Transformations of Male Behavior in Feminist Theatrical Performance: The Play

The art of theater is considered one of the important pillars of society, reflecting various aspects of life. With the emergence of "feminist theater," a space was created for transformations in the performative, intellectual, and philosophical fabric of the traditional theatrical system, offering it from a new perspective by deconstructing prevailing patterns and revealing how male characters are represented in "feminist theater" texts, taking into account psychological, social, and political dimensions. Therefore, this research aims to understand the artistic and dramatic methods used in theater to redefine the concept of "masculinity," highlight the resulting social impacts, and discuss the intricate relationship between sex and gender in theater. Through this, we aim to deduce new insights into how theater contributes to reinterpreting masculine behavior in society. This is clarified in the research chapters: the first chapter (Methodological Framework), the second chapter, which consists of the first section (Psychological and social variables and their impact on the behavior of both sexes) and the second section (Masculine behavior of women in international theater performances), leading to the third chapter (Research Procedures), which included an analysis of the play "Isteela’" (Seizure), and the fourth chapter (Results and Conclusions), including: In "Isteela’" (Seizure), the woman embodied the authority of the absent man through her acting performance, borrowing his behavioral traits such as strictness, dominance, and roughness, thereby representing the symbolic version of the man in his absence. The performance showed a clear overlap between roles: the female character was not feminine in the traditional social sense, nor was she truly masculine, but rather a hybrid entity reflecting identity disturbance due to the influence of masculine authority.