Iranian Romance in the Digital Age: From Arranged Marriage to White Marriage

Description

Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, there was a dramatic reversal of women's rights, and the state revived many premodern social conventions through modern means and institutions. Customs such as the enforced veiling of women, easy divorce for men, child marriage, and polygamy were robustly reintroduced and those who did not conform to societal strictures were severely punished. At the same time, new social and economic programs benefited the urban and rural poor, especially women, which had a direct impact on gender relations and the institution of marriage. Edited by Janet Afary and Jesilyn Faust, this interdisciplinary volume responds to the growing interest and need for literature on gender, marriage and family relations in the Islamic context. The book examines how the institution of marriage transformed in Iran, paying close attention to the country's culture and politics. Part One examines marital changes in the rural and tribal sectors of society through the works of anthropologists Erika Friedl and Mary Hegland. Part Two turns its eye to look at changes in urban marriages to new forms of cohabitation. In Part Three, the contributors explore the way technology and social media has impacted and altered the institution of family. Based on the work of new and established scholars, the collection provides an up-to-date study of an important and intensely politicized subject. Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgments Glossary Introduction Part 1: Norms, Romance, and the Breakdown of Arranged Urban Marriage Chapter 1: The Emergence of Independent Women in Iran: A Generational Perspective The Concept of Generational Theory Applied to the Iranian Case The Emergence of the New Concept of Generation in Iran Lives of Urban, Middle-Class Women before the Revolution Gaining Independence within the Family Private Life: Love and Politics in the 1970s Women, Freedom, Revolution, and Public Spaces The End of the Dream and the Building of the Islamic Republic Post-Khomeinism and the Era of Transition Living as a Single Woman in Tehran in the Twenty-First Century Migrant Women versus Tehrani Women The Trajectory of Independent Women in Iran Chapter 2: Romancing Filipinas: Challenges and Promises of Transnational Families in Iran Filipinas in Transnational Spaces Migration and Transnational Marriages Research Methods Romancing and Marrying Iranian Men The Persistent Image of Muslim Men and Filipina Women Dynamics of Family Relations Adjustment and Social Integration Cultural Reproduction and Maintenance The Social Experiences of Filipino-Iranian Children Conclusion Acknowledgments Chapter 3: Beyond the Sharia: “White Marriage” in the Islamic Republic of Iran Mariam’s White Marriage The Professional Women The Carpet Weavers of Shiraz Our Survey of White Marriages Attitude of the Government of the Islamic Republic White Marriage: A Social Enigma Conclusion Chapter 4: School Textbooks, Ideological Codes, and the Construction of the Standard Iranian Family Education, Pedagogy, Textbooks, and the State: Curricula and (Trans)National Ideological Codes Discourses of Nuclear Family and Marriage: Exclusionary Heteronormative, Islamic-Centric, and Patriarchal Constructions of the Ideal Family Eurocentrism, Male-centrism and Constructions of Family Diversity: Patriarchy, Motherhood, Martyrdom, and the SIF Rights, Roles, and Obligations: Sexist Bias and Individual Pathologies Shiʿa Leadership, Whiteness, Culture, and Normative Representations of Hegemonic Sameness Conclusion Part 2: Online Dating, Hymenoplasty, and Assisted Reproductive Technologies Chapter 5: Negotiating Intimacy through Social Media: Challenges and Opportunities for Muslim Women in Iran Social Media Use by Iranian Women Risks and Barriers in the Search for Intimacy Online Online Intimacy in Iran: The Digital Andaruni Online Dating Conclusion Chapter 6: Recreating Virginity in Iran: Hymenoplasty as a Form of Resistance Power, Medicalization, and Social Control Resistance Medicalization of Virginity in Iran Iran and Virginity Setting and Methods Narratives and Discourses Surrounding Virginity Five Young Women Themes in the Narratives of Virginity Hymenoplasty as Resistance Women’s Manipulation of the Medicalization of Virginity Femininity and Resignification Conclusion Chapter 7: Whither Kinship?: Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Relatedness in the Islamic Republic of Iran Methodology ARTs, Kinship, and Islam Conclusion Acknowledgment Part 3: Reconstructing Hierarchies: Rural and Tribal Marriages Chapter 8: How Marriage Changed in Boir Ahmad, 1900–2015 A Brisk Walk through Time Marriage in the Distant Past Marriage under Pahlavi Modernity Modernity in Health, Education, and Marriage Marriage in “the Times of the Children” Marriage and Religion Chapter 9: Changing Perceptions and Practices of Marriage among People of Aliabad from 1978 to 2018: New Problems and Challenges Marriage Perceptions and Practices in 1978–79 Influences Enabling Changes in Marriage Twenty-First-Century Marriages: More Agency for Young People Twenty-First-Century Aliabad Marriages: New Problems and Challenges Pressures on Parents Marriage Strategies of Young People and Their Families Conclusion Chapter 10: Changing Established-Outsider Relations?: A Case Study of Bakhtiaris in Iran The Established-Outsider Model The Structure of Marriages in Bakhtiari Tribes Processes of Nationalization and the Change of Intertribal Power Relations in Favor of Former Outsider Tribes The New Self-image of Members of Former Outsider Tribes Summary Epilogue: The Rise in Non-standard Marriages in the Region Bibliography Notes on the Contributors Index