Exploring the divergent aspects of the rule of neoliberalism in Turkey since 1980s, each chapter ... more Exploring the divergent aspects of the rule of neoliberalism in Turkey since 1980s, each chapter in this book highlights a specific dimension of this socio-economic process and together, these essays construct a thorough examination of the whirlwind of changes recently experienced by Turkish society. With particular focus on the new ways in which social power operates, expert contributors explore new discourses and subjectivities around environmentalism, health, popular culture, economic policies, feminism and motherhood, urban space and minorities, class and masculinities. By questioning the primary influence of the state in these micro-political matters, they engage with concepts of neoliberalism and governmentality to provide a fresh, grounded and analytical perspective on the routes through which social power navigates the society. This sustained examination of the new axes of power and subjectivity, with a particular eye on the formation of new political spaces of governance and resistance, deepens the analysis of Turkey’s experiment with neoliberal globalization.
Why and how does it matter to undertake an STS praxis in a country where the field lacks adequate... more Why and how does it matter to undertake an STS praxis in a country where the field lacks adequate institutional recognition and capacity? This article investigates this question by tracing multiple, fragmented and contingent stories of placing STS in and through Turkey. At first sight, discontinuous stories of STS programs established in universities and unrecognized nature of STS as a discipline by the Council of Higher Education draw attention to the "underdeveloped" nature of the field in this country. This article counters such a perspective by rendering visible the works that support STS ethos as well as loose institutions within which STS is expected to flourish. By following people and artifacts in institutional and more-than institutional places of STS, this article acknowledges the efforts both to translate STS into the particular places of Turkey and to use STS as an intellectual space through which technoscientific knowledge can be questioned and translated into the local contexts of the country. The analysis of these translation efforts reveals that STS can be thought of as a space that enables one to be attuned to the sensibilities and realities of the country and search for ways to democratize the processes of technoscientific knowledge production whether it be in the universities or in public spaces.
This article contributes to studies on youth in Turkey by exploring gender, sexuality, intimacy, ... more This article contributes to studies on youth in Turkey by exploring gender, sexuality, intimacy, and relationship practices among college students. Our findings show that there is change (a) towards greater gender equality; (b) about attitudes regarding family, sexuality, and romance; and (c) in understanding and experiencing gendered violence in the groups of students we examined. Progressive values appear to become more common among the participants despite the increasingly conservative tone of the political and cultural climate. However, traditional relationship patterns and norms, including the idealization of monogamous relationships, robust familial ties, and sensitivity for moral reputation, seem prevalent even though these were not associated with the ascendant politico-religious conservatism. By constituting 'secular but conservative' intimate selves and relations, our respondents approve the freedom and right to explore possibilities for others, and yet not immediately for themselves, as they preserve an unequivocal moral self.
In the early summer of 2013, a momentous public protest took place in Istanbul, offering an inval... more In the early summer of 2013, a momentous public protest took place in Istanbul, offering an invaluable source of information and perspectives on Turkish society in the neoliberal era. The event, which today is called the Gezi Park Protests, started as a small occupation in order to defend Gezi Park in the Istanbul's city center from destruction by the government. The protests quickly snowballed into the biggest social protest that Turkey has seen since the 1970s, unleashing a massive social energy and producing one of the biggest laboratories for social dynamics in recent times. The Gezi Park Protests included massive demonstrations against the government's recent policies and on and off occupation of the park space for several weeks, as well as brutal police violence against the protesters, occupiers and supporters. What was striking in the Gezi protests was the inability to define the protests through the existing academic frames. Protests were carried out by thousands of people with diverse political ideologies and socioeconomic backgrounds. Even to this day, a satisfactory analysis of the protests is hard to find. The protests initially appeared to pit the masses against a heavy-handed government. This certainly has a kernel of truth: indeed, while the protests were initially about the protection of the park space, they quickly evolved into a massive protest against the heavy-handed, top-down approach of the government. The reality, however, is a much more nuanced and complex picture in which we saw the struggle between different regimes of governmentalities. The Gezi protests, in other words, did not lend themselves to an easy reading that pits the society and the state against one another. Rather, these protests displayed the different regimes and mentalities of governing while such mentalities are striving for dominance against one another. A particularly salient form of such struggles took place during the protests against the governing ideology of the ruling party, which seemed determined to impose an Islamic, conservative, family-oriented, pro-natalist life style to the citizens. Such outright pressures included, for example, a ban on the sales of alcoholic beverages after 10 p.m., access limits to birth control and abortion, and leaving major urban venues of arts and culture dysfunctional and empty, to eventually crumble or be demolished. Against the type of neo-conservative Islamism that defined the government's stance, a more generous and hands off liberality was championed Copyright material-Provided by Taylor & Francis
Exploring the divergent aspects of the rule of neoliberalism in Turkey since 1980s, each chapter ... more Exploring the divergent aspects of the rule of neoliberalism in Turkey since 1980s, each chapter in this book highlights a specific dimension of this socio-economic process and together, these essays construct a thorough examination of the whirlwind of changes recently experienced by Turkish society. With particular focus on the new ways in which social power operates, expert contributors explore new discourses and subjectivities around environmentalism, health, popular culture, economic policies, feminism and motherhood, urban space and minorities, class and masculinities. By questioning the primary influence of the state in these micro-political matters, they engage with concepts of neoliberalism and governmentality to provide a fresh, grounded and analytical perspective on the routes through which social power navigates the society. This sustained examination of the new axes of power and subjectivity, with a particular eye on the formation of new political spaces of governance and resistance, deepens the analysis of Turkey’s experiment with neoliberal globalization.
