'EMOTIONAL HABITUS' of LGBTI ACTIVISM in TURKEY by Serkan
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ONUR: ‘EMOTIONAL HABITUS’ OF LGBTI ACTIVISM IN TURKEY by Serkan İlaslaner Submitted to the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Sabancı University Spring 2014-2015 © Serkan İlaslaner 2015 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT ONUR: ‘EMOTIONAL HABITUS’ OF LGBTI ACTIVISM IN TURKEY Serkan İlaslaner Cultural Studies, MA Thesis, 2015 Supervisor: Ayşe Gül Altınay Keywords: LGBTI, Social Movement, Activism, Emotions, Habitus This thesis focuses on the generation of emotions around Pride activism in Turkey. Based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with people who have been part of LGBTI activism in Turkey, this study investigates how feelings and emotions are becoming sites of political activism and how they generate discourses of equality, justice and humaneness that enables political participation and activism. What is ‘emotional habitus’? What does “pride” refer to in the context of LGBTI activism historically? How is it emotionally charged through political activism? In the local context, what is the difference between “pride” and onur? What kind of emotions Pride Parades invokes in people participating in the organization of this event? How does Pride activism transform feelings such as shame, fear, anxiety, loneliness and vulnerability into anger, motivation, courage, joy, enthusiasm, solidarity and empowerment? How are these altered through the changing social political and economic conjuncture of Turkey? Are there any challenges to these emotional practices? Posing these questions, among others, this research examines Deborah Gould’s conceptualization of “emotional habitus” in terms of the ‘ambivalent’ feelings and emotions attributed to being LGBTI in the context of heteronormative sociality and argues that the ambivalence created by the simultaneous existence of “conflicting” feelings can bolster political action and confrontational activism. Pride Weeks and Parades as a site to investigate relations between emotions and political activism, has been a focal point because they constitute the most visible physical outcome of the workings of emotions with activism, because of their associations to various forms of emotional states starting with pride itself. This study aims to articulate a new perspective to the LGBTI studies and literature in Turkey in its early stages by discussing the possibilities and openings that the concept “emotional habitus” can provide to the formation of political action. i ÖZET ONUR: TÜRKİYE’DE LGBTİ AKTİVİZMİNİN ‘DUYGUSAL HABİTUSU’ Serkan İlaslaner Kültürel Çalışmalar, Yüksek Lisans Tezi, 2015 Tez Danışmanı: Ayşe Gül Altınay Anahtar sözcükler: LGBTİ, Sosyal Hareketler, Aktivizm, Duygular, Habitus Bu tez Türkiye’deki Onur Haftası aktivizmi çerçevesinde oluşan duygulara odaklanmaktadır. Bu çalışma, Türkiye’deki LGBTİ aktivizminin parçası olan insanlarla yapılan derinlemesine ve yarı-yapılandırılmış mülakatlara dayanarak; siyasi aktivizmin nasıl bir duygulanım alanı olduğunu araştırmaktadır. Ayrıca, bu duyguların siyasi katılıma ve aktivizme olanak veren eşitlik, adalet ve insanlık söylemlerini nasıl oluşturduğuna bakmaktadır. “Duygusal habitus” nedir? “Pride” (gurur) uluslararası LGBTİ aktivizmi bağlamında tarihsel olarak neye işaret etmektedir? “Pride”ın siyasi aktivizm yoluyla ne gibi duygusal yüklenimleri vardır? Yerel bağlamda “pride” ve onur arasındaki fark nedir? Onur Yürüyüşleri, organizasyonunda çalışan insanlarda ne gibi duygular ortaya çıkartıyor? Onur Haftası aktivizmi utanç, korku, kaygı, yalnızlık ve kırılganlık gibi duyguları nasıl kızgınlık, motivasyon, cesaret, neşe, heves, dayanışma ve güçlenme gibi duygulara dönüştürmektedir? Bu duygular Türkiye’nin değişen sosyal, siyasi ve ekonomik gündemi içerisinde nasıl farklılaşmaktadır? Bu duygusal pratiklere karşı ne gibi durumlar ortaya çıkmaktadır? Bu ve benzeri sorular minvalinde, bu araştırma Deborah Gould’un kavramsallaştırdığı “duygusal habitus”u incelemektedir. Buradan yola çıkarak heteronormatif toplumsallığın LGBTİ’lere atfettiği çelişen duygu ve hislerin,siyasi hareket ve bu toplumsallığa karşı gelen aktivizmi nasıl desteklediğini ortaya koymaktadır. Onur Haftaları ve Yürüyüşleri duygular ve siyasi aktivizmin arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemek adına odak noktası olarak alınmıştır; çünkü bu etkinlikler duygular ve bu duygular yoluyla oluşan siyasi aktivizmin en belirgin fiziksel sonucunu oluşturmaktadır. Diğer bir neden ise “pride” ve onur’un konvansiyonel olarak birer duygulanım belirtmesidir. Sonuç olarak bu çalışma Türkiye’de henüz yeni gelişmekte olan LGBTİ çalışmaları ve literatürüne; “duygusal habitus”un siyasi hareket oluşumunu anlamakta sağlayabileceği açılımlar ve olasılıkları tartışarak yeni bir perspektif katmayı amaçlamaktadır. ii