A sociological study of female embodiment concept in the press of the Second Pahlavi period: A case study of "Bidāri-ye Mā" magazine

With the beginning of modernization in Iran during the Reza Shah period and following the implementation of control and disciplinary policies, the female body, which was previously marginalized, entered the center of politics. Although Mohammad Reza Shah lacked the political power his father enjoyed but he tried to continue his predecessor’s policies. In the early second Pahlavi era, with the decline of the political power of the government, a freer political atmosphere was provided to the press. During this period, women publications began to represent the political and social conditions of Iranian women. At that time, one of the controversial issues in women's magazines was the concept of embodiment. In this research, using the content analysis method, the concept of female embodiment in the "Bidāri-ye Mā" monthly magazine between 1944 and 1949 has been studied. Three main forms of embodiment are recognized in this journal: Traditional embodiment, puppet embodiment, and warrior embodiment. By criticizing the two forms of traditional and puppet embodiment, the magazine has determined its ideal image of the body form which was warrior embodiment. Although the magazine's ideal embodiment criticized other forms of embodiment due to the imposition of strict rules, this embodiment too imposed strict rules on the female body.