Abstract

The representation of women in the media has always been a key arena for shaping public perceptions of women’s roles and status in society. During the unrest of autumn 2022, the issue of women and their portrayal in the media became one of the central topics in Iranian society. These representations played a significant role in shaping how society engaged with cultural issues concerning women. Accordingly, the present study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of how women’s cultural issues were represented on the websites of Iran International and IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting). The research employs Barthes’ semiotic approach, analyzing news texts, images, and reports published on the two media outlets’ websites during the autumn of 2022.

Findings indicate that Iran International emphasized “control over women’s bodies” and “cultural resistance,” portraying women simultaneously as victims of control policies and as agents of cultural change through emotional language, field images, and personal narratives. In contrast, IRIB focused on “cultural threats” and the “ideal woman representation,” reproducing the official discourse through ideological vocabulary and selective imagery, and depicting protesting women as sources of threat. Both media outlets actively participated in meaning-making processes and in shaping audience perceptions. These findings can contribute to revising media policies, strengthening media literacy, and promoting attention to the diversity of women’s experiences in media representation.