This article contributes to studies on youth in Turkey by exploring gender, sexuality, intimacy, ... more This article contributes to studies on youth in Turkey by exploring gender, sexuality, intimacy, and relationship practices among college students. Our findings show that there is change (a) towards greater gender equality; (b) about attitudes regarding family, sexuality, and romance; and (c) in understanding and experiencing gendered violence in the groups of students we examined. Progressive values appear to become more common among the participants despite the increasingly conservative tone of the political and cultural climate. However, traditional relationship patterns and norms, including the idealization of monogamous relationships, robust familial ties, and sensitivity for moral reputation, seem prevalent even though these were not associated with the ascendant politico-religious conservatism. By constituting 'secular but conservative' intimate selves and relations, our respondents approve the freedom and right to explore possibilities for others, and yet not immediately for themselves, as they preserve an unequivocal moral self.
NovaSure® is an endometrial ablation procedure that destroys the inner lining of uterus to stop h... more NovaSure® is an endometrial ablation procedure that destroys the inner lining of uterus to stop heavy bleeding. It is performed mostly on women entering menopause who are experiencing irregular and heavy bleeding. In this article, this biotechnology, promoted for women approaching the end of their reproductive life, is analyzed. The analysis is informed by a feminist science studies and medical anthropology background. The discourse of ‘normal’ menstruation and representations of menstruation in the promotional materials for NovaSure® are explored through a textual analysis of the NovaSure® website and patient brochure. The themes in the materials analyzed include the idea of getting back to life, ‘normal’ bleeding, and having a choice among different medical procedures and interventions. The possibility of getting rid of embarrassment that accompanies heavy bleeding is also emphasized. It will be argued that NovaSure® contributes to the redefinition of what is ‘natural’ and ‘necessary’ by combining the ‘unnecessary period’ idea of pills such as Seasonale®, which is aimed toward women in their reproductive years, with the ‘unnecessary suffering’ idea related to menopausal complaints. While advertising the procedure, NovaSure® promotional materials co-construct the ideal user for the technology and reproduce the taboos and embarrassment that accompany menstruation.
In this article, I analyze the constructions of sexuality after menopause in the late 1990s and e... more In this article, I analyze the constructions of sexuality after menopause in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a period of increased medicalization of menopause in Turkey. I argue that the medicalization of menopause in Turkey contributed to framing sexual problems in middle age as the woman's responsibility, offering hormone therapy as a solution and part of 'maintenance work.' Menopausal women's sexuality is defined in relation to their partner's sexuality in a monogamous marriage, and remaining sexually active is framed as a woman's duty. These discussions contribute to understanding how medical authority is differently invoked in shaping middle-age sexuality in local contexts.
This article aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate about the implications of andropa... more This article aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate about the implications of andropause in the Gender Studies literature by decentring and complicating it further using the case of Turkish gay men. Aging gay men in Turkey struggle to remain young, healthy and 'cool' as they use their wittiness and emotional maturity towards younger men. All of these happen at the intersection of masculinity politics and homophobia within Turkish society and the profound ageism within the global gay culture. Our questions are shaped around andropause and its absence as gay men reject and disidentify with it: Is andropause a heteronormative concept? Through the active rejection of the external outcomes of aging and andropause, midlife Turkish gay men present an idiosyncratic vantage point to explicate the relatively understudied intersection of masculinity, homosexuality and aging in the non-western contexts. Through interviews we contend that, unlike their heterosexual equivalents, mid-life gay men do not accept andropause, but instead they develop tactics to consolidate their socially capable, selfassured and well-integrated subjectivity within the fringes of the global gay culture. Looking closer at aging gay men and their multifactorial strategies provides us the chance to grasp the ubiquitous heteronormativity inscribed in the narratives of andropause.
