Research Question: How has the treatment of Turkish trans women, their place in society and their fight for rights been impacted by Turkey’s unstable and conservative political climate?

Turkey is a country that has a culture that has been uniquely affected by both the East and the West due to its geographical location. This merging of different cultures as well as Islamic religious values has created the traditional Turkish values that influence Turkish society currently. Conservatism in the recent years have increased in popularity as political shift continue happening in the country which has led to opposing sides and political instability. The effects of this can be seen in society as well as on people, especially the people in marginal communities.
Queer people in Turkey have faced discrimination and have been outcasted from society, especially trans women. This unfair treatment has led to queer liberation movements as well as the need for safe spaces. These have caused them to have a unique outlook on their own identity because of the overly political and conservative society. This paper will be focusing on transness and what it means to be trans in a conservative society by focusing on the fight of Turkish trans women for rights within an unstable political climate.

Important political movements that have affected the queer community

Turkey is a country where political discourse strongly politicizes human rights and civil society which especially has effects on marginalized communities (Muehlenhoff, 2018). To explain this politicization and the way queer people especially trans people have been a part of these political changes and events will be explored. Important political movements and protests that have happened in the last 50 years include the Gezi Park protests and the 1980 coup.
The 1980 coup shows an example of how political instability in Turkey has caused harm to the queer community and targeted trans women. The military coup overall was an event that completely transformed the political and socio-economic state of Turkey which influenced everyone’s lives even years after the event. During the coup “men appearing in women’s cloths” were banned from stages as entertainers which was one of the biggest sectors that trans women and gay men made their living (Göktaş, 2018). During this political shift, trans women were heavily focused on and their ways of living life were limited, discrimination was at an all-time high and the decisions taken against their rights have long lasting impacts. Trans women were taken away from the city center of Istanbul and sent to uninhabited places, they were arrested and held under custody; tortured and humiliated (Göktaş, 2018). This treatment that trans woman suffered through during the coup shows how changing political leaders and political instability affect trans women’s’ space in entertainment and sex work as well as their treatment in society overall (Göktaş, 2018).

Differently, Gezi Park protests led to cooperation between different minority communities to protect a park that was being destroyed by the government in 2013. This cooperation made it possible for the queer movement and activists to voice concerns about the agendas of political parties, as well as demand recognition and acceptance for their movement at the civic level (Çetin, 2016). LGBT visibility during the protest reached a high point, as the community was able to create connections with other minority identity groups under a common cause as they leaned on to each other for support during the protests. The community was also able to garner sympathy and acceptance from the general public as they offered a helping hand to people being attacked by the police inviting them into their homes and giving them shelter (Ünan, 2015). The overall view on queer activists were affected positively as people were able to realize that they are also humans and who were also fighting for similar reasons against a common enemy. These political events have changed and shifted society’s view on queer people as well as activist’s place, nevertheless, the fight for queer rights continue in the country.

Queer rights and activism

Turkey has never criminalized LGBT identities; however, they are still heavily discriminated against in society and Turkey has been reported to have the highest rate of trans-murder than anywhere else in Europe and 520 incident of hate crimes against trans people have been reported by The Red Umbrella Sexual Health and Human Rights Association (Sansal, 1970). However, these statistics has not led to any laws being established to protect individuals against discrimination deeming discrimination of LGBT individuals as moral and even legal, hiding behind the ideas of honor and custom. That is why LGBT organizations has taken the political role of constituting LGBT individuals as subjects with rights and calling out their harassment (Muehlenhoff, 2018).
Through the years specifically trans women have been discriminated against heavily and have been subjected to legal practices excluding them from society. They were targets of the law in the form of police surveillance, fines, trials and arrests as documented in reports by LGBTI and sex worker organizations which basically made trans people’s lives administratively impossible (Taşcıoğlu, 2020). Trans sex workers were pushed to the limits of the law with no recognition and were essentially left to informal patterns of enforcement that increased the police brutality in the community (Taşcıoğlu, 2020). They were hyper-focused on by the government and police enforcement however they were still invisible to society as their voices were never heard. They were routinely and legally excluded from public spaces and silenced.

This unfair treatment of trans women especially ones who were sex workers, and the increasing police brutality against them was the catalyst of LGBT activism in the late 1980s and 1990s (Ünan, 2015). Going back to the example of Gezi Park protests where activist came together, and they went on a hunger strike which was one of the first time there were organized protests to fight for rights and is currently seen as a turning point in the contemporary queer movement in Turkey (Çetin, 2016). This was followed by the creation of LGBT organizations such as KaosGL (1994, Ankara), Lambda Istanbul (1993), the Black Pink Triangle (2009, İzmir), and SPoD (2011, İstanbul) (Ünan, 2015).

Identity construction of trans women

The expectations that are put on young boys and their masculinity force them to live their lives and present themselves according to traditional gender roles. Not conforming to these expectations and gender roles leads them to be viewed in society as a threat to cultural norms and so they are met with prejudice and humiliation. Masculinity is expected from men and is seen as a status symbol since masculinity demands respect and is associated with characteristics such as being emotionally and physically tough and self-reliant which is why people may interpret trans women’s femininity as a symbolically ‘giving up’ their power in society (Türkoğlu & Sayılan, 2021). This non-conforming to societal roles is a big reason for discrimination against trans women in society and is also what causes them to produce their own identity by creating their own culture in response to the norms that were enforced on them (Demir, 2017).
Another common struggle trans women face is how their bodies become important their whole lives with the objectification they face as well as the things expected from them such as gender affirming surgeries or hormones which reduce their identity to only a body. After dealing with dysphoria from a young age, the ones that decide to transition are then faced with other expectations and roles to fulfill. Passing is a big concept in their transition as it is seen as the end goal of people who identify as trans. Additionally, trans women who "complete" their transition by getting gender-affirmation surgeries and receive the pink ID card officially stating that they are "women," are seen in the group as to be ahead of others as they are now legally recognized as women (Göktaş, 2018). The fact that only getting the gender affirmation surgeries and altering their bodies that society expects them to do will get them to be recognized in their identity shows the heavy emphasis on their bodies.

