The Collective Construction of the Hijab Controversy in Iran through the Agency of the Instagram Camera

Abstract The present study aims to investigate the hijab controversy in Iran based on new materialism approaches and focusing on Bruno Latour’s Actor-Network Theory. It seeks to identify the role of Instagram, especially the Instagram camera, as an active participant in the controversy. The findings of this research, which utilized a “methodological collage” and three-dimensions—observations, document analysis, and interviews—demonstrate that Instagram has successfully “translated” and assimilated users’ goals and interests into its own values and interests, in various forms. Instagram has played a significant role in the hijab controversy by redefining and transforming the users, values, stakeholders, groupings, and other elements involved. We specifically focus on the two opposing groups—the opponents and proponents of the hijab—who form the basis of our study. This controversy is heavily mediated by Instagram itself, leading to the formulation of different action programs within the study.