Although its content and quality change from generation to generation, there is an established image of "masculinity" in our society. As far as I can see when it comes to gender in Turkey, being a man in our country is a difficult task. Man, man man, manly man; squeezed into certain patterns, coarsened by primitive social perceptions... In my dear Turkey, a big problem that is buried under laundry, dishes, family and headaches is the difficulty of being a man.
Gender roles are completely determined by society. like parts of a created scenario… The Republican revolutions form the basis of gender equality policies in Turkey and the reforms made during this period… Turkey signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1985… With the amendment made in 2004, the 10th Amendment to the Constitution The phrase "Women and men have equal rights. The state is obliged to ensure that this equality is realized" was added to the article, and a constitutional guarantee was introduced for gender equality. In 2009, the Equal Opportunities Commission for Women and Men was established in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). When we look at the studies carried out, most of them were to protect and protect women, but from whom? Gender roles appear to have transformed into masculinity norms and femininity norms.
According to Zeybekoğlu in his research titled "Being a man in Turkey: The difficulties experienced by university students", men have been oppressed and oppressed like women since the eighties. ; However, it has begun to be accepted that the oppressor is not the role of women, but of men. In Turkey, a number of physical and social facts required for a man to successfully complete the construction of masculinity have become the norm. In his article, Alp Biricik summarizes masculinity in Turkey in a single sentence and defines it as follows: "To be circumcised without crying 'like a man' while taking the first manhood exam, to 'score a goal without breaking a sweat' while having the first sexual experience, and to always maintain this success with pride; "It requires repaying the 'patriotic debt' when the age of military service comes and being both a 'strong man' and a 'loyal' father who earns his living while establishing a nuclear family after military service."
It is understood that masculinity is a concept that is fought for and even deserved. In fact, in all societies, men are generally given a hierarchically superior position. But obtaining this position also comes with some costs. Circumcision, sexuality, military service, getting a job, marriage and starting a family... While acting in accordance with the definition of traditional male behavior, men lose touch with their own emotions and confuse their social masks with their own selves. They are destroying them.
In a country like Turkey, where the majority of the society is Muslim, walls are built in front of every man who is uncircumcised, has homosexual tendencies, is unemployed and cannot marry and start a family, preventing him from reaching hegemonic masculinity. The characteristics attributed to being a good man and the traditional and social expectations from men place a heavy burden on men. In Turkey, masculinity, which has the biggest share from the patriarchal order, grows up with the existing dominant masculine values, internalizes these values, and strives for boys with whom it is in close relationship to experience the same process. It is masculinity that spends. In his study titled Being a man in Turkey: The difficulties experienced by university students, researcher Ok, with a sharp analogy, mentions masculinity as the most harmful of the straitjackets put on human bodies, and states that this identity primarily puts men in an inextricable race.
These concepts of competition and burden manifest themselves with many stereotypes such as men being strong in all situations, appearing strong, and not showing their emotions. In social culture in Turkey, there are expressions related to this such as "keeping your tail up, not letting your bravery go to waste"; There are also proverbs such as "A man earns his living from a stone". The existence of such stereotypes prevents men from expressing themselves as they are. Therefore, what the man has is not power, but actually an illusion of power!
Being a man in this country means carrying a destructive psychology that is prone to violence, like a centipede in a rose garden, and includes the possibility of being considered a maniac at any moment. It means being cautious even when greeting someone of the opposite sex. Being a man is difficult. Compassion in the face of a woman who wants life to flow towards her Men are captive pigeons whose heart beats in the palm of a woman with the innocence of a baby, observing the surroundings with intelligent eyes. It wouldn't be wrong to say this; Men rule the world, and women rule them! It is possible to find countless examples in history to confirm this. It is the story of the man's struggle to regain himself, who diminishes himself for the sake of gaining the admiration of others, abandons his dreams, "being himself", and therefore finally hits the bottom... Women sometimes perceive it as a guarantee of the future, sometimes diluting their masculine identity, in a kind of way under the name of "pure obedience". is the "desolate person" whom he enslaves.
Read: 0
