A Typology of Hamadani Women Covering and its Related Social Factors

Covering as a social action, like other social actions, in a society is influenced by some social factors. Social actor consciously uses a type of covering to influence other actors. Covering, then, as a social action is done by some social factors that form its meaning and content. A typology of covering includes a range of covering types that distinguishes quality of covering according to individuals’ motives and intentions in the forms of different covering types. Society as a container and culture as a content provide these covering types for individuals. This research attempts to study a typology of covering according to some social factors related to its types in Hamadani women. There are two fundamental questions that this research is going to answer them. First, how is woman typology of covering in Hamadan? And second, what are some social factors that form this typology and its constituent types?  

The study method is survey and its population includes all Hamadani women aged 18-50. For gathering information in exploratory stage, 40 women were interviewed with a specified covering range and its types. For studying relationships between research variables and the covering types, a questionnaire was designed after specifying covering types. A sample of 335 women who were selected by proportionate stratified sampling has been estimated through Cochran formula. The collected data were analyzed by frequency tables, x2 test, Cramer V, and contingency tables.  

The research finding shows there is a covering range of Hamadani women including four covering types: comfort-intensive type, modesty-intensive type, exhibition-intensive type, and husband-intensive type. Hypotheses findings show that there are meaningful relationships between every four covering types such as influence from peer group, influence from expectations of significant others, financial reputation and prestige, amount of leisure time, following husband believes, attracting opposite sex for marriage, and marital status. Based on the above-mentioned relationships between the four covering types and their related social factors, findings suggest that husband-intensive type takes the most influence from peer groups. Peer groups and their social actions influence attitudes towards women type of covering. Peer groups act as a looking glass that women look themselves into it. Women covering types of husband-intensive and exhibition-intensive are influenced respectively by expectations of significant others. Significant others and some expectations created by them cause behavioral norms and patterns for women clothing. Findings also show that both covering types of husband-intensive and exhibition-intensive have the most relationship with financial reputation and prestige. Having high social status is a sign of wealth and reputation. It seems that some happened social changes during the last decades in Iran have created a kind of exhibitive society in which women use clothing as a symbol for showing their social statuses.  Covering types of husband-intensive and exhibition-intensive have the most relationship with leisure time, too. It follows that in an exhibitive society, having more leisure time is related to some types of coverings. Another finding indicates that a majority of unmarried women have a husband-intensive type of covering for attracting husband. These women try to increase their erotic capital through their covering. It also follows that for these women clothing means the more erotic capital, the more chance of finding a husband. Finally, the research finding suggest that women with covering type of exhibitive-intensive and modesty-intensive have the most relationship with their husband believes. Covering types of these women, then, are influenced by their husband believes, whether secular beliefs or religious ones. Findings of this research on women typology of clothing and its related social factors indicate that, as a whole, there are different types of covering in a society that form a range of covering types for it, and these covering types are influenced by some social factors.