35,000 views; over 2,900 posts and 24,600 views. The other main Australian Muslim online platform is AussieMuslims.com forums which had, as of late May 2009, over 3,796 members, 25,450 threads (some in Arabic) and 278,831 posts (information no longer available on the homepage), cf. http://www.aussiemuslims.com/forums.

  7. We are told that on June 14, 2005, a record 449 users were online simultaneously.

  8. For a typological framework of online Muslim women’s discourses, see Piela (2010, 2011, 2012: 41–65).

  9. The shortest of the 14 threads I looked at contained 18 replies and 1,286 views, while the longest contained 192 replies and 4,811 views.

  10. The “Forum Rules, Terms, and Conditions” stipulate that “Quoting from these forums is permitted as long as credit is given to MuslimVillage Incorporated”, cf. http://muslimvillage.com/forums/index.php?app=forums&module=extras&section=boardrules. I take the opportunity to do so and give due credit to MuslimVillage.

  11. In what follows, no attempts were made to correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization and/or grammatical errors occurring in quoted excerpts.

  12. Many online forums include “Board Statistics” that indicate how many users have been active in the last minutes, the number of guests (i.e. the “lurkers”), members, anonymous members, and members’ avatar names (or pseudonyms).

  13. Some female sexuality-related issues will not be explored, such as childbirth, sterility, taboos, non-heterosexuality, and the important issue of menstruation.

  14. SAW = abbreviation of the Arabic expression for May God be praised and exalted.

  15. gf = girlfriend.

  16. See the idea of “connectivity” developed by Wehbi (2002: 296–297).

  17. swt = abbreviation of May God be praised and exalted.

  18. In all likelihood, a member that was, for whatever reason, eventually banned.

  19. Haram (Arabic) = religiously forbidden.

  20. Some have argued that this fixation on women’s virginity, rather than that of males, may be due to the fact that men could “legitimately” have sex with their slave girl(s) (Mohammed 2006: 306).

  21. SWT = abbreviation of the Arabic expression for May God be praised and exalted.

  22. Alhamdulillah (Arabic) = Praise be to God.

  23. Sister(?) undecided1 commented: “I have to agree here, i know alot of girls who have had strict upbringings and who were not allowed out (both muslims & christian) and the stories!!! It seems the tighter the parents, (brothers) are the crazier the girls get when they are given oppertunity..”.

  24. Jahil (Arabic) = the (period) of ignorance (when one either did not know Islam, or did not properly follow it).

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies at The University of Queensland, and its former director, Professor Graeme Turner, for the Faculty Visiting Fellowship (fall 2007) I received for the project “Prescription, Construction, and Contestation of Selves, Identities, and Representations of Muslim Women in Cyberspace”, as well as the Australian Government for the financial support it provided in the form of an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery grant without which the completion of this chapter would not have been possible. Last, but not least, I must acknowledge the generosity with which Kecia Ali has so kindly accepted to read an earlier version of this paper, providing many insightful comments and suggestions which I have tried to incorporate. May she rest assured of my sincere gratitude. Any infelicities remain solely mine.

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  1. Département de sciences des religions, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Montreal, Canada

    Roxanne D. Marcotte

  2. Honorary Senior Lecturer, School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

    Roxanne D. Marcotte

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Marcotte, R.D. Let’s talk about sex: Australian Muslim online discussions. Cont Islam 9, 65–84 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-014-0316-9

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