title: Gendered power in cultural contexts: Part III. Couple relationships in Iran.
abstract: Sometimes therapists assume that gender equality is not relevant when working with couples from traditional cultures. This study of couples in Iran suggests more complexity. The authors identify a variety of views and practices regarding equality between men and women in relationships. Some aspired to traditional roles; others attempted to create mutually supportive relationships. Yet others were somewhere in-between. This study helps identify important dimensions that may be overlooked when we define couple equality only by American standards or understand it only through a Western lens. The study provides insight into the dilemmas couples face when ideals of equality intersect with societal structures that maintain gendered power and offers suggestions for addressing gender when working with couples with traditional cultural backgrounds.
authors.affiliation: Doctoral Programs in MFT, Department of Counseling and Family Sciences, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA.
authors.forename: Seddigheh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moghadam
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Knudson-Martin
authors.forename: Anne Rankin
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Mahoney
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007492:Iran; D007514:Islam; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011209:Power, Psychological; D018454:Spouses / Q000208:ethnology*