Representation of female cover-up in post-revolutionary Iranian cinema

Cross-dressing has become a filmmaking strategy for the representation of women. The increasing trend of the use of cross-dressing in Iranian cinema has raised the question of what is the purpose of cross-dressing in Iranian cinema and how is it represented. To achieve this goal, by adapting theories in the field of women's studies and representation, the method of narrative analysis has been used and 18 films which were made in Iran's post-revolutionary cinema between 1978 and 2022 have been selected by purposeful sampling. The findings show that, unlike the optimism of previous researches which have considered this characterization as a deficiency of the ruling discourse, the female character is represented in two ways: a gentle woman and a coquettish one. With the way they walk, use hand gestures, sweet laughs, and repeatedly touch their face and make-up, these women exaggerate flirtatiousness to achieve their deceptive goals. Men's incentive for cross-dressing compromise hiding their identity for escaping from trouble, provoking other men, revenge, utilitarianism, and deviance. Cinematic arrangements also reduce these women to a sexual objects. Films turn to cross-dressing to arouse the emotions of the audience to escape the family and social reality. Finally, this representation has led to the reproduction of gender stereotypes in the Iranian society, i.e. the duality of modern-traditional women.