Reconfiguration of Iranian Masculinity in the “Women’s Revolution

Bibliographic Data

ID6437567
AuthorsKarolina Rakowiecka-Asgari (0000-0001-8413-0328, Jagiellonian University, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume18
Issue1-2
Pages147-177
Publication date2025-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Persianate Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1874-7094 • E-ISSN: 1874-7167
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/18747167-bja10061
OpenAlexW4416056263
LanguageEN
References cited6

This article addresses the paradigm shift of the model of masculinity in the discourse and imagery of the 2022 “Women, Life, Freedom ( zan, zendegi, āzādi )” movement in Iran. Analyzing the ways in which the movement challenged hegemonic masculinity and dismantled the gendered structure of dominance and subordination, the paper aims to introduce a new discourse of manhood as the actual reconfiguration of pre-existing patterns, descending from Iranian epic and religious tradition as well as the youth culture of the country. Unlike the state-sponsored hegemonic masculinities of the Islamic Republic and the Pahlavi period, the new project values inclusiveness, cosmopolitism, and individuality, and tends to redefine existing models flexibly, notwithstanding sharing authority, attributes, and experiences with other groups and identities. As a result, it is also open to feminine qualities that were perceived traditionally as unmanly

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