Woman Stereotypes and Patriarchal Hegemony: A Feminist Stylistics Analysis of Iraqi Folk Proverbs

Abstract

The present research examines the stereotypical representations of women and women's position in the discourse practices of Iraqi folk proverbs from a feminist stylistics perspective. Sara Mills' (2008) theoretical framework is adopted to analyze a sample of 315 proverbs drawn from written and oral sources. The analysis reveals that the sub-categories of woman in general and wife in particular are the most frequently targeted in Iraqi proverbs. Personal attributes are the most salient properties associated with Iraqi women compared to physical attributes. Women are generally represented negatively in the Iraqi proverbial discourse where proverbs are generally manipulated to disparage and denigrate women. The traditional ideals of hegemonic masculinity, patriarchal ideology and gender inequality are encoded in the discourse of these proverbs. That is, the institutionalization of male domination and the secondary position of women are grounded in the structure of Iraqi society. Finally, a number of conclusions are presented