The Politico-Poetic Representation of Turkish Women in Türk Kadını Magazine (1966–1974)

Abstract

This chapter aims to explore the ways women are represented in the context of 20th century Turkey by analyzing four poems, namely “Türk Kadını” (Turkish Woman), “Anadolu Kadını” (Anatolian Woman), “Kadın–Ana” (Woman-Mother), and “Ayşe,” published in the Türk Kadını magazine in the 1960s. Purposive sampling was used in the selection of the poems, which were later interpreted with the strategies of descriptive content analysis. In these poems, the Turkish woman is being represented and celebrated in at least the following four ways: (1) by being celebrated for combining heroism, goodness, and naturalness; (2) by having her struggle with primitive conditions of life celebrated as yet another form of heroism; (3) by being celebrated as a creative mother of the nation, charged with finding solutions to the problems of the country; (4) by being celebrated as a hardworking daughter of the nation to whom the country owes recognition and support.