Additionally, their identity is politicized a lot especially living in a conservative country that has Islamic values and is politically unstable as previously mentioned. The politics of Islam LGBT identity can be shown by how the Muslim culture and LGBT identities clash. As existing as a queer person challenges the fundamental values of Islam as their identities and experiences are located at the intersection of these apparently exclusive cultures (Rahman, 2015). Them already being non-compliant to society and societal roles that were defined for them cause them to have an identity that is disobedient and courageous, ready to confront and struggle.

Queer communication, sex work and safe spaces

There are countless stories of trans women who were forced to do sex work due to discrimination in employment and they have narrated their efforts to find jobs and the abuse they encountered as well as the discrimination (Taşcıoğlu, 2016). While they struggled doing sex work, they had each other to rely on and prostitution houses became a safe space where they could see each other as a family.

Prostitution houses became a way for them to interact with other transvestites and allowed for the transmission of the construction of trans identity from elderly trans women to younger generations (Taşcıoğlu, 2016). They share their life stories and bond over being struggling human beings who share a common identity as they are living under the same narratives of violence and survival. (Taşcıoğlu, 2016). Their search for a space that allows them to be themselves and express their gender identity was resolved only as they left their family and towns behind (Taşcıoğlu, 2016). This shows how living in a communal life with other trans people who have strong ties with each other led them to find comfort in each other’s company as they share a common identity which pain and suffering unfortunately play a big role in.

Throughout all the pain in their lives many of them had a positive outlook that they used as a shield from the violence in their lives, which they called “gullüm” (Taşcıoğlu, 2016). Its direct meaning is “laughing and having fun” and they used it as a motto which helped them separate themselves from the harm inflicted on their body and mind. The word belongs to lubunca which is a language spoken by trans women and gay sex workers in Turkey. Being shunned from society and needing to communicate with one another has led to the creation of this unique language belonging to them. The words in the language are Turkish mixed with some foreign languages, primarily Roma, since they have also been outcasted from Turkish society meaning that they live in the same neighborhoods (Mortada, 2015). The need of a different language to communicate in the sex workspace, laments their status as a community formed after being outcasted from society.

In conclusion, this paper has provided insight on how the trans identity was affected by the political atmosphere by showing the discrimination they face in society as well as the coping strategies they have used against it. The suffering embedded into the trans identity and the support networks they have created based on sharing their struggles as well as how political instability has affected these networks were discussed.

Trans women and their fight for rights in a conservative society while facing increasingly tougher discrimination and police brutality has influenced many other movements in Turkey. They are a community that has had to fight for every opportunity, every right, and their fight continues every day.

References:
Demir, S. T. (2017). Watching marginal bodies: Representation of the transgender identity on Turkish media. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 13(14), 45. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2017.v13n14p45
Duyan, Y. (2022). From sacrificing sister to Star sister: The history of queer celebrity in Turkey. Celebrity Studies, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2022.2140565
Göktaş, H. (2018). Identity Construction of Trans Women in Turkey. Sabanci University Research Database.
Güler, E. (2020). A divided sisterhood: Support Networks of Trans Sex Workers in urban Turkey. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 689(1), 149–167. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716220919745
Mortada, D. (2015, January 14). The secret language of Turkey's LGBT community. The World from PRX. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://theworld.org/stories/2015-01-14/world-full-secret-languages-one-used-turkeys-lgbt-community
Muehlenhoff, H. L. (2018). Neoliberal governmentality and the (de)politicisation of LGBT rights: The case of the european union in Turkey. Politics, 39(2), 202–217. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263395718770890
Rahman, M. (2015, April 2). The politics of LGBT Muslim identities. E. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://www.e-ir.info/2015/04/02/the-politics-of-lgbt-muslim-identities/
Sansal, B. (1970, January 1). LGBTQ rights in Turkey: Do not touch my body! SpringerLink. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-57476-5_7
Taşcıoğlu, E. (2020). States of exception: Legal governance of Trans Women in Urban Turkey. Social & Legal Studies, 30(3), 384–404. https://doi.org/10.1177/0964663920924780
Taşcıoğlu, E. E. (2016, January 6). 'I lived and learned': Violence, survival and knowledge in trans women's lives in Turkey. SSRN. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2700226
Türkoğlu, B., & Sayılan, G. (2021). How is masculinity ideology related to transprejudice in Turkey: The mediatory effect of Femmephobia. Psychology & Sexuality, 13(1), 86–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2020.1870541
Çetin, Z. (2016, January 1). The dynamics of the Queer Movement in Turkey before and during the conservative AKP Government. The Dynamics of the Queer Movement in Turkey before and during the Conservative AKP Government. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://www.academia.edu/20220550/The_Dynamics_of_the_Queer_Movement_in_Turkey_before_and_during_the_Conservative_AKP_Government
Ünan, A. D. (2015). Gezi protests and the LGBT Rights Movement: A relation in motion. Creativity and Humour in Occupy Movements, 75–94. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137473639_5
Photo:
https://www.diken.com.tr/lgbti-dernekleri-trans-cinayetleri-politiktir/