Looks at how readers in Iran responded to the book 'Men Are From
Mars, Women Are From Venus,' by John Gray. Comments from Fathali M.
Moghaddam, Ph.D.; How Gray captured the gender relationship in Iran; How
relationship self-help is featured in the teachings of Islam; Statistics
on the number of copies that were sold.
By
PT Staff, published on May 01, 1998
If information seeks its own level, I what's to be made of the fact
that thepseudo-psychological relationship guide Men Are From Mars, Women
Are From Venus has become a best-seller in Iran? The book may be a
perfect fit with the Iranian view of the world.
"Iranian government censors wouldn't have let this book through if
it said that men and women were both from Mars," says Fathali M.
Moghaddam, Ph.D., explaining why a government that has called the United
States "the great Satan" would relish the most pop of American popular
culture. It's actually less farcical in Farsi.
Author John Gray emphasizes the differences between the sexes, says
the Georgetown University expert. And that follows the contours of the
Iranian social structure, where many women work, hold advanced degrees,
and even serve in Parliament, but are legally required to shroud
themselves in public to avoid arousing men sexually. And they are not
allowed to be judges, because they are seen as too emotional.
But they are allowed to study psychology. While Iran's universities
were purged of Western-trained psychologists after the revolution, almost
twenty years later, American psychology is more dominant than before the
revolution, says Moghaddam. "In addition, more than half of the psych
professors are women."
While the book is read by the secular educated class, the idea of
relationship self-help is an integral part of Islam, he observes. "In
traditional Islamic writings, there is a lot of emphasis on the
relationship between a husband and wife as well as detailed instruction
on how men and women should treat one another, even down to the specifics
of how to talk and what tone of voice to use."
The book's Iranian translator believes that Gray has struck a
universal chord. "The population of our country is very interested in how
to solve relationship and marital problems," says Mehdi Gharacheh-Daghi.
"I think that in the entire world, the needs of men and women are very
similar."
Iran's younger generation apparently agrees: to date, most of the
60,000 copies of Men Are From Mars sold in that country have been
purchased by 18- to 24-year-olds.
--M.J.
Tags:
american psychology,
arousing men,
author john gray,
culture,
fathali m moghaddam,
gender,
georgetown university,
guide men,
iranian government,
marital problems,
mars women,
mehdi,
men are from mars,
men are from mars women are from venus,
perfect fit,
psychological relationship,
relationship guide,
relationships,
social,
social structure,
universal chord,
women,
women are from venus
