CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF REHAM KHAN’S REPRESENTATION IN DIGITAL DISCOURSE: A FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE USING TRANSITIVITY FRAMEWORK

Abstract

The present study attempts to examine the representation of Reham Khan by means of different linguistic choices and structures on the part of social media users in digital discourse. The study employs Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) with a feminist perspective using transitivity framework anchored in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). The research is primarily interested in the investigation of how social media users construct different narratives that are instrumental in hindering Reham Khan’s political growth and thus amplify exclusionary practices. By employing Halliday’s (1994) transitivity model of Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) as an analytical framework, the study identifies various strategies including patterns of negative framing and passive positioning in the discourse surrounding Reham Khan. The findings of the study stress the role of language in perpetuating gender bias especially in narratives constructed in digital space such as Twitter (rebranded as X in July 2023) as well as highlight the exclusionary impact of digital media discourse. The present research study contributes to feminist discourse analysis especially in the context of digital feminism and offers insights into the intersection of digital media, language, and societal attitudes towards women in public life.