Gender Reforms in the Pahlavi Era: Shattering Old Gender and Sexual Norms of Iranian Society

Professor Janet Afary, University of California, Santa Barbara, lecture on the modernization projects of the Pahlavi government. “The projects shattered the old gender and sexual norms of Iranian society in unprecedented ways. Many urban homes had television by the late 1960s and going to the movies was a popular form of entertainment. The advertising industry relentlessly propagated images of a more modern feminine body and a Western lifestyle, while satirical magazines published cartoons featuring half-naked women. However, these developments also became the key factor cementing a new political alliance between Islamists and leftists ”