Although family law and official discourse still remain patriarchal, however, globalization, women’s movement activities, improving levels of education, improving new communication technologies and the implementation of modernization’s policies, have led Iranians to confront dominant sexual discourse through a modern life-style and they also try to customize the traditional perceptions of sexuality with new attitudes.
These transformations are remarkable enough to some scholars who called it a kind of sexual revolution. For instance, Pardis Mahdavi (2007) after her long-time investigation on the private life-style of a part of the urban youth in Iran, stated that in spite of legal prohibitions against pre-marital sex, homosexuality, dancing parties and alcohol consumption, contemporary youths in Iran oppose these constrains and make their own definitions of life-style and relationships. The writer proposed a kind of revolution to represent the new changes. Mahdavi (2007) argued that “the sexual revolution they believe, they are engaging in, is about changing sexual discourse, pushing the limits with regards to restrictions on social behaviors (such as style of dress, youth congregation, drinking and dancing) and attacking the fabric of morality under which the
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“Beside increasing the divorce rates and decreasing the marriage and fertility rates, the model of gender relationships has changed. Today women are active everywhere, in different areas of social, political and economic dimensions. The traditional model of the family in which male authority is the core of relationships is going to be abolished and women are challenging their traditional maternal roles. It seems that gender division of roles and duties are no longer as established as before. Family values are being replaced by individualism and pre-marital relationships are increasing” (Iran, Parlement report,
The family shows both continuity and changes which can be seen by looking at nuclear families and single parent families respectively. Before 1940s, marriage was considered an important part of society and thought to be a social institution essential for order. Divorce and single parent families were considered dreadful, sex outside marriage was not acceptable, it was a moral offense. The tempo of divorces was very low, but this social behavior soon ended in the post war era. By 1960s, this was no longer the case, as women started to work. They became much more independent, laws were changed and increase in divorces and cohabitation rates had shown that marriage was not compulsory in one’s life.
During the Iranian Revolution in 1979 transformed Iran’s political,social,and economic structure. Secular Laws were replaced with Islamic laws creating an outburst. Women were often abused,raped,treated as slaves,and accused of false imprisonment. These tortures things that most women had to face are against the Islamic religion.
Iranian women have to depend quite frequently on men to survive. Women aren't even allowed to travel unless they have permission of their husbands or fathers. Marriage also is a crucial element to an Iranian woman's life. The legal age of marriage is nine years old and most women are not allowed their husband of choice. Women are also not allowed equal rights to divorce. It is only under extreme conditions, such as insanity of their spouse, that they are allowed to file for divorce. Even in the event of the divorce, the father has legal custody of boys after the age of two and girls after the age of seven. It is also crucial to have a husband because if women are involved in any other voluntary sexual
Ira L. Reiss, a well-known sociologist, has contributed greatly to the field of human sexuality and in the 1960’s brilliantly predicted the revolutionary changes in sexual attitudes. In his novel, An End to Shame: Shaping Our Next Sexual Revolution, Reiss develops the notion that our previous sexual revolution did not adequately eliminate the inequalities related to sexuality. In reality he argues that America is in need of a newly formed sexual revolution, one that will address the negative consequences that our sex negative culture is experiencing. A significant portion of our population argues that these consequences are due to the fact that we talk too much and too soon about sex. This is an inaccurate view of the reasoning behind the sexual problems we are experiencing in America, as in reality the negative sexual outcomes we observe are due to the opposite of this view. This misconception is a common explanation for our sexual problems and many believe it is the key to solving our sexual crisis, but in reality is part of the problem. Reiss argues that “America is long overdue for a rendezvous with sexual reality” (18) and that the future of our nation depends on accepting these realities.
The Iranian Revolution Iran is a country located in the Middle East. The main source of income for the country is oil, the one object that had greatly influenced its history. Iran 's present government is run as an Islamic Republic. A president, cabinet, judicial branch, and Majilesor or legislative branch, makes up the governmental positions. A revolution that overthrew the monarch, which was set in 1930, lasted over 15 years.
