Significance of localities, attraction of globalization, finding the way in-between: Hybrid cultural identities of gay men in Turkey

Abstract

This article aims to find out how gay men in Turkey construct their cultural identities under the impact of globalization, global gay culture, and global gay identity. In accordance with this aim, this study questions whether they stick to their local culture, acknowledge the cultural flows enabled by globalization and global gay culture as the way they are, or find a way between these two forming a hybrid cultural identity. Thus, by focusing on the three possible cultural identity formations; cultural differentialism, cultural convergence, and cultural hybridity, that occur as a result of the interplay between cultural identity and global flows, this study conducts semi-structured interviews with fifteen Turkish gay men. The open-ended questions are formed in order to figure out the ways they interpret globalization and global gay culture & identity, whether they are affected by it, and where they situate themselves considering the circumstances of the local and the global culture they experience. Depending on the interviews, this study concludes that gay men in Turkey embrace global gay culture as it generates positive outcomes. However, attaching a great deal of importance to their local and regarding as a way of identifying themselves, they not turn their backs on their local culture. Accordingly, making use of both the local and global while constructing their cultural identities, they regard cultural hybridization as the most plausible way out of such a dilemma.