Talk:
\n\u201cThe LGBT Movement in Turkey, 1980-2020: Applying a Heteronational Matrix Analysis\u201d<\/p>\n
by
\nCaner Hazar, Ph.D.
\nDepartment of Sociology
\nUniversity of Connecticut (UConn)
\ncaner.hazar@uconn.edu<\/p>\n
Wednesday, December 8, 2021, 12:30-14:00 p.m., A-130 (FEASS Building)<\/p>\n
Abstract:<\/p>\n
In this talk, I explore the question: what national dynamics influence the strategies and actions of LGBT activists in the Turkish context? I analyze how shifts within the state and Turkey affect the forms that LGBT activism takes in three periods \u2013 in the 1980s and 1990s, in the 2000s and since 2010, respectively. I draw on semi-structured interviews with 36 activists from 6 cities in Turkey. I also benefit from my knowledge as a participant in the LGBT activist community in Istanbul from 2009 to 2012. I introduce a \u201cheteronational matrix\u201d perspective to explore how gender and sexualities are dynamically woven into the symbolic and material construction of the nation and influence LGBT activist strategies as the national political context changes over time. First, I show that trans activists and LGBT activists started to develop different activist discourses \u2013 counter and critical interpretative logics \u2013 in interaction with societal exclusion, public health, public morality and national security discourses in the 1980s and 1990s. In the 2000s, LGBT activists fully developed a holistic gender perspective, recognizing gender as shaped by ethnic, religious, and political dynamics in the country, and by the same token, they viewed the gender issue as a concern not limited to the LGBTs. This perspective also did not rely on being recognized by the state in the state\u2019s terms \u2013 arguably because the state had an unofficial policy of silence regarding LGBTs. Last, I explore new emergent tensions between the grassroots LGBT activists, global LGBT politics, the state and the European Union (EU) in the 2010s, defined by developments such as the new constitution-making process, efforts to harmonize Turkey\u2019s social policy with the EU social policy framework, Gezi protests, and the departure from the state\u2019s unofficial policy of silence regarding LGBT activism.<\/p>\n
Short Bio:<\/p>\n
Caner Hazar received Ph.D. and Master\u2019s degrees in Sociology from the University of Connecticut (UConn) and a Master\u2019s degree in Women\u2019s Studies from Istanbul University. His research interests are social movements, historical dynamics of nations and states, LGBT and gender politics. He has been awarded a Seal of Excellence by the European Commission and won the \u015eirin Tekeli Research Award and the Dicle Ko\u011fac\u0131o\u011flu Article Award of Sabanc\u0131 University Gender and Women\u2019s Studies Center of Excellence (SU Gender).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Talk: \u201cThe LGBT Movement in Turkey, 1980-2020: Applying a Heteronational Matrix Analysis\u201d by Caner Hazar, Ph.D. Department of Sociology University of Connecticut (UConn) caner.hazar@uconn.edu Wednesday, December 8, 2021, 12:30-14:00 p.m., A-130 (FEASS Building) Abstract: In this talk, I explore the question: what national dynamics influence the strategies and actions of [\u2026] <\/p>\n