The Issue of Visibility of Muslim Women's Identity in Public and Private Spaces: A Study on Gerçek Hayat Magazine (2001-2003) Cover Image

Kamusal ve Özel Alanda Müslüman Kadın Kimliğinin Görünürlük Meselesi: Gerçek Hayat Dergisi (2001-2003) Üzerinden Bir İnceleme
The Issue of Visibility of Muslim Women's Identity in Public and Private Spaces: A Study on Gerçek Hayat Magazine (2001-2003)

Author(s): Cansu KAYA
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Gender history, Social development, Social Theory, Sociology of Culture, Sociology of Politics, Identity of Collectives
Published by: SD Yayınevi
Keywords: public sphere; Gerçek Hayat; identity of Muslim women; visibility;

Summary/Abstract: A distinction has been introduced into the state of coexistence in the society we live in, public and private. The public sphere, where the culture of pluralism is defined politically, is the space where individuals meet on an equal basis with others, express their ideas and act freely. The private sphere, on the other hand, is a narrower framework that is more non-political, unselected, and in which given identities persist (such as family). In Turkey, in line with different political actors and decisions, the issue of what belongs to the private and public sphere is highly controversial. Westernization, which started especially in the Ottoman Empire and became a policy of existence in the Republic, affected the visibility and non-existence of many actors in the public and private spheres. One of the actors mentioned here is the identity of women and Muslim women. Women and Muslims Women are a type of identity that demands visibility in the public sphere, but continues to be built with changing political actors. Gerçek Hayat magazine is one of the Islamist-conservative and critical publications that describes how this fiction reflects on Muslim women identity. It presented ideas on how to make a Muslim woman visible or invisible through issues such as the place of a Muslim woman wearing a hijab in public, the importance of a mother woman in raising children, and the obedience of a wife woman to her husband.

  • Issue Year: 7/2023
  • Issue No: 30
  • Page Range: 196-211
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Turkish