Meta-analysis of the studies regarding social construction of body in Iranian society (Case study: native research papers 2008-2017)

The study of the social as well as aesthetic representation of body in public sphere has been one the most popular research agenda during the recent decade in Iran. Dispersion of the research results regarding the mentioned representation clearly divulge the necessity of performing a meta-analysis of the studies oriented toward the social construction of the body. Consequently, a relatively comprehensive image of the achievements as well as the challenges relating to the stated topic can be perceived. The purpose of the present study is to numerate the variables related to the body management and suggest a typology of them. The main question tried to be answered is “Which variables have attracted the attention of Iranian social studies researchers studying the phenomenon of body management?” Meta-analysis of 29 purposefully selected research papers show that the biological as well as natural bodies of the social actors have been changed into to a kind of social construction through the impact of 48 independent variables. Generally speaking, these mentioned variables can be categorized in terms of four types including social, cultural psychological and demographic ones as well. Social variables have the highest frequency of usage in 57/8% of the meta-analyzed studies while cultural variables have the lowest frequency of usage in 27/2% of the mentioned studies. In 78/2% of the reviewed studies, researchers have emphasized the impact of psychological variables on the social construction of the body. To put it differently, it can be concluded that lower levels of significance have been attached to the social and cultural variables than those allocated to psychological and demographic ones in the studies reviewed in this research paper. The absence of offering practical solutions related to mechanisms of the social construction of the body as well as neglection of the types and forms of relation between social construction of the body and different aspects of dominant of religious-political discourse are the two important dimensions missed by the authors of the purposefully selected research papers.