To those who believe in a future, a future where being is possible iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I first would like to thank to my thesis advisor Ayşe Gül Altınay. I feel the utmost gratitude for her geniune support and sincere perspective for my thesis. She has been an inspiration throughout the process of my thesis. Her academic guidance, patience and constant encouragement, even when I felt the most weak, gave me the strenght first to believe in myself and second to continue this research. I am also, thankful to Ayşe Parla and Sinan Birdal for their intellectual guidance and insightful comments which made it possible for me to create the final version of my thesis. I will always remember their contributions to this thesis through my academic career. This thesis could not have been written without the constant academic and psychological help of Mert Koçak whom I am most thankful to. He has always been there for me with unconditional friendship and support. Also I want to thank to Saliha Akbaş for her generous support and friendship for the last two years, especially in times of difficulty. Besides, I want to thank to Merve Nebioğlu and Nazlı Cabadağ for their inspiring suggestions and guidance throughout my thesis process. Lastly, I am deeply grateful to Buğra for his unconditional love and care. This process has been a lot easier with him, his support and understanding. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION........................................................................................1 1.1. A Brief Overview of The History of LGBTI Movement and Pride Activism in Turkey...3 1.2. Method.............................................................................................................................6 1.2.1. Positionality………………………………………………………………………7 1.3. Theoretical Framework…...............................................................................................9 1.4. Thesis Outline................................................................................................................11 CHAPTER 2: ONUR AND PRIDE...................................................................................13 2.1. “It is just a translation” – Translating Pride into Onur..................................................14 2.2. Cyclical Development of Gay Pride..............................................................................16 2.3. Coining Onur.................................................................................................................18 2.3.1. 10 Years of Silence, 10 Years of Evolution of Pride Weeks................................19 2.3.2. Onur What? ..........................................................................................................21 2.3.3. “Okyanusa Kayıkla Yelken Açmak” – Revival....................................................28 2.4. From Tens to Thousands: Massification.......................................................................32 2.4.1. “2007 was a very bad year”- The Closure Case....................................................33 2.5. Challenges of Pride Activism………………………………………………………….35 2.5.1. Overarching Rainbow: Issue of Banners in Pride Parades ....................................35 2.5.2. Structural Challenges and Debates around Funding………………………….…41 2.5.3. Trans Pride Weeks and Challenges of Trans Pride Activism……….....................46 2.6. Gezi Resistance and Its Impact on 2013 Pride Parade………........................................55 2.7. The First Attack: Spreading Politics, Violent Responses...............................................59 v CHAPTER 3: EMOTIONS AND PRIDE ACTIVISM...................................................61 3.1. What is ‘Emotional Habitus’? - The Subjective Bases of Activism..............................62 3.2. Ambivalent Feelings, Political Possiblities....................................................................70 3.2.1. Fear.......................................................................................................................74 3.2.2. Feelings Emerging from Crowds………………………………………………..80 3.2.3. Joyful Activism....................................................................................................85 3.3. Components of Emotional Habitus of Pride Activism...................................................89 3.3.1. Spatiality..............................................................................................................89 3.3.2. Temporality.........................................................................................................91 3.3.3. Ideology...............................................................................................................93 3.4. Shame and Onur............................................................................................................95