ISIL, Cool Men and Lonely Women: How the Media Makes Sense of The Group’s Recruitment Success

• In Event: Media, Culture, and Crime

Abstract

ISIL, the terrorist group which occupies part of Iraq and Syria, dominates international headlines because of its success in plotting terrorist attacks in the Middle East and Europe. In news media, the involvement of young western men and women proved curious and even mysterious. What is especially puzzling is that the group has a dedicated cadre of women who leave their lives in the West and join the “battle” in Syria. Media reports about the appeal of ISIL to young women focuses on the vulnerability of the women and the predatory recruitment process. In this paper, I investigate the media’s representation of ISIL and its recruitment strategies. I argue that such modes of representation solidify the appeal of ISIL, and feed into ISIL’s success. I propose that a critical media lens which takes seriously questions of women’s as well as men’s subjectivity, emotions and desires could help in the fight against ISIL.

Author

• Sara Salman, City University of New York, The Graduate Center