Performing Iran online: digital poetics and feminist activism in the woman life freedom movement

This essay explores the pivotal transition in Iranian feminist activism through 'Baraye', a digital poem collectively written by Iranian users on Twitter during the Woman Life Freedom (WLF) movement, linked to the #MahsaAmini trend launched in September 2022. Initially sparked by tweets featuring the hashtag #MahsaAmini, this trend quickly evolved into a powerful form of digital activism, articulating widespread grievances and aspirations. Shervin Hajipour's viral song 'Baraye', composed from these tweets, amplified the movement's message and garnered international recognition, including at the Grammy Awards. As a part of the Feminist Media Activism in Transition special issue, this study highlights the relationships between social media and new forms of feminist activism, with 'Baraye' as an emblematic work of instapoetry that transcends geographical boundaries and fosters deep emotional and ideological connections among participants. The collective crafting of 'Baraye' by Iranians enabled suppressed voices, including marginalized ethnic, religious, and LGBTQIA+ communities, to express their demands and dissent. By employing digital humanities techniques to collect, curate, and analyse pertinent tweets, and drawing upon theories of performance studies, particularly Diana Taylor's work, this research underscores this instapoem's impact on Iranian feminist media activism and beyond. By looking at it as a performance, the work seeks to demonstrate how 'Baraye' blurs the line between physical presence and digital expression, marking a significant transitional moment in Iranian social movements. The essay aims to offer a different perspective on new modes of activism by examining 'Baraye' from the perspectives of performance and new media studies, emphasizing the role of digital platforms in fostering poetic digital activism and offering fresh insights into the interplay between technology and feminist movements in Iran.