women’s clothing and its significations (case study:young women of kermanshah)

this article attempts to study the meanings and significations of women’s clothing in a particular cultural/social space, namely kermanshah city. this city is highly heterogeneous religiously, ethnically and culturally has got a very complicated social stratification. women’s clothing, being problematic due to interweaving of traditional/modern aspects of lifestyles in iran, is a sign with various meanings and significations which plays different functions according to its specific context. the theoretical basis of this research is a constellation of giddenz, simmel and goffman about body management, lifestyle, clothing and sense-making processes in everyday life. the different concepts of these thinkers, we claim, can be formulated into a useful conceptual framework that clarifies the various aspects of the subject matter. the research method is a qualitative one, namely grounded theory; and individual deep interview is used for gathering data. the sampling is achieved through purposeful/theoretical sampling, with variation and theoretical saturation in mind. the findings show that women interpret clothing differently and their interpretations can be categorized into 138 concepts, 31 main categories and 7 central categories. in the final pace, a central core is derived from this codification. the main categories are: clothing is something beyond hejab; clothing is a way of distinction and identification; a way of body management and self-reflection; a mediation of body representation; a product of agency/structure struggle and an instrument for creating security. the core conclusion of this article is that clothing has been problematic among women is being interpreted differently.