Modern Kitchen and Its Socio-cultural Concept in the Family Life of Iranian Religious Families: A Case Study of the City of Qom

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Abstract

Introduction of modern kitchen in Iran and its popularization from the 1950s brought new concept of “kitchen as heart of home” into the everyday life of Iranian women. In this article, through qualitative questionnaire and comparative analysis of responses, various aspects of cultural meaning of kitchen in the contemporary life in comparison with previous style have been studied. The focus of the study was on the religious families in the city of Qom. It was found that three ranges of meanings should be considered to explain socio-cultural concepts of kitchen in Iranian Muslim women’s life:  from personal space of special privacy (for females) to a living family space, from a utility space to a place of genuine life and from a sacred place to a profane one that has clear implications in the lives of Iranian Muslim women. As a result, it can be said that now the ideal picture of a kitchen in the examined cultural context is a female personal space and, at the same time, it is a temporary private family space which definitely does not have the quality of a collective living space.

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