Political sciences
Alieh Abbasi; mahmoudreza rahbarghazi; Amir Masoud Shahramnia
Abstract
IntroductionThe present study aimed at analyzing and deeply understanding the process of identity formation among women using postmodern feminist approaches based on the grounded theory method in the city of Yasuj. In this study, an attempt will be made to explore the causes, strategies, and consequences ...
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IntroductionThe present study aimed at analyzing and deeply understanding the process of identity formation among women using postmodern feminist approaches based on the grounded theory method in the city of Yasuj. In this study, an attempt will be made to explore the causes, strategies, and consequences of a phenomenon called "the formation of women's identity within traditional contexts."Research MethodThe qualitative research design was employed for this study. In this study, a qualitative research methodology was based on the classic version of the grounded theory by Strauss and Corbin (2015). Data collection was through semi-structured interviews with 27 women living in the city of Yasuj. Data analysis to develop contextual concepts from the interview data was done through open, axial, and selective coding. The accuracy of the data was determined by the participant review and comparison with related theoretical sources. Lastly, the focused codes and the core code were found through the data analysis regarding the formation of identity in women.Conclusion The findings of research illustrate that in the level of causal conditions, women's identity formation is rooted in hegemonic patriarchy, gender othering, and religious authoritative discourse. For Foucault (1978), such discourses of power and social surveillance hold tremendous significance as agents in shaping women's identities. It is through the process of social reproduction that such discourses have managed to instill patriarchal roles and norms onto women, which have implications for curbing choices in career and educational pathways. Lacan further moves to show that women, in interaction with structures of symbolization, remain incomplete in identity—a constant state—that through a system defining them as the "Other," their sense of self is molded and they remain wanting. In contextual conditions, the normative discursive system and symbolic religious order support Apollonian gender roles through family and religion. Butler (2011) claims that the gender identity of women is reproduced by the norms being performed. Such performances get shaped within the framework of gendered embodiment and hegemonic dress code where women's bodies serve as sites of social and cultural surveillance in society. It is in this system where they also experience a family structure based on gender, which makes them fit into the latter roles enjoyed in the family. Among intervening processes, institutional gender discrimination and normative deterrence act as barriers to realize the modern identities by women. Within intra-family power relations as well as patriarchal capitalism, the same is considered distinguishing toward preservation of traditional roles and economic constraints on the woman. This would also lead to bodily control, whereby social and economic institutions monitor the bodies and identities of women and further limit their access to independence and autonomy.The data show that women in Yasuj developed two main strategies in response to the studied phenomenon: acceptance or resistance. In the acceptance strategy, influenced by traditional and hegemonic discourses, women accept imposed gender roles, likely due to internalizing social and religious norms reinforced by institutions like family and religion. According to Foucault (1978) and Butler (2011), this acceptance unintentionally reproduces power structures, as women legitimize social control over their bodies and identities. Women may feel pressured to pursue education or employment while also facing traditional family responsibilities imposed by society. Resistance, on the other hand, involves women, as conscious agents aware of oppressive discourses, striving to reframe their identities and challenge imposed sex-based roles. This can manifest through opposing forced marriages, seeking economic and educational independence, or building independent identities via social media. From a postmodernist viewpoint, such resistance directly challenges patriarchal power mechanisms and works to alter dominant discourses and reshape women's identities. Acts of defiance, like rejecting dress codes or refusing educational and employment limitations, symbolically allow women to critique existing structures and create new narratives.Finally, the results expose that the identity formations among women can be viewed as resulting in three kinds of outcomes: negative, mixed, and positive. In negative outcomes, power discourse and social surveillance are used as tools for the purposes of controlling women. According to Foucault (1978), power over bodies and identities of women is wielded through apparatuses of social institutions. Institutions like family and religion force women to adhere to gender roles and control their activities through monitoring mechanisms. The autonomy lost within this structure is a direct consequence of social surveillance and cultural pressures. According to Butler (2011), the female body becomes a playground to exert one's power, eliminating all regular decision-making processes for women in career perspectives as well as personal lives. But this is achieved through internalization, wherein women unconsciously internalize such social norms that have been influenced by power discourses and thus simply accept their restrictive roles. Through the theory of subjectivity developed by Lacan, these norms are internalized in identity/women and become part of their nature, whence they start acting as if these limitations were natural and unchangeable.In the mixed outcomes, the discourse of resistance and acceptance comes forth as one of the central issues in describing a process in which women find themselves at the juncture of accepting traditional norms while resisting them. Butler (2011) frames this struggle symbolically as a struggle about possession of women's bodies, whereby their bodies become a site of reproduction and opposition to these norms. Herein lies a duality of roles: women are situated in a dual space between family and society. The former expects them to continue with traditional family roles, while the latter presses them to assume more modern roles in the public sphere. It is this identity conflict that arises out of the patriarchal and post-colonial pressures which leads to deeper identity tensions. From Foucault's 1978 perspective, this can be understood as thus, a sort of pulling between the subject and the social order whereby the female subject is multiplied since she has internalized the social norms, and at the same time she is trying to emancipate herself from expected standards. This leads to an endless pull between the self and social order.Identity and embodiment reconstruction in positive outcomes from a place of change: women get their identity and independently make reconstructions against the confining discourses. While Butler (2011) and Foucault (1978) recognize that women's bodies are used as arenas to duplicate social norms, they equally emphasize these can also turn into spaces of resistance and redefinition of identities. It is this resistive force that further develops the cuerpo in reformulating their bodies and identities anew, free from such discourses. This process also leads to the development of resistance against dominant discourses. In this case, women support an additional view of independence and find new ways towards progress and autonomy by refusing and challenging social and traditional norms. This kind of resistance will lead to bodily autonomy and control whereby, through challenging and rebelling against the patriarchal structures of power, women regain their bodies and behaviors and achieve economic and personal independence as a way of showing resistance to social order and institutional control.
Political sciences
Mahmoudreza Rahbarqazi; Reza Mahmoudoghli
Abstract
The significance of gender equality among citizens lies in its potential to foster social justice, reduce inequalities, and promote democracy. This, in turn, establishes a socio-political environment that is favorable for the country’s development. This phenomenon is believed to be influenced by ...
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The significance of gender equality among citizens lies in its potential to foster social justice, reduce inequalities, and promote democracy. This, in turn, establishes a socio-political environment that is favorable for the country’s development. This phenomenon is believed to be influenced by a variety of factors, according to researchers. Online media appears to be a significant factor in the context of gender equality. The purpose of this research is to investigate the direct and indirect impacts of online media on gender equality by examining the cultural values of “people’s voice” and “choice.” The data used in this study is derived from the seventh wave of the World Values Survey, which included a sample of 1,499 participants from Iran. The results, which were acquired through structural equation modeling and partial least squares (PLS) analysis using Smart PLS software, suggest that online media has a direct, positive, and substantial influence on the inclination of citizens toward gender equality. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the cultural values of “people’s voice” and “choice” can indirectly increase citizens' propensity for gender equality through the use of online media. Thus, the results affirm that the empirical data supports and validates the theoretical model of this study. This study underscores the critical role of online media in the promotion of gender equality, illustrating its influence both directly and through cultural values that empower citizens.
Political sciences
Mahmoudreza Rahbarqazi; Amin Kooshki
Abstract
In the new age, the canon of people’s attention to politics have been moving from public domains to private ones, from collective belongingness to personal one, and from homogenizing ideologies to personal identities. In addition, new policies offer a new method of participation which contradicts ...
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In the new age, the canon of people’s attention to politics have been moving from public domains to private ones, from collective belongingness to personal one, and from homogenizing ideologies to personal identities. In addition, new policies offer a new method of participation which contradicts the existing communication channels via questioning legitimacy of the existing structures. Thus, one of the methods of new policies is political consumerism. Political consumers are individuals who select their required goods and services based on their societies’ political and moral considerations and not the nature of the goods themselves. The current study aims to investigate the relationship between gender and political consumerism of citizens of Sabzevar. The data collection and analysis method is survey research. This study was conducted on 416 male and female citizens of Sabzevar City. To collect data, a questionnaire was employed. The validity of the questionnaire was evaluated formally and its reliability was assessed via the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Considering three aspects of political consumerism, behaviors, motivations, and habits, it was observed that there is significant differences in the degree of political consumerism of male and female respondents. In addition, women have more tendency to use political consumerism for influencing public decisions in the society.
Political sciences
Mahmoudreza Rahbarghazi; Leyla Radi; Ayoub Limoochi
Abstract
Classic political sociology dogmatically considers women, from a political perspective, more conservative than men and accordingly, women’s models of political behaviors are expressed based on their inherent tendencies towards right-wing conservative parties. But new research indicates that in ...
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Classic political sociology dogmatically considers women, from a political perspective, more conservative than men and accordingly, women’s models of political behaviors are expressed based on their inherent tendencies towards right-wing conservative parties. But new research indicates that in developed countries during 1980’s, women gradually distanced from traditional conservatism and joined democratic groups. In addition, Inglehart’s studies indicate that since 1990’s, not only have conservatism and right-wing tendencies faded in women, but also they support plans and objectives of new left-wing parties which are mostly based on cultural values of post-materialism more than ever. As a results, it seems that the effect of gender gaps has been reconfigured mostly in three models of traditional gap, convergence, and revisionism. Accordingly, the present study aims to investigate the comparison between men’s and women’s political attitudes among 596 students of University of Isfahan in 2016. Accordingly, analyzing the results of the research indicated that firstly, there is no significant difference among men and women in terms of the degree of their tendencies towards democracy and each group supports democratic attitudes to the same extent. Therefore, the claim of hypotheses of classic models about women’s tendencies towards conservatism is rejected in political domains. Secondly, findings also indicated that the degree of tendency towards post-materialist values which construct foundations of New Leftist parties according to Inglehart, is significantly higher among women than men. This issue indicates tha not only have women distanced from rightist attitudes in political domains, but also they have more tendency towards leftist plans based on revisionist models.
Political sciences
Mahhmoodreza Rahbarghazi; Seyedjavad Emamjomehzadeh; Ali Arefian Jazi
Abstract
Humans, since their creation, have experienced different political systems. In addition, it seems that the training in families is the key to open the future; therefore, it is expected that the family system of each human society nurtures and trains future humans and prepares the present generation for ...
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Humans, since their creation, have experienced different political systems. In addition, it seems that the training in families is the key to open the future; therefore, it is expected that the family system of each human society nurtures and trains future humans and prepares the present generation for the future. The task of families is to empower all members of a society to develop their hidden potentials and provide grounds for realizing them in humans and also to empower the society in identifying its creativities and potentials. Accordingly, deep political advancement and development in societies for attaining determined aims far from radicalism, particularly in the domains of societies and politics, will not be possible without paying attention to the family structure and training methods dominant over this structure. The objective of the present study is to investigate the effect of different upbringing methods in families from democratic perspectives among male and female citizens of the City of Isfahan in 2015. By dividing upbringing methods into three types of authoritative, tyrannical, and easygoing , the results indicate that authoritative methods with the coefficient of 49.0 causes the increase in the democratic perspectives, but tyrannical methods with an coefficient of -18.0 causes a decrease in democratic perspectives among citizens. In addition, other findings indicate that although the results of the research among men are consistent with the general results of the research, tyrannical methods have no significant correlation with democratic perspectives among the studied women.
