Browsing by Subject "Feminism--Turkey."

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Open Access
Exploring women columnists "in between" positionality in public sphere : a study into narratives on feminist identity in contemporary Turkey
(2015) Ünal Abaday, Didem
This dissertation investigates women columnists’ narratives on feminist self-identification with the aim to disclose the narrative lines along which feminist identity is negotiated in 2000’s Turkey. In the contemporary social and political milieu in which neoliberal, neo-conservative discourses undermine feminist demands and the poststructuralist critique makes it difficult to articulate stable identity claims, the issue of feminist self-identification comes to the forefront as a critical theme underlying the discussions on the future of feminism. These global debates also resonate at the local level with a unique tune that derives its peculiarity from the social and political context in question. Keeping this in mind, I trace the repercussions of the debates outlined above in the Turkish social and political context. It has been widely argued that the current Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule in Turkey is heavily characterized by a neoliberal, neoconservative and antifeminist political stance. Given the antifeminist ethos of the current political landscape, public negotiations of feminist self identification in contemporary Turkey display multiple layers of complexity that are difficult to disentangle. This complexity begs the question of how feminist identity is negotiated and narrated in a discursive field in which antifeminist discourses are constantly reproduced through certain discursive opportunity structures. Against this background, this dissertation particularly focuses on the narratives of women columnists who are well-known public intellectual figures in contemporary Turkey. The study of media is especially important for a study that intends to examine the positionality of narratives on feminism in public deliberation. It is worthwhile to investigate the alternative media domains in the high circulation mass media and map out the zones of potential that can contribute to the counter hegemonic attempts challenging the contemporary conservative gender regime in Turkey. The study of women columnists’ narratives on feminism and feminist identity may provide us a fertile ground to delve into the discursive openings in the mainstream media through which profeminist discourses can acquire a considerable standing in public deliberation. It can provide us critical tools to nuance our reading of public sphere by disclosing the functioning mechanisms of publics that constantly shift between hegemonic and subaltern publics, which we could name as “publics in-between”. Following the research goals described above, this study intends to delve into the prominent features of the positionality of women columnists in contemporary Turkey vis-a-vis the political struggles over the gender regime and shed light on the intricacies, the promising aspects and the limitations in women columnists’ narratives on feminism and feminist identity. As a result, it aims to disclose how women columnists situate themselves vis-a-vis feminist subaltern publics in contemporary Turkey.
Open Access
The role of women in the formation of civil society in post-1980 Turkey
(1993) Çaha, Ömer
This study aims to draw a theoretical discussion on the features of the Turkish feminist groups and their contributions to the development of civil society in post-1980 Turkey. It has been reached to the conclusion that Turkish feminist groups have created a new set of politics in Turkey through the success of changing many women's and men's thinking. Through the focus on conciseness raising, on non- oppressive relations between man and woman, on creating a counter-culture and alternative institutions, Turkish feminist groups have represented a new politics in Turkey. Turkish feminist groups have incorporated into particular as well as universal discourses. With respect to their particular discourses feminist groups serve for the aims of the Turkish state. However, With respect to the common discourses which they share with their Western counterparts they constitute a substantial element of civil society in Turkey. These discourses are particular to their own interest as well as differentiate feminist women from the "man-like" generation of the women who once served for the aims of the Republican Turkey.