Lingerie, Bikinis and the Headscarf : Visual depictions of Muslim female migrants in German news media

Abstract

By tracing the repetitive visual themes and motifs contained in depictions of Muslim female migrants, this study aims to shed light on the various ways the German print media have tackled the issue of migration and represented cultural difference. An analysis of such images suggests that there are three major categories through which female migrants in Germany are visualized: (1) images that focus on alienation and lack of interaction with Muslims; (2) images that focus on contrasting life styles in shared spaces; and (3) images that construct the traditional and the modern via the female body. In most instances these images are not used to provide information about the circumstances of Muslim female migrants in Germany, but rather to make a statement about Muslim migrants in general and underline their lack of integration into the host society. Different visual conventions are recurrently used in each of these categories, creating patterns in the representation of migration. This study explores the visual conventions recurrent in each category and the ways they stereotype Muslim female migrants in Germany