Beauty is nothing to be ashamed of: Beauty contests as tools of women's liberation in early Republican Turkey

Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East

Volumn 24, Issue 1, 2004, Pages 107-122

  Shissler, A Holly ^a  

^a NONE

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WOMENS STATUS;

EID: 15044363307     PISSN: 1089201X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1215/1089201x-24-1-109     Document Type: Article

References (111)

1. A note on the spelling of Turkish words: The Garamond front employed by CSSAAME is unable to properly represent the Turkish characters 'soft g,' 's cedilla,' and uppercase 'dotted I.' Faced with this technical limitation and in order to comply with the requirements of the journal, the author has adopted the following expedient. Standard modern Turkish orthography has been employed where possible, but the character 'soft g' is represented as 'gh' and the character's cedilla' as 'sh.' Uppercase 'dotted I' appears simply as a standard English uppercase 'I.'
2. Susan Brownmiller, Femininity (New York: Linden, 1984), 24,
3. Angela J. Latham, "Packaging Women: The Concurrent Rise of Beauty Pageants, Public Bathing, and Other Performances of Female 'Nudity,"' Journal of Popular Culture 29 (Winter 1995), 160.
4. For detailed histories of the Miss America pageant, see Frank Deford, There She Is: The life and Times of Miss America (New York: Viking, 1971),
5. and Armando Riverol, Live from Atlantic City (Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1992). For background on beauty contests in the United States more generally, and on their social context.
6. see Lois W Banner, American Beauty (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983);
7. Latham AJ, "Packaging Women"; and "Revues and Other Vanities: The Commodification of Fantasy in the 1920s," (22 June 2004).
8. There were earlier attempts in the 1880s, at Rehoboth Beach in the United States and at Spa in Belgium, but neither attempt took hold or was followed up on until the 1920s. See Hermann Schäfer and Rainer Eckert, Miss Germany, (22 June 2004).
9. In Galveston, Texas, the first International Pulchritude Contest took place in 1926, awarding its winner the tide "Miss Universe." "Revues and Other Vanities: The Commodification of Fantasy in the 1920s," (22 June 2004).
10. This trend was so controversial that in some places, like Chicago, it led to modesty monitors patrolling the beaches, and to arrests of those perceived as breaking the boundaries of decorum. See Latham AJ, "Packaging Women," 150ff.
11. My account of the Miss Nippon contest and its social context is based