چكيده لاتين
Abstract
This study, titled Rethinking Women’s Identity Formation Through a Postmodern Feminist Lens (Case Study: Women of Yasuj), explores how women in contemporary Iran understand and shape their identities. In recent decades, social and cultural changes have created new spaces for women, who are no longer passive bearers of traditional roles. Instead, they actively question expectations and carve out their own ways of being. Studying this process is especially important in transitional societies like Iran, because it sheds light on broader cultural shifts and can inform policies that better support women’s lives. The main question guiding this research is: How do women in contemporary Iran form and negotiate their identities according to postmodern feminist thinking? The study assumes that identity formation is complex and fluid, influenced by family, institutions, local communities, and online spaces, where women navigate, resist, and reshape their sense of self.
The research draws on qualitative methods, using Grounded Theory with Clarke’s situational analysis. Fieldwork focused on Yasuj and nearby villages. Participants were chosen purposefully, and 22 women took part in semi-structured interviews.
The findings suggest four main dimensions of identity formation. First, in what we call the “endless negotiation with power networks,” women manage the push and pull between family expectations and societal pressures, constantly redefining themselves between tradition and modernity. Second, in the “identity dances against the masks of modernity,” identity is not a fixed trait but a mix of stories and roles that can both empower and constrain. Third, in the “struggle with socially imposed identities,” women continuously rewrite who they are, sometimes accepting, sometimes rejecting, and often reshaping themselves entirely. Fourth, in the “tension between economic dependence and the desire for independence,” women balance traditional pressures with aspirations for autonomy, using education and work as tools to redefine their roles. Together, these insights show that women’s identities in Iran are dynamic, layered, and evolving, shaped by the ongoing interaction of tradition, modernity, and social forces.
Keywords: Women, identity formation, postmodern feminism, Grounded Theory, situational analysis, Yasuj