This article aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate about the implications of andropa... more This article aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate about the implications of andropause in the Gender Studies literature by decentring and complicating it further using the case of Turkish gay men. Aging gay men in Turkey struggle to remain young, healthy and ‘cool’ as they use their wittiness and emotional maturity towards younger men. All of these happen at the intersection of masculinity politics and homophobia within Turkish society and the profound ageism within the global gay culture. Our questions are shaped around andropause and its absence as gay men reject and disidentify with it: Is andropause a heteronormative concept? Through the active rejection of the external outcomes of aging and andropause, mid- life Turkish gay men present an idiosyncratic vantage point to explicate the relatively understudied intersection of masculinity, homosexuality and aging in the non-western contexts. Through interviews we contend that, unlike their heterosexual equivalents, mid-life gay men do not accept andropause, but instead they develop tactics to consolidate their socially capable, self- assured and well-integrated subjectivity within the fringes of the global gay culture. Looking closer at aging gay men and their multifactorial strategies provides us the chance to grasp the ubiquitous heteronormativity inscribed in the narratives of andropause.
This article aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate about the implications of andropa... more This article aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate about the implications of andropause in the Gender Studies literature by decentring and complicating it further using the case of Turkish gay men. Aging gay men in Turkey struggle to remain young, healthy and ‘cool’ as they use their wittiness and emotional maturity towards younger men. All of these happen at the intersection of masculinity politics and homophobia within Turkish society and the profound ageism within the global gay culture. Our questions are shaped around andropause and its absence as gay men reject and disidentify with it: Is andropause a heteronormative concept? Through the active rejection of the external outcomes of aging and andropause, mid- life Turkish gay men present an idiosyncratic vantage point to explicate the relatively understudied intersection of masculinity, homosexuality and aging in the non-western contexts. Through interviews we contend that, unlike their heterosexual equivalents, mid-life gay men do not accept andropause, but instead they develop tactics to consolidate their socially capable, self- assured and well-integrated subjectivity within the fringes of the global gay culture. Looking closer at aging gay men and their multifactorial strategies provides us the chance to grasp the ubiquitous heteronormativity inscribed in the narratives of andropause.
a fen edebiyat fakultesi, insan ve toplum Bilimleri Bolumu, isik universitesi, istanbul, turkey; ... more a fen edebiyat fakultesi, insan ve toplum Bilimleri Bolumu, isik universitesi, istanbul, turkey; b faculty of arts and Social Sciences, Sabanci university, istanbul, turkey ABSTRACT This article aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate about the implications of andropause in the Gender Studies literature by decentring and complicating it further using the case of Turkish gay men. Aging gay men in Turkey struggle to remain young, healthy and 'cool' as they use their wittiness and emotional maturity towards younger men. All of these happen at the intersection of masculinity politics and homophobia within Turkish society and the profound ageism within the global gay culture. Our questions are shaped around andropause and its absence as gay men reject and disidentify with it: Is andropause a heteronormative concept? Through the active rejection of the external outcomes of aging and andropause, midlife Turkish gay men present an idiosyncratic vantage point to explicate the relatively understudied intersection of masculinity, homosexuality and aging in the non-western contexts. Through interviews we contend that, unlike their heterosexual equivalents, mid-life gay men do not accept andropause, but instead they develop tactics to consolidate their socially capable, selfassured and well-integrated subjectivity within the fringes of the global gay culture. Looking closer at aging gay men and their multifactorial strategies provides us the chance to grasp the ubiquitous heteronormativity inscribed in the narratives of andropause.
