Anonymity in Virtual Space: Exploring the Representation of the Female Body through Virtual Identities in Contemporary Saudi Women’s Writing

Περίληψη

Since its emergence over a quarter of a century ago, cyberspace has played a transformative role in Arab societies, serving as a powerful tool for dissemination of knowledge and enlightenment. Its revolutionary nature carried the potential to catalyze profound changes across the Arab world, extending beyond social and political spheres to influence literature, the publishing industry, and the marketing, distribution, and translation of books into various languages. While the sociopolitical implications of cyberspace have been widely studied, its impact on literature—particularly on the Arabic literary movement and the female literary scene—has received scant attention. This gap in scholarship is significant, as the internet has not only created new spaces for writing but has also fundamentally altered the form, language, and reception of literary texts, giving rise to what is now known as hypertext literature. These changes have reshaped both the perspectives of writers and the expectations of readers, fostering the emergence of a new kind of reader attuned to this new kind of text. Additionally, the processes of promoting and distributing literary works have been revolutionized, introducing marketing concepts previously unfamiliar in Arab culture, such as “best-seller lists,” “most popular fiction,” and “celebrity authors.”

Cyberspace has also given birth to new platforms for writing, including blogs, forums, and online literary clubs, which have evolved into distinct literary genres in their own right. The literary texts emerging from these digital spaces have not only influenced the form and language of contemporary Arabic literature but have also demonstrated their potential to reach vast audiences, encouraging writers to serialize their works—novels, short stories, and poetry—online. This practice has enabled writers to engage directly with readers, cultivate new audiences, and explore innovative markets.

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