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Abstract

This article is concerned with the role Jordanian media play in circulating certain discourses on virginity, namely religious and medical discourses, which are presented as "truths" that ultimately maintain the conservative status quo with regards to Jordanian women's sexuality. It is argued that media discussions (on the textual, production, and consumption levels) largely perpetuate patriarchal control over women's sexuality and render invisible more progressive points of view. Simultaneously, critical opinions expressed at any of these levels, while vastly important, operate from within the same discursive fields and are thus rendered less radical.

Author Biography

Dr. Ebtihal Mahadeen is a Chancellor's Fellow at the University of Edinburgh's Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies department. She obtained a PhD in Women's Studies from the University of York, and her areas of specialisation are gender and sexuality in the Arab world (with an emphasis on Jordan) and feminist media studies.

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