This paper reviews the experience of the Istanbul Tuberculosis Aid Program, which targeted tuberc... more This paper reviews the experience of the Istanbul Tuberculosis Aid Program, which targeted tuberculosis (TB) disease in the growing irregular migrant populations of Istanbul. This experience illustrated the importance of community-based public health interventions when dealing with an infectious disease like TB among vulnerable groups. Our data is derived primarily from a qualitative study carried out with program stakeholders. We summarize lessons for success of ITAP as: (1) Strengthening impact and outreach of TB intervention among irregular migrant communities through involvement of multiple stakeholders (2) Increasing TB awareness through a community targeted approach (3) Increasing TB contact tracing and treatment success among infected irregular migrants, and, (4) Improving overall health seeking behavior of irregular migrants through empowerment and trust. Given these particularities we list our policy suggestions for revision of regulations regarding TB control and healthcare needs of irregular migrant populations.
NovaSurewis an endometrial ablation procedure that destroys the inner lining of uterus to stop he... more NovaSurewis an endometrial ablation procedure that destroys the inner lining of uterus to stop heavy bleeding. It is performed mostly on women entering menopause who are experiencing irregular and heavy bleeding. In this article, this biotechnology, promoted for women approaching the end of their reproductive life, is analyzed. The analysis is informed by a feminist science studies and medical anthropology background. The discourse of ‘normal’ menstruation and representations of menstruation in the promotional materials for NovaSurew are explored through a textual analysis of the NovaSure website and patient brochure. The themes in the materials analyzed include the idea of getting back to life, ‘normal’ bleeding, and having a choice among different medical procedures and interventions. The possibility of getting rid of embarrassment that accompanies heavy bleeding is also emphasized. It will be argued that NovaSurew contributes to the redefinition of what is ‘natural’ and ‘necessary’ by combining the ‘unnecessary period’ idea of pills such as Seasonale, which is aimed toward women in their reproductive years, with the ‘unnecessary suffering’ idea related to menopausal complaints. While advertising the procedure, NovaSure promotional materials co-construct the ideal user for the technology and reproduce the taboos and embarrassment that accompany menstruation.
This paper reviews the experience of the Istanbul Tuberculosis Aid Program, which targeted tuberc... more This paper reviews the experience of the Istanbul Tuberculosis Aid Program, which targeted tuberculosis (TB) disease in the growing irregular migrant populations of Istanbul. This experience illustrated the importance of community-based public health interventions when dealing with an infectious disease like TB among vulnerable groups. Our data is derived primarily from a qualitative study carried out with program stakeholders. We summarize lessons for success of ITAP as: (1) Strengthening impact and outreach of TB intervention among irregular migrant communities through involvement of multiple stakeholders (2) Increasing TB awareness through a community targeted approach (3) Increasing TB contact tracing and treatment success among infected irregular migrants, and, (4) Improving overall health seeking behavior of irregular migrants through empowerment and trust. Given these particularities we list our policy suggestions for revision of regulations regarding TB control and healthcare needs of irregular migrant populations.
Exploring the divergent aspects of the rule of neoliberalism in Turkey since 1980s, each chapter ... more Exploring the divergent aspects of the rule of neoliberalism in Turkey since 1980s, each chapter in this book highlights a specific dimension of this socio-economic process and together, these essays construct a thorough examination of the whirlwind of changes recently experienced by Turkish society. With particular focus on the new ways in which social power operates, expert contributors explore new discourses and subjectivities around environmentalism, health, popular culture, economic policies, feminism and motherhood, urban space and minorities, class and masculinities. By questioning the primary influence of the state in these micro-political matters, they engage with concepts of neoliberalism and governmentality to provide a fresh, grounded and analytical perspective on the routes through which social power navigates the society. This sustained examination of the new axes of power and subjectivity, with a particular eye on the formation of new political spaces of governance and resistance, deepens the analysis of Turkey’s experiment with neoliberal globalization.
Why and how does it matter to undertake an STS praxis in a country where the field lacks adequate... more Why and how does it matter to undertake an STS praxis in a country where the field lacks adequate institutional recognition and capacity? This article investigates this question by tracing multiple, fragmented and contingent stories of placing STS in and through Turkey. At first sight, discontinuous stories of STS programs established in universities and unrecognized nature of STS as a discipline by the Council of Higher Education draw attention to the "underdeveloped" nature of the field in this country. This article counters such a perspective by rendering visible the works that support STS ethos as well as loose institutions within which STS is expected to flourish. By following people and artifacts in institutional and more-than institutional places of STS, this article acknowledges the efforts both to translate STS into the particular places of Turkey and to use STS as an intellectual space through which technoscientific knowledge can be questioned and translated into the local contexts of the country. The analysis of these translation efforts reveals that STS can be thought of as a space that enables one to be attuned to the sensibilities and realities of the country and search for ways to democratize the processes of technoscientific knowledge production whether it be in the universities or in public spaces.
