диссертация (1169135), страница 49
Текст из файла (страница 49)
This modern female signification was challenged byclerical traditional authorities, who abjected this modern female identity.The gap created between women identified as modern and traditional wasreconciled by the bridge of revolution, where people of any ideology participated.Veiling that once represented traditional identity turned to be a symbol ofrevolutionary protest when some educated unveiled women voluntarily veiled. Nomore an emblem of seclusion and backwardness, veiling signified socialparticipation and a medium toward progress.After the Islamic revolution, Islamic discourse celebrated the traditionalsignification of female body as a mother and nurturer devoted to her family.Female beauty no more acknowledged only as a physical attractiveness, ratherpurity and piety of female body was honored more.
However, this revival oftraditional norms eschewed the norm of seclusion of female body inside thehouses. Veils and not walls covered female body and promoted their social210participations. However, the amount of women's social participation at professionsdropped. The state's ideological screening of women, particularly the imposedcompulsory veiling, had filtered out women identified as unviable in the Islamicdiscourse. Besides, the accepted religious and veiled women, brought up intraditional families were not prepared for occupation.
Yet, the rate of literate andeducated women began to grow because the fathers had no excuse to deprive girlsfrom schools where Islamic ideology was promoted.The state equipping women with the resource of knowledge preparedthreatening ground against the stability of its discourse. Educated women would nomore follow the fixed predetermined identity given by traditions.
Rather theyreflexively considered their identity construction and within the framework ofIranian social rules performed the actions detached from the fixed traditions. Inaddition to the resource of educational knowledge, the exposure to the informationreceived through the globalized media has been another influential resource.Women under the influence of Western discourse set up performances that deviatefrom the original definitions in the discourse of Islamic. The authorities of Islamicculture to avoid infuse of Western culture close the doors for culturalglobalization.
Filtered twitter or Facebook, low internet speed or prohibition ofsatellite dishes are some instances of these limitations. The challenge betweenWestern and Islamic discourse to construct Iranian women's identity is representedin the soft power of Western media in depicting an aggressive image of Islamicrepublic. The images of Western democracy, gender equality, and liberty arecontrasted with the repressive and barbaric illustrations of Islamic culture thatdeprives women of their natural and social rights. The authorities of Islamic stateresist the infuse of Western culture and regard this soft power as a soft war.Iranian women, however, to gain a modern identity resist the imposedtraditional norms with their performances that under the influence of Westerndiscourses deviate from the traditional Islamic discourse of the state.211The viable modern female signification celebrates the secularized anderoticized notion of beauty.
Propelled by Western body images represented inglobalized media, Iranian women follow these beauty ideals to construct a modernvisible cultural identity. High rank use of beauty products and cosmetic surgeriesprove Iranian women's attempt to be identified as modern. It was manifested thatwhile women of modern identity care for material aspect of body than its spiritualachievements, at the same time the majority of their bodywork projects fail tosustain healthy natural body.
Rather they artificially mask the body with society'sdesired beauty. The social or marital opportunities brought to female sex throughbodywork proves that society expects women to appear physically attractive.High involvement with bodywork shows women's agency to have authorityover their body. Moreover, bodywork is a modern performance practicing whichwomen resists and transforms the traditional norms that regarded women's bodyand beauty as property of the husband.
The new performance of taking control oftheir physical body assures women with autonomous identity in contrast to theirsubmissive bodies controlled by the husband. However, the new meanings thatfemale sex signifies is still bound to the heteronormative gender stereotypes.Though beauty standards have been subject to change, the definition of female sexas physically attractive again charges women with chaining burdens of femininity.To be qualified as intelligible subjects, women, depending on their financialcapabilities, seek to achieve the appearance that identifies them as viable subjectsof modern globalized discourse.The traditional signification of female body as nurturer mother has sustainedits meaning.
Modern women's materialistic and individualistic concerns withsocial position, financial promotion, and physical beauty have reduced the degreeof their devotion to family. However, these performances have not hindered theirmaternity. The thesis invoking to statistics illustrated that unlike the slight declineof women's tendency for pregnancy or their devotion to the family, theirperformances as mothers and nurturers are repeated. The reiteration of these212significations that contributes to the stability of traditional culture has been thetarget of Western media. The stability of belief in feminine essence that identifieswomen as mothers and nurturers holds the tie between female sex and heridentification as maternity. The centrality of heteronormative norms prevents thecirculation of this meaning in the chain of signification.Post -revolutionary regulatory norms defined veiled subjects as viable femaleidentity.
As the hegemonic discourse, it re-veiled women. Women's emancipation,social involvement and modesty that were idealized by Pahlavi regime wassustained. However, veiled and not unveiled women signified these ideals.Unveiled woman was regarded not emancipated, but enslaved. Social involvementof unveiled women meant objectification of women who in their makeup anddisplay of their body served the desires of men. Purity of an unveiled woman,regarded an absurd illusion, interpreted as impurity.
Deconstructing the meaningsgiven to female sex by Pahlavi regime, the Islamic discourse attempted to producea veiled woman who in modest veiling could freely participated in social andeducational arenas.Since veiling was not limited to chador, women could choose any attire as longas it covered their whole body. Resistance to mandatory veiling emerged since theearly days of veiling decree. However, the majority of traditional womenperforming the norm of veiling assured stability of veiling norm. Veiling turned tobe an identity cover that masking the internal attitudes and mentality, andrevealing in the surface a revolutionary and religious identity that is in agreementwith the ideologies of the Islamic State.
Unveiling or improper veiling representedabjected and marginalized identity.The resources of knowledge and the information infused by globalized mediapaved the way for transformation of their identity as represented in their veiling. Interms of Giddens, invoking to resources Iranian women could reflexively considerconstruction of their identity. However, this transformation occurs within theframework of Iranian Islamic rules that has banned unveiling. Improper veiling or213fashion hijab proves Iranian women's agency to resist and change the norms. Thereiteration of fashion hijab as a performance deviated from the originalperformance intended by the Islamic discourse has transformed the norms, thoughthe veiling law remains the same.
Fashion hijab as the common product of Westernand Islamic discourse is dressing revolution, a colorful weapon against thetraditional and Islamic ideologies of the state. It represents the gap betweenmodern and traditional cultural identity.The inappropriate reiteration of the norm of veiling has developed to a phase ofsubverting the norm of veiling by some agents. Though unveiling identifies agentsas abjected from the Islamic discourse, some even risk arrest and unveil to displaytheir resistance. An Iranian woman in diaspora leads a campaign named WhiteWednesdays, when women through wearing white scarves voice their resistanceagainst mandatory veiling. While women's deviated veiling performances threatensthe stability of Islamic discourse, it assures women a modernized identity.Veiling that identifies the gender and religion of the wearer manifests thevisible identity.
It also reinforces heteronormativity preserving sexual binaries andgender stereotypes.Iranian women's participation at different social, political or economic arenasshows that veiling has not been a restriction on their social involvement. Theuniversity courses are equally attainable for both sexes and women have entereddifferent professions including unconventional male dominated professions.Though women's social participation is the effect of post-revolutionary Islamicdiscourse, their presence in manly professions is the result of the reiteration ofperformance of working by the agents.
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