Power, Belonging, and Respectability

Abstract

T he vast majority of the Iranian diasporic population in Europe is concentrated in the United Kingdom, with an estimate of seventy thousand Iranian fi rst-generation migrants (CT0723_2011 Census n.d.). 1 Learning a new culture but not losing one ’ s own has always been a challenge among Iranians. This article offers a comparative analysis of two studies examining Iranian fi rst-generation migrants ’ understandings of power, belonging, and respectability in the diaspora. It provides important insights into how Iranian migrants in the United Kingdom differently conceptualize these notions at the intersection of class, gender, and race. The fi rst study, by Mastoureh Fathi (2017), explores the intersectional experiences of Iranian migrant women living in the United Kingdom. The second study, conducted in my PhD dissertation, examines Iranian men ’ s different perceptions of sexual violence, also in the United Kingdom. The fi rst study focuses on how gendered identities are performed within different classes. The second study argues that Iranian men perceive Iranian masculinity as superior to English masculinity, sexualizing notions of respectability and relating it to modesty.