This article contributes to studies on youth in Turkey by exploring gender, sexuality, intimacy, ... more This article contributes to studies on youth in Turkey by exploring gender, sexuality, intimacy, and relationship practices among college students. Our findings show that there is change (a) towards greater gender equality; (b) about attitudes regarding family, sexuality, and romance; and (c) in understanding and experiencing gendered violence in the groups of students we examined. Progressive values appear to become more common among the participants despite the increasingly conservative tone of the political and cultural climate. However, traditional relationship patterns and norms, including the idealization of monogamous relationships, robust familial ties, and sensitivity for moral reputation, seem prevalent even though these were not associated with the ascendant politico-religious conservatism. By constituting 'secular but conservative' intimate selves and relations, our respondents approve the freedom and right to explore possibilities for others, and yet not immediately for themselves, as they preserve an unequivocal moral self.
In the early summer of 2013, a momentous public protest took place in Istanbul, offering an inval... more In the early summer of 2013, a momentous public protest took place in Istanbul, offering an invaluable source of information and perspectives on Turkish society in the neoliberal era. The event, which today is called the Gezi Park Protests, started as a small occupation in order to defend Gezi Park in the Istanbul's city center from destruction by the government. The protests quickly snowballed into the biggest social protest that Turkey has seen since the 1970s, unleashing a massive social energy and producing one of the biggest laboratories for social dynamics in recent times. The Gezi Park Protests included massive demonstrations against the government's recent policies and on and off occupation of the park space for several weeks, as well as brutal police violence against the protesters, occupiers and supporters. What was striking in the Gezi protests was the inability to define the protests through the existing academic frames. Protests were carried out by thousands of people with diverse political ideologies and socioeconomic backgrounds. Even to this day, a satisfactory analysis of the protests is hard to find. The protests initially appeared to pit the masses against a heavy-handed government. This certainly has a kernel of truth: indeed, while the protests were initially about the protection of the park space, they quickly evolved into a massive protest against the heavy-handed, top-down approach of the government. The reality, however, is a much more nuanced and complex picture in which we saw the struggle between different regimes of governmentalities. The Gezi protests, in other words, did not lend themselves to an easy reading that pits the society and the state against one another. Rather, these protests displayed the different regimes and mentalities of governing while such mentalities are striving for dominance against one another. A particularly salient form of such struggles took place during the protests against the governing ideology of the ruling party, which seemed determined to impose an Islamic, conservative, family-oriented, pro-natalist life style to the citizens. Such outright pressures included, for example, a ban on the sales of alcoholic beverages after 10 p.m., access limits to birth control and abortion, and leaving major urban venues of arts and culture dysfunctional and empty, to eventually crumble or be demolished. Against the type of neo-conservative Islamism that defined the government's stance, a more generous and hands off liberality was championed Copyright material-Provided by Taylor & Francis
Exploring the divergent aspects of the rule of neoliberalism in Turkey since 1980s, each chapter ... more Exploring the divergent aspects of the rule of neoliberalism in Turkey since 1980s, each chapter in this book highlights a specific dimension of this socio-economic process and together, these essays construct a thorough examination of the whirlwind of changes recently experienced by Turkish society. With particular focus on the new ways in which social power operates, expert contributors explore new discourses and subjectivities around environmentalism, health, popular culture, economic policies, feminism and motherhood, urban space and minorities, class and masculinities. By questioning the primary influence of the state in these micro-political matters, they engage with concepts of neoliberalism and governmentality to provide a fresh, grounded and analytical perspective on the routes through which social power navigates the society. This sustained examination of the new axes of power and subjectivity, with a particular eye on the formation of new political spaces of governance and resistance, deepens the analysis of Turkey’s experiment with neoliberal globalization.
This article contributes to studies on youth in Turkey by exploring gender, sexuality, intimacy, ... more This article contributes to studies on youth in Turkey by exploring gender, sexuality, intimacy, and relationship practices among college students. Our findings show that there is change (a) towards greater gender equality; (b) about attitudes regarding family, sexuality, and romance; and (c) in understanding and experiencing gendered violence in the groups of students we examined. Progressive values appear to become more common among the participants despite the increasingly conservative tone of the political and cultural climate. However, traditional relationship patterns and norms, including the idealization of monogamous relationships, robust familial ties, and sensitivity for moral reputation, seem prevalent even though these were not associated with the ascendant politico-religious conservatism. By constituting 'secular but conservative' intimate selves and relations, our respondents approve the freedom and right to explore possibilities for others, and yet not immediately for themselves, as they preserve an unequivocal moral self.
