THE DISABLED AND THEIR EVERYDAY LIFE EXPERINCES IN IRANIAN CULTURE

Abstract

Like the disabled in other cultures, Iranian disabled confront numerous difficulties in their everyday life. They are constantly rejected in different fields of social life by Iranian culture, and as a result Iranian disabled find themselves in an inappropriate cultural /social circumstance. This research is focused on Iranian disabled and host culture in one of northern Iranian provinces, Gilan (Rasht city) to explain living experiences of Iranian disabled as abandoned individuals in Iranian culture. This research’s theoretical approach is Erving Goffman’s “Stigma” theory applied on eight disables. Samples included four men and four women, single and aged from 28 to 45. They were exposed to be stigmatized for their physical disabilities. In this study “Autobiography” method has been used to give samples chance of speaking about themselves and their experiences in their everyday life. The participants have been profoundly interviewed. Results demonstrated that Iranian culture has patriarchal characteristics and that is why the patriarchal culture plays a key role in defining disabled by the society and by themselves. The presence of patriarchal characteristics of host culture shows itself as impassable obstacles concerning work and marriage in host society. These obstacles are constantly constructed through media and social stigmatizing actions (labeling, joshing, gagging, fooling, piteous looking and talking) as well as objective factors (particularly physical obstacles of disabled participation in their social everyday life) which contributes to perceiving “Otherness” by Iranian disabled.

Keywords

• The disabled, Stigma, Social Construction of Disability, Iranian Patriarchal Culture, Experience of Disability

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