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A Reading of Sexual Morality in Turkey

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A Reading of Sexual Morality in Turkey Dressing Up Ahlak: A Reading of Sexual Morality in Turkey by Hilal Ozcetin M.A., Central European University, 2006 B.A., Baskent University, 2005 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the DeGree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of SocioloGy and AnthropoloGy Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences © Hilal Ozcetin 2015 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2015 Approval Name: Hilal Ozcetin Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title: Dressing Up Ahlak: A Reading of Sexual Morality in Turkey Examining Committee: Chair: Wendy Chan Professor Dany Lacombe Senior Supervisor Professor Parin Dossa Supervisor Professor Simten Cosar Supervisor Professor Faculty of Communication, Hacettepe University Cindy Patton Internal Examiner Professor Department of SocioloGy and AnthropoloGy Sedef Arat-Koc External Examiner Associate Professor Department of Politics and Public Administration Ryerson University Date Defended/Approved: December 3, 2015 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract This dissertation analyzes sexual morality discourse throuGh a readinG of dressed female bodies in Turkey. It explores how sexual morality (ahlak) is shaped by Islamist and secularist discourses in Turkey and the ways in which ahlak (morality) imposes control mechanisms over women’s bodies in Turkey. The thesis arGues that even thouGh secularist and Islamist discourses are seen in a dualistic framework, the patriarchal sexual moralities they impose on the bodies of women are not binary oppositions. Both utilize dress as a technology of the body to conceal female sexual bodies and regulate the visibility of women in public space. However, as a result of the different ways in which sexual moral norms are inhabited, these two discourses are perceived as oppositional. Thirty-one interviews were conducted with women involved in women’s movements in Istanbul and Ankara (Turkey) in 2010. The data analysis suggests that the sexual morality that aims at hidinG the female sexual body throuGh dress constrains the mobility and freedom of women in public spaces in Turkey. The study also shows that sexual morality has been maintained throuGh state surveillance (such as laws and reGulations on public morality and on dress) and throuGh the public gaze (such as the judGinG Gaze, sexual harassment and violence). Yet, the analysis of the sexual violence cases in regards to sexual morality and dress point out that sexual morality has become more conservative as a result of the increased conservatism in politics in the last decade. While this analysis shows sexual morality to be a disciplinary discourse and a practice producing ‘docile bodies’, it also reveals that women are not passively subjected to this morality. Women fashion different modalities of aGencies that reveal various ways of livinG, embodying, as well as subvertinG and challenGinG the norms of sexual morality in Turkey. Keywords: Dress; Sexuality; Women; Ahlak; AGency; Turkey iv Dedication To my mother and sister v Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Dany Lacombe for her Guidance and support without which I would not have been able to finalize this dissertation. I am also thankful to my committee members Dr. Parin Dossa and Dr. Simten Cosar, for Generously committinG time and enerGy to provide valuable comments and encouragement. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Sedef Arat-Koc and Dr. Cindy Patton for their part in the examination of this dissertation and moreover suggesting interesting directions for the future of this research topic. I had the Great fortune of havinG dear friends who have helped me along this journey. Thank you dear Efe Peker, Sule Yaylaci, Didem TurkoGlu, Nil Mutluer, Esin Gozukara, Onur Bakiner, Pinar Gurleyen and Serbulent Turan Sibel Eranil, Efe Can Gurcan, Ataman Avdan, Aazadeh Madani, and Carla Winston for toleratinG me durinG harder times as well as your friendship and support over the years. Thank you little Daphne YaGmur Turan for cheerinG me up without fail. Special thanks also to Hulya Arik, Alp Biricik, Soudeh Jamshidian, Gulay Ayyildiz and Kemal Yigitcan, who were inteGral to this journey. Thank you for your enthusiastic support and fantastic company. A very special thanks to Mike ChianG who came into my life durinG the writinG period and helped me in every way possible through stressful times. His unconditional love, encouraGement and friendship made it possible to finish this dissertation. I thank my beloved mother Yuksel Sevim Baysin, and sister Bihter Ozcetin Yazlik who have supported me in various ways when I am in need. I am Grateful for their encouragement and faith in me. Thank you my dear niece Esin for brinGinG joy and lauGhter to my life. I will be forever Grateful to my late Grandmother Ayse Ozcetin and late aunt SenGul Ayyildiz for instillinG in me the desire to pursue my own Goals; I will always miss them. Last but not least, much appreciation to my brother-in-law Serkan Yazlik and extended family for their unwavering confidence in me. vi I owe my deepest Gratitude to the women who shared their time and stories with me. I would like to thank for their time and cordiality. vii Table of Contents Approval ................................................................................................................ ii Ethics Statement ................................................................................................... iii Abstract ................................................................................................................ iv Dedication ............................................................................................................. v AcknowledGements .............................................................................................. vi Table of Contents ................................................................................................ viii List of Acronyms .................................................................................................... x Glossary ............................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................... 1 1.1. Field Research and Method ......................................................................... 7 1.2. OrGanization of the Dissertation ................................................................. 12 Chapter 2. Theoretical Background ............................................................. 18 2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 18 2.2. Key Themes and Concepts ........................................................................ 19 2.3. Sexuality and Morality ................................................................................ 24 2.4. Sexuality and morality throuGh dress in Muslim Societies .......................... 27 2.5. Brief Review of Fashion Studies ................................................................. 33 2.6. Morality, Sexuality and Gendered Body throuGh Dress .............................. 39 2.7. Feminist Approaches on the Body and Fashion ......................................... 42 2.8. ReGulation of Dress in Gendered Spatial Context ...................................... 46 2.9. The Study of Ahlak and Dressed Bodies: Brief Notes on MethodoloGy ..... 51 Chapter 3. Gendered Moral Bodies: The Analysis of the Female Body in Secularist and Islamist Political Discourses ............................ 54 3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 54 3.2. Women in the Republic of Turkey .............................................................. 57 3.3. Dress Reform: Modern ‘Asexual’ Bodies .................................................... 61 3.4. The Quiet Years: Women in Turkey from 1945 to 1980 ............................. 72 3.5. The Invisible Becomes Visible: The Rise of Islamist Movements and the Headscarf ‘Question’ .................................................................................. 77 3.6. State Surveillance: The Secular Gaze of State over Women’s Bodies ...... 82 3.7. Conclusion .................................................................................................. 90 Chapter 4. The Socio-Political Discourses of Sexual Morality: Disciplined Bodies .......................................................................................... 94 4.1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 94 4.2. ChoosinG the Dress: The EmerGinG Themes ............................................. 96 4.2.1. Casual Dress versus Hanım Hanımcık Dress ............................... 96 4.2.2. Sexualized and Desexualized Bodies ......................................... 102 4.3. The Politics of Dress ................................................................................. 107 4.3.1. Dressed Bodies in the 1960s and 1970s ..................................... 107 viii 4.3.2. Moral Muslim Bodies ................................................................... 112 4.4. Violence aGainst Women: “Provocative” Dress ........................................ 119 4.5. Conclusion ................................................................................................ 123 Chapter 5. Space, Dress and Sexual Morality ........................................... 125 5.1. Introduction
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