NovaSure® is an endometrial ablation procedure that destroys the inner lining of uterus to stop h... more NovaSure® is an endometrial ablation procedure that destroys the inner lining of uterus to stop heavy bleeding. It is performed mostly on women entering menopause who are experiencing irregular and heavy bleeding. In this article, this biotechnology, promoted for women approaching the end of their reproductive life, is analyzed. The analysis is informed by a feminist science studies and medical anthropology background. The discourse of ‘normal’ menstruation and representations of menstruation in the promotional materials for NovaSure® are explored through a textual analysis of the NovaSure® website and patient brochure. The themes in the materials analyzed include the idea of getting back to life, ‘normal’ bleeding, and having a choice among different medical procedures and interventions. The possibility of getting rid of embarrassment that accompanies heavy bleeding is also emphasized. It will be argued that NovaSure® contributes to the redefinition of what is ‘natural’ and ‘necessary’ by combining the ‘unnecessary period’ idea of pills such as Seasonale®, which is aimed toward women in their reproductive years, with the ‘unnecessary suffering’ idea related to menopausal complaints. While advertising the procedure, NovaSure® promotional materials co-construct the ideal user for the technology and reproduce the taboos and embarrassment that accompany menstruation.
In this article, I analyze the constructions of sexuality after menopause in the late 1990s and e... more In this article, I analyze the constructions of sexuality after menopause in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a period of increased medicalization of menopause in Turkey. I argue that the medicalization of menopause in Turkey contributed to framing sexual problems in middle age as the woman's responsibility, offering hormone therapy as a solution and part of 'maintenance work.' Menopausal women's sexuality is defined in relation to their partner's sexuality in a monogamous marriage, and remaining sexually active is framed as a woman's duty. These discussions contribute to understanding how medical authority is differently invoked in shaping middle-age sexuality in local contexts.
This article aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate about the implications of andropa... more This article aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate about the implications of andropause in the Gender Studies literature by decentring and complicating it further using the case of Turkish gay men. Aging gay men in Turkey struggle to remain young, healthy and 'cool' as they use their wittiness and emotional maturity towards younger men. All of these happen at the intersection of masculinity politics and homophobia within Turkish society and the profound ageism within the global gay culture. Our questions are shaped around andropause and its absence as gay men reject and disidentify with it: Is andropause a heteronormative concept? Through the active rejection of the external outcomes of aging and andropause, midlife Turkish gay men present an idiosyncratic vantage point to explicate the relatively understudied intersection of masculinity, homosexuality and aging in the non-western contexts. Through interviews we contend that, unlike their heterosexual equivalents, mid-life gay men do not accept andropause, but instead they develop tactics to consolidate their socially capable, selfassured and well-integrated subjectivity within the fringes of the global gay culture. Looking closer at aging gay men and their multifactorial strategies provides us the chance to grasp the ubiquitous heteronormativity inscribed in the narratives of andropause.
This article aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate about the implications of andropa... more This article aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate about the implications of andropause in the Gender Studies literature by decentring and complicating it further using the case of Turkish gay men. Aging gay men in Turkey struggle to remain young, healthy and ‘cool’ as they use their wittiness and emotional maturity towards younger men. All of these happen at the intersection of masculinity politics and homophobia within Turkish society and the profound ageism within the global gay culture. Our questions are shaped around andropause and its absence as gay men reject and disidentify with it: Is andropause a heteronormative concept? Through the active rejection of the external outcomes of aging and andropause, mid- life Turkish gay men present an idiosyncratic vantage point to explicate the relatively understudied intersection of masculinity, homosexuality and aging in the non-western contexts. Through interviews we contend that, unlike their heterosexual equivalents, mid-life gay men do not accept andropause, but instead they develop tactics to consolidate their socially capable, self- assured and well-integrated subjectivity within the fringes of the global gay culture. Looking closer at aging gay men and their multifactorial strategies provides us the chance to grasp the ubiquitous heteronormativity inscribed in the narratives of andropause.
