Gender Perception in Persian Proverbs

Proverbs are defined as anonymous, generally accepted, advisory and wise sayings which are based on long term observations and experiences of individuals. Proverbs, which provide important clues to show the richness of a language, also play a significant role in reflecting social values. The concept of gender, in addition to expressing biological differences also includes the roles that society gives to individuals. Individuals define themselves with the role of femininity and masculinity which specified by society from the beginning of life. Therefore, the emphasis on women and men through proverbs reflects the cultural values of that community, such as beliefs, traditions and customs. At the beginning of our study, a brief assessment of major case studies, conducted in Iran, will be made. Then, with the chosen sample proverbs, which we obtained with source-scanning method from four volume Emsal u ？ikem, which our primary sources and written by ‘Al？ Ekber-i Dih？uda, we will analyse the perception of sex and gender in Iranian society on physical, sexual, intellectual and economic features, human needs, social relations and love. Afterwards, an evaluation will be made by using major sample proverbs, for the image of female “mother, wife, daughter, bride, widow”, for the image of male “father, husband, boy, groom” concepts will be scanned to understand the gender perception in Iranian society. Structured Abstract Proverb is generally defined as a short, brief and concise sayings based on the experiences of older generations; intend to teach people; give lessons; offer advice and belongs to oral culture. Proverbs, which provide important clues to show the richness of a language, also play a significant role in reflecting social values. The concept of gender, in addition to expressing biological differences also includes the roles that society gives to individuals. Individuals define themselves with the role of femininity and masculinity which specified by society from the beginning of life. Therefore, the emphasis on women and men through proverbs reflects the cultural values of that community, such as beliefs, traditions and customs. With this study we will see the dimensions of gender perception and how these dimensions are expressed through Persian proverbs. We come across some articles which are studied in Iran, the general conclusion of these researches is Persian proverbs include sex discrimination however, the more Iranian society improve and modernise, the less sex discrimination could be seen in Persian language. In this research, we tried to