An Exploratory Typology of the Concept of Femininity among Kordish, Azarish and Mazandarani Women

Femininity includes both sex and gender dimensions and affect from culture. Being a member of an ethnicity is also influential to the in the formation of femininity. In this study we use qualitative method including interview, life story, content analysis and identification of common categories for deriving the component of femininity and its typology amongst the married women of the three ethnic groups namely Kordish, Azarish and Mazandarani at the age 19 to 22 and their common categories of thoughts have been recognized. The findings show that the components of universal femininity are nearly similar and including five cases, take caring roles, emotion based personality, intra sexual competition, housekeeping roles and looking beauty. Four types of femininity have been recognized in the three ethnic groups which include: passive, traditional, independent and active. The typology is made on the basis of attitude towards the penta categories. Passive type exists in kordish and Azarish ethnicities and independent type exists in all of the tree ethnicities and the active type exists just in Mazandarani ethnic group. Although it seems that the concept of femininity undergoing redefinition in Mazandarni etnic groups, but we did not observed any basic difference in the interpretations of Azarish and Kordish women. The common categories of thoughts which we identified in this research have been "essentialist thinking” and "motherly inclinations".