This article aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate about the implications of andropa... more This article aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate about the implications of andropause in the Gender Studies literature by decentring and complicating it further using the case of Turkish gay men. Aging gay men in Turkey struggle to remain young, healthy and ‘cool’ as they use their wittiness and emotional maturity towards younger men. All of these happen at the intersection of masculinity politics and homophobia within Turkish society and the profound ageism within the global gay culture. Our questions are shaped around andropause and its absence as gay men reject and disidentify with it: Is andropause a heteronormative concept? Through the active rejection of the external outcomes of aging and andropause, mid- life Turkish gay men present an idiosyncratic vantage point to explicate the relatively understudied intersection of masculinity, homosexuality and aging in the non-western contexts. Through interviews we contend that, unlike their heterosexual equivalents, mid-life gay men do not accept andropause, but instead they develop tactics to consolidate their socially capable, self- assured and well-integrated subjectivity within the fringes of the global gay culture. Looking closer at aging gay men and their multifactorial strategies provides us the chance to grasp the ubiquitous heteronormativity inscribed in the narratives of andropause.
a fen edebiyat fakultesi, insan ve toplum Bilimleri Bolumu, isik universitesi, istanbul, turkey; ... more a fen edebiyat fakultesi, insan ve toplum Bilimleri Bolumu, isik universitesi, istanbul, turkey; b faculty of arts and Social Sciences, Sabanci university, istanbul, turkey ABSTRACT This article aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate about the implications of andropause in the Gender Studies literature by decentring and complicating it further using the case of Turkish gay men. Aging gay men in Turkey struggle to remain young, healthy and 'cool' as they use their wittiness and emotional maturity towards younger men. All of these happen at the intersection of masculinity politics and homophobia within Turkish society and the profound ageism within the global gay culture. Our questions are shaped around andropause and its absence as gay men reject and disidentify with it: Is andropause a heteronormative concept? Through the active rejection of the external outcomes of aging and andropause, midlife Turkish gay men present an idiosyncratic vantage point to explicate the relatively understudied intersection of masculinity, homosexuality and aging in the non-western contexts. Through interviews we contend that, unlike their heterosexual equivalents, mid-life gay men do not accept andropause, but instead they develop tactics to consolidate their socially capable, selfassured and well-integrated subjectivity within the fringes of the global gay culture. Looking closer at aging gay men and their multifactorial strategies provides us the chance to grasp the ubiquitous heteronormativity inscribed in the narratives of andropause.
This paper reviews the experience of the Istanbul Tuberculosis Aid Program, which targeted tuberc... more This paper reviews the experience of the Istanbul Tuberculosis Aid Program, which targeted tuberculosis (TB) disease in the growing irregular migrant populations of Istanbul. This experience illustrated the importance of community-based public health interventions when dealing with an infectious disease like TB among vulnerable groups. Our data is derived primarily from a qualitative study carried out with program stakeholders. We summarize lessons for success of ITAP as: (1) Strengthening impact and outreach of TB intervention among irregular migrant communities through involvement of multiple stakeholders (2) Increasing TB awareness through a community targeted approach (3) Increasing TB contact tracing and treatment success among infected irregular migrants, and, (4) Improving overall health seeking behavior of irregular migrants through empowerment and trust. Given these particularities we list our policy suggestions for revision of regulations regarding TB control and healthcare needs of irregular migrant populations.
NovaSurewis an endometrial ablation procedure that destroys the inner lining of uterus to stop he... more NovaSurewis an endometrial ablation procedure that destroys the inner lining of uterus to stop heavy bleeding. It is performed mostly on women entering menopause who are experiencing irregular and heavy bleeding. In this article, this biotechnology, promoted for women approaching the end of their reproductive life, is analyzed. The analysis is informed by a feminist science studies and medical anthropology background. The discourse of ‘normal’ menstruation and representations of menstruation in the promotional materials for NovaSurew are explored through a textual analysis of the NovaSure website and patient brochure. The themes in the materials analyzed include the idea of getting back to life, ‘normal’ bleeding, and having a choice among different medical procedures and interventions. The possibility of getting rid of embarrassment that accompanies heavy bleeding is also emphasized. It will be argued that NovaSurew contributes to the redefinition of what is ‘natural’ and ‘necessary’ by combining the ‘unnecessary period’ idea of pills such as Seasonale, which is aimed toward women in their reproductive years, with the ‘unnecessary suffering’ idea related to menopausal complaints. While advertising the procedure, NovaSure promotional materials co-construct the ideal user for the technology and reproduce the taboos and embarrassment that accompany menstruation.
This paper reviews the experience of the Istanbul Tuberculosis Aid Program, which targeted tuberc... more This paper reviews the experience of the Istanbul Tuberculosis Aid Program, which targeted tuberculosis (TB) disease in the growing irregular migrant populations of Istanbul. This experience illustrated the importance of community-based public health interventions when dealing with an infectious disease like TB among vulnerable groups. Our data is derived primarily from a qualitative study carried out with program stakeholders. We summarize lessons for success of ITAP as: (1) Strengthening impact and outreach of TB intervention among irregular migrant communities through involvement of multiple stakeholders (2) Increasing TB awareness through a community targeted approach (3) Increasing TB contact tracing and treatment success among infected irregular migrants, and, (4) Improving overall health seeking behavior of irregular migrants through empowerment and trust. Given these particularities we list our policy suggestions for revision of regulations regarding TB control and healthcare needs of irregular migrant populations.
In this article, I analyze the constructions of sexuality after menopause in the late 1990s
and e... more In this article, I analyze the constructions of sexuality after menopause in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a period of increased medicalization of menopause in Turkey. I argue that the medicalization of menopause in Turkey contributed to framing sexual problems in middle age as the woman’s responsibility, offering hormone therapy as a solution and part of ‘maintenance work.’ Menopausal women’s sexuality is defined in relation to their partner’s sexuality in a monogamous marriage, and remaining sexually active is framed as a woman’s duty. These discussions contribute to understanding how medical authority is differently invoked in shaping middle-age sexuality in local contexts.
The increased medicalization of different life stages, including menopause, is a subject studied ... more The increased medicalization of different life stages, including menopause, is a subject studied mostly in the Western context. Examining medicalization in the non-Western world advances discussions of body, identity and health. In this paper, I analyze the discourses around postmenopausal osteoporosis in Turkey, focusing on the different constructions of risk in the medical and popular literature. The empirical basis of the paper draws on ethnographic research done in Istanbul, Turkey between June 2006 and March 2007. The research includes participant observation in gynecology clinics, interviews with clinicians and menopausal women and archival research on the representations of menopause in the Turkish media between 1999 and 2006. Referred to as kemik erimesi (melting of the bones) in colloquial Turkish, osteoporosis has been an essential component in the medicalization of menopause in Turkey. I argue that postmenopausal osteoporosis is defined as a combination of embodied risk, which is related to the definition of menopause as a risky period, and lifestyle risk, demonstrated in discussions around “traditional” vs. “modern” clothing and healthcare habits. The Turkish example emphasizes the importance of local conditions in defining medical risk and complicates the embodied vs. lifestyle risk categories.
Medicalization of menopause is a relatively recent phenomenon, originating from and shaped in the... more Medicalization of menopause is a relatively recent phenomenon, originating from and shaped in the Northern American and Western European cultural context. This article, which is based on data from ethnographic research done in Istanbul between June 2006 and March 2007, explores how menopause is perceived and constructed in Turkey. Since the 1920s, Western science and technology has been accepted as the ‘‘guide’’ for the Turkish modernization project. Starting with the 1980s, neoliberalism and globalization brought structural changes, new notions, and practices in the health care sector as well as furthering and changing the modernization ideals. In this article I illustrate the interactions between modernization, globalization, femininity, and health by juxtaposing narratives of menopause as told by women and physicians. I argue that the ideals of modernity, especially the concept of ‘‘consciousness’’ (bilinc¸), provide a discursive basis for the adoption of the global medical discourse around menopause in the Turkish context.
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Books by Maral Erol
Papers by Maral Erol
toward women in their reproductive years, with the ‘unnecessary suffering’ idea related to menopausal complaints. While advertising the procedure, NovaSure promotional materials co-construct the ideal user for the technology and reproduce the taboos and embarrassment that accompany menstruation.
toward women in their reproductive years, with the ‘unnecessary suffering’ idea related to menopausal complaints. While advertising the procedure, NovaSure promotional materials co-construct the ideal user for the technology and reproduce the taboos and embarrassment that accompany menstruation.
and early 2000s, a period of increased medicalization of menopause in Turkey. I argue
that the medicalization of menopause in Turkey contributed to framing sexual problems
in middle age as the woman’s responsibility, offering hormone therapy as a solution and
part of ‘maintenance work.’ Menopausal women’s sexuality is defined in relation to their
partner’s sexuality in a monogamous marriage, and remaining sexually active is framed
as a woman’s duty. These discussions contribute to understanding how medical authority
is differently invoked in shaping middle-age sexuality in local contexts.