Description
Given the global context of transformations of and contestations around gender norms, this ongoing research project aims to contribute local everyday perspectives from Turkey to the transdisciplinary field of gender studies. I investigate how gender norm attitudes relate to broader societal structures of belief or, in other words, on what ideological grounds certain gender norms are being reproduced, adopted or rejected in everyday life. My overarching research question is: To what extent and in which ways do which systems of belief function as a discursive source of legitimacy in the making of gender norms in contemporary Turkish society? Following a social-constructivist lens, I explore this question empirically through a qualitative study of Turkish young couples’ gender norm attitudes, primarily building on semi-structured in-depth interviews. Empirically, I follow the question: How do people negotiate gender norms in conversation with me and with their partners? What systems of belief do people reference when justifying their support for or opposition to certain gender norms? Analytically, I particularly focus on the role of religious ideology as a source of legitimacy in the (re)production and transformation of gender norms. Thus, further to refining global theories of norm contestation, this project also contributes to literature at the intersection of religion and gender.