Changes in American society in recent decades have had a major impact on the social structure of the country. A hundred years ago it was only now forty-seven years is seventy-eight. The meaning of family also change, a hundred years ago only four percent of the women had children out of wedlock, for children was normal losing his parents at the age of fifteen, the marriage rate was high and education it was low. The ideal family was that the man was working and who was the head of the family, and the woman was the figure responsible for the home and parenting, based on the rules of marriage model. Today we see a completely different picture, although the family remains an essential part of our society, has been affected by structural changes,
Humans now have a very different life compared to the past since freedom, opportunities, and information together are playing a vital role in this modern society. Especially young people, they become more independent and are capable of living their lives. However, while society provides people a lot of benefits, it makes their lives even more complex at the same time by leaving them pressured and confused about who they really are. In her essay, “Selections from Hard to Get:Twenty-Something Women and the Paradox of Sexual Freedom,” Leslie Bell mentions that in this new-in between developmental period American twenty-something women have more freedom and opportunities to their sexual lives than previous generations. But they are struggling with the paradoxes of their relationships and desires at the same time. Bell suggests that social expectations and cultural guidelines, which are conventions of female sexuality and stereotypes of being a good girl, prevent these young women from pursuing their sexual desires and limiting their relationships with men. However, even these women have chosen the way they live, and what kind of sexual life they want to be bad girls to break those old rules, they ended with losing their identities. As a result, establishing a women’s identity rather than clinging to contradictory directives and social expectations impacts female sexuality more. When these twenty-something women try to split
Looking at our past, there have been dramatic changes in the way humans view sex. Long before the 1900s individuals framed their views based on the religious institution. Due to the fact that they strongly centered their idea of sexual thought on religion, they believed that the only purpose of having sex was to procreate. As the 1920’s approached, there were various factors that changed the way individuals viewed sex. The “new women” known, as flappers were women who were confident in who they were. They changed their attire as well as their social attitude. In the 1920s, the flappers redefined sex; customs and traditions were broken and new norms were created by society.
“Literature has documented the familiar yet profound transformation of sex roles associated with the process of societal modernisation” (Ronald Inglehart, Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change Around The World, 2003)
Four historical moments in the area of sexuality during the past 70 years began as. First, the sexual revolution began as the baby bummers grew up at the time of the Vietnam War era did not want the conservatisms era of their parents that included religious beliefs and strict moral upbringing. The wanted to make a better world (Sex in ’69: Sexual Revolution in America [Video file] (2009). The Baby boomers shifting from standards of their parents and their fore parents by becoming rebellious in attempting to be free towards sexual thoughts and action without feeling guilty, and expressing thru multiple sexual partners, and drugs without facing consequences (Sex in ’69: Sexual Revolution in America [Video file] (2009).
Human sexuality is defined as the capability of individuals to experience their sexuality and be able to express themselves as sexual beings (Hyde & DeLameck, 2006). Our interest in this topic is because with time, there has been a change in rules that control human sexual behaviour. The status quo in our contemporary society is much different as compared to an earlier state of conditions, and the change has, as a result, brought the evolvement in human sexuality. People 's view on virginity has changed greatly with a decrease of importance in regards to its preservation. Sexuality is essential to the economic, cultural, social and political organization of society or country. Our sexuality plays a fundamental role in all our lives regardless of age, sex or race. It forms a basic part of our personality and the decisions we make in what we do. One’s sexuality also consumes much of their time through behaviour or thoughts; at times every aspect of our lives seems to revolve around our sexuality. Studying sexuality is very important since human sexuality majorly contributes to social as well as personal problems. A lingering question concerning this topic is to what extent is virginity determined by the status quo and the rules that control human behaviour?
Iranians deeply value their social and cultural traditions. The Persian revolution formed the basis through which the country evolved and foundation upon which its empires were established. The Islamic regime practiced by the country formed the basis through which the country’s sophisticated institutions were built. Shah seemed to champion for secularization and westernization (Axworthy,
Throughout history, definitions of sexuality within a culture are created and then changed time after time. During these changes, we have seen the impact and power one individual or group can have over others. In the Late Nineteenth Century into the Early Twentieth Century, we see multiple groups of people and or authorities taking control over the idea of sex and how they believe society is being impacted by sex. At this point in time, society had groups of people who believed they had the power to control how society as whole viewed and acted upon sex. Those particular groups and ideas changed many lives and the overall definition of sexuality within that culture.
For years, many scholars have provided many discussions over the topic of gender and sexuality. However, one needs to ask themselves: Are these two topics, gender and sexuality, useful as a category for historical analysis? The articles written by both Joan W. Scott and Afsaneh Najmabadi, answer such a question. By critically examining and assessing their two article, can the usefulness of gender and sexuality as a category for historical analysis be proven.
One of the main causes that marriages are not lasting is the change in the roles of woman today. Prior to the 1980’s it was the man’s responsibility to earn money and financially provide for his family, whereas the