Women Shaking the Concept of 'Men's Work' in Turkey: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the News Reports
Women Shaking the Concept of 'Men's Work' in Turkey: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the News Reports

Summary/Abstract: This study explores online news discourses characterized by their unique semiotic and textual properties to unveil any discursive exclusionary or inclusionary constructions regarding women's movement to gender-atypical occupations in Turkey. Adopting the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis and macrostructural analysis of discourse (van Dijk, 1980), the study analyses a dataset of online newspapers and news portals on women working in male-dominated occupations to understand how they construct and proliferate a discriminatory or supportive attitude in shaping public attention. The findings reveal that the concept of 'men's work' is challenged in the news reports by an ironical and disbelieving tone to question the occupational gender segregation. A constructive attitude exists by an apparent focus on women's achievements in so-called 'men's work'. With respect to women's perception of their presence in gender-atypical jobs, though they acknowledge some difficulties they face, their confidence in their strength and perseverance is obvious in their narratives with a strong emphasis on keeping their femininity.

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