Beyond Desacralization: The Reconfiguration of Hijab Meaning on Tiktok Through Émile Durkheim’s Concept of The Sacred and The Profane
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14421/f5jhzm33Keywords:
hijab, TikTok, sacred and profane, Émile Durkheim, digital religion, popular cultureAbstract
This study examines the transformation of the meaning of the hijab in the TikTok era through Émile Durkheim’s sacred–profane framework. As a visual-algorithmic platform, TikTok has become a significant space where young Muslim women display, negotiate, and reconstruct the meaning of the hijab through algorithmic logic, popular aesthetics, and digital culture. This research employs a qualitative approach using content analysis of 30 purposively selected TikTok posts under the hashtags #HijabJahat and #BaddieHijab, collected between January and March 2026. The data were analyzed thematically based on Durkheim’s concepts of the sacred and the profane as articulated in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. The findings indicate that the transformation of the hijab does not result in complete desacralization but rather in a process of symbolic reconfiguration. While the hijab continues to be recognized as a religious obligation, its visual expression is rearticulated through digital personas, visual trends, and algorithmic mechanisms. In this context, the sacred and the profane no longer function as rigid opposites but coexist within the collective consciousness of digital society. Digital ritual practices, such as hashtag participation, trend replication, and visual imitation, generate new forms of solidarity based on shared aesthetics as well as religious identity. This study contributes to the sociology of digital religion by demonstrating that social media does not eliminate the religious meaning of the hijab but transforms it into symbolic forms that reflect the dynamics of contemporary digital culture.
Downloads
References
Akou, H. M. (2010). Interpreting Islam through the Internet: Making sense of hijab. Contemporary Islam, 4(3), 331–346. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-010-0135-6
Anthony Giddens, Sociology (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2009).
Ashani, Sholahuddin, Tantri Rizky Alviani, M. Ariq Fadhil Shabri, and Fani Aqila. 2025. “Pemaknaan Hijab Fisik Dan Batin Dalam Al-Qur’an: Studi Pemahaman Mahasiswa Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara.” JURNAL MUDABBIR (Journal Research and Education Studies) 5 (2). https://doi.org/10.56832/mudabbir.v5i2.1362.
Beta, A. R. (2014). Hijabers: How young urban muslim women redefine themselves in Indonesia. International Communication Gazette, 76(4–5), 377–389. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048514524103
Campbell, H. (2013). Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds. Routledge.
Cheong, P. H. (2014). Tweet the Message? Religious Authority and Social Media Innovation. https://doi.org/10.1163/21659214-90000059
Durkheim, Émile. 1995. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. New York: Free Press.
Erawati, D. (2005). Fenomena Berjilbab di Kalangan Mahasiswa (Studi Tentang Pemahaman, Motivasi dan Pola Interaksi Sosial Mahasiswi Berjilbab di Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang). Jurnal Studi Agama Dan Masyarakat, 2(2). https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=5038204207425465209&hl=en&oi=scholarr
Erawati, D., Indiyanto, A., & Syafera, A. (2023). The construction of the millennial generation religious vision through digital literacy. Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, 159–174.
Firsanty, Farah Putri, Elsa Lutmilarita Amanatin, and Wandi Adiansah. 2025. “Simbol, Makna, dan Solidaritas: Strategi Digital Komunitas Urban di Indonesia dalam Membangun Eksistensi di Instagram.” Jurnal Sosiologi Usk: Media Pemikiran & Aplikasi 19 (1).
George Ritzer, Classical Sociological Theory (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011), 79.
Hasanah, Naomi Ainun, and Irfan Setia Permana. 2025. “Komodifikasi Hijab Dalam Endorsement Artis Non-Hijab Di Tiktok: Implikasi Bagi Pendidikan Islam.” TAJDID: Jurnal Pemikiran Keislaman dan Kemanusiaan 9 (1): 170–84. https://doi.org/10.52266/tadjid.v9i1.4252.
“Having it All” on Social-Media: Entrepreneurial Femininity and Self-Branding Among Fashion Bloggers—Brooke Erin Duffy, Emily Hund, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2026, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2056305115604337
Huda, M. T. (2023). Tradisi Sawur dalam Proses Pemakaman Jenazah Masyarakat Islam Dalam Prespektif Teori Sakral dan Profan Emile Durkheim. 4(2).
Ibnu Katsir, Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim, Jil. 6 (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1999), 45
Istiani, A. N. (2015.). Konstruksi Makna Hijab Fashion Bagi Moslem Fashion Blogger.
Izzah, Nurul. 2025. “Hijab Street style Ekspresi Modest Fashion dan Komodifikasi Agama.” NIHAYAH: Journal of Islamic Studies 1 (2). https://doi.org/10.65802/nihayah.v1i2.13.
Kamaludin, I., & Suheri, S. (2021). Fenomena Cross Hijab Dan Pengaruhnya Terhadap Pergeseran Sakralitas Keagamaan Di Masyarakat. Jurnal Sosiologi Reflektif, 15(2), 338–359. https://doi.org/10.14421/jsr.v15i2.2049
Kavakci, E., & Kraeplin, C. R. (2017). Religious beings in fashionable bodies: The online identity construction of hijabi social media personalities. Media, Culture & Society, 39(6), 850–868. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443716679031
M. Quraish Shihab, Tafsir al-Misbah, Vol. 9 (Jakarta: Lentera Hati, 2002), 328.
Maksum, Ali, and Anas Kholish. 2025. Sosiologi Agama. PT Bumi Akasara.
Muliana, L., & Dewi, A. S. (2024). Jilbab: Antara Identitas Agama dan Transformasi Trend Model Berjilbab di Kalangan Mahasiswa UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta. Innovative: Journal Of Social Science Research, 4(4), 1887–1898. https://doi.org/10.31004/innovative.v4i4.11649
Muslim Fashion: Contemporary Style Cultures. Retrieved May 29, 2026, from https://www.dukeupress.edu/muslim-fashion
Nasaruddin, R. P. (2022). A Study On Hijab Fashion In Hijab Sister Community Of Makassar. Jurnal JINNSA (Jurnal Interdipliner Sosiologi Agama), 2(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.30984/jinnsa.v2i1.242
Nurhadi, Ahmad, and Setia Budhi. 2025. “Kesenian Masuk kiri Sebagai Media Integrasi Sosial Dan Nilai Keislaman Komunitas Bugis Pagatan.” Huma: Jurnal Sosiologi 4 (2).
Pickering, W. S. F. (1984). Durkheim’s Sociology of Religion: Themes and Theories (1st ed.). The Lutterworth Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1cgf6sv
Piela, A. (2013). Muslim Women Online: Faith and Identity in Virtual Space. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203801970
Pratama, R. R., Ikhsan, F. A., & Erawati, D. (2022). Eksistensi Media Sosial KPU Provinsi Kalimantan Tengah Dalam Mensosialisasikan Pilgub tahun 2020 di Kota Palangka Raya: The Existence Social Media Of General Elections Commision Province Central Kalimantan While Socialization Local Leaders Election 2020 in Palangka Raya City. Neraca: Jurnal Pendidikan Ekonomi, 8(1), 25–37. https://doi.org/10.33084/neraca.v8i1.4340
Pulungan, Aisyah, and Adenan Adenan. 2024. “Pandangan Wahbah Az-Zuhaili tentang Hijab Style: Studi Relevansi Pada Mahasiswi Fakultas Ushuluddin dan Studi Islam UIN Sumatera Utara Medan.” Jurnal Semiotika-Q: Kajian Ilmu al-Quran dan Tafsir 4 (2): 907–29. https://doi.org/10.19109/jsq.v4i2.26472.
Ramadhani, R. (2025). Antara Sakral dan Profan: Analisis Dikotomi Durkheim dan Simbolisme Geertz dalam Ritual Hoyak Tabuik. Advances In Education Journal, 2(3), 1686–1693.
Suara.com. 2026. “Tren "Kerudung Jahat" Diprediksi Bakal Booming di Lebaran 2026, Apa Sih Maksudnya?” https://www.suara.com/lifestyle/2026/03/02/165205/tren-kerudung-jahat-diprediksi-bakal-booming-di-lebaran-2026-apa-sih-maksudnya.
Veiling in Style: How Does a Stigmatized Practice Become Fashionable? | Journal of Consumer Research | Oxford Academic. Retrieved May 29, 2026, from https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/37/1/15/1817296?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Waqhidah, U., & Pratamia, A. S. (2024). Hijab Dalam Sorotan Tafsir Kontemporer: Antara Kewajiban Religius Dan Tuntutan Sosial.
Yunus, R., Manay, H., Fatimah, S., & Malae, A. K. (2024). Hijab dan gaya: Transformasi tren fesyen di Kota Gorontalo (1990-2020).
Zulli, D., & Zulli, D. J. (2022). Extending the Internet meme: Conceptualizing technological mimesis and imitation publics on the TikTok platform. New Media & Society, 24(8), 1872–1890. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444820983603
Jurnal Kajian Islam Interdisipliner are licensed under a 