CONSTRUCTING MASCULINITY AND FEMININITY THROUGH PROVERBS: A FEMINIST CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF PASHTUN CULTURE

Abstract

In this study, the discursive construction of femininity and masculinity in Pashtun society within the honor-shame cultural context is analysed. Using a combination of Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (FCDA) (Michelle Lazar 2006) as methods and analytical framework, together with the theory of gender performativity developed by Judith Butler and the view of self-presentation developed by Erving Goffman, the study looks at the role of the proverbs as discursive spaces in which means of gender are produced, normalized, and reproduced. Overall, a corpus of around 25 Pashto proverbs related to concepts of honour, shame, modesty, authority and social legitimacy was selected and analyzed using two analytical methods: latent content analysis to generate themes, and FCDA to conduct a critical deconstruction of the proverbs. An analysis of the representation of masculine and feminine identity reveals that feminine identity is globally tied to familial honor and potential familial shame. In contrast, masculine identity is defined by authority, leadership, and social legitimacy. The results of the study show that proverbs are not simply cultural artefacts, but active devices of discourse which legitimise patriarchal ideology and reproduce gendered power relations in the cultural code of Pashtunwali. This research further advances feminist discourse on language, culture, gender and power within the Pashtun social context.