Women's Studies
Maryam Rafatjah; Abu Ali Vedadhir; Shiva Alinaqian
Abstract
The experiences of women from mothering are influenced by various living conditions and identities which are socially, economically and politically constructed. This paper reviews the viewpoints of different feminist epistemologies about the issue of “mothering” in terms of theory and practice ...
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The experiences of women from mothering are influenced by various living conditions and identities which are socially, economically and politically constructed. This paper reviews the viewpoints of different feminist epistemologies about the issue of “mothering” in terms of theory and practice in order to understand the meanings, assumptions, and implications associated with it, and to find out the historical and theoretical changes of this issue and its impact on political trends and historical transformations. This study based on a historical review of mothering in feminist theory, indicates three paradigms: 1) paradigm of rejection and essentialism including radical and liberal feminism linked to some concepts such patriarchy, oppression and dependence; 2) paradigm of phenomenology including third wave feminism, black feminism, and post-colonial feminism focusing on life experiences and differences; and 3) paradigm of activism, pressure and social change resulted from the theory of maternal thinking and empowered mothering by protesting the discursive patterns of mothering. This introduces restoring authority and legitimacy in mothers and considers the creative and subversive ways of cognition and knowledge in mothering, which can lead to social changes, a widespread development of peace and a more humane world.
Hamed Talebian; Sara Talebian
Abstract
"My Stealthy Freedom" is the name of a Facebook page that demands to protest against compulsory Hijab and demonstrate willing of clothing freedom for women in Iran. The foundation and activity of the page had been described as a "social movement". Some western media claimed that this would be a successful ...
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"My Stealthy Freedom" is the name of a Facebook page that demands to protest against compulsory Hijab and demonstrate willing of clothing freedom for women in Iran. The foundation and activity of the page had been described as a "social movement". Some western media claimed that this would be a successful social movement for Iranian women and some others asserted that this page would be a new platform in which Iranian women represent a new image of their identity. In this paper, analyzing qualitatively a purposive sample of photos with their captions, we are questioning these claims again. Our findings indicate that despite some excitements about a new social movement for Iranian women in western media and western human rights association, "My Stealthy Freedom" cannot be considered as a new applicable social movement against Iran's government and the law of compulsory hijab in Iran. Finally, we conclude that this Facebook page is not only incapable of organizing a real social movement against hijab, but also can be a well-suited example for the concept of slacktivism.
