Power, Belonging, and Respectability: Classed, Gendered, and Racial Selves among Iranian Migrants in the United Kingdom

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Torbati, Atlas. 2022. Power, Belonging, and Respectability: Classed, Gendered, and Racial Selves among Iranian Migrants in the United Kingdom. Journal of Middle East Women's Studies, 18(2), pp. 311-319. ISSN 1552-5864 [Article]

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1215/15525864-9767982

Abstract or Description

The vast majority of the Iranian diasporic population in Europe is concentrated in the United Kingdom, with an estimate of seventy thousand Iranian first- generation migrants (CT0723_2011 Census n.d.).1 Learning a new culture but not losing one’s own has always been a challenge among Iranians. This article offers a comparative analysis of two studies examining Iranian !rst-generation migrants’ understandings of power, belonging, and respectability in the diaspora. It provides important insights into how Iranian migrants in the United Kingdom differently conceptualize these notions at the intersection of class, gender, and race. The !rst study, by Mastoureh Fathi (2017), explores the intersectional experiences of Ira- nian migrant women living in the United Kingdom. The second study, conducted in my PhD dissertation, examines Iranian men’s different perceptions of sexual vio- lence, also in the United Kingdom. The !rst study focuses on how gendered iden- tities are performed within different classes. The second study argues that Iranian men perceive Iranian masculinity as superior to English masculinity, sexualizing notions of respectability and relating it to modesty.

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Article

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https://doi.org/10.1215/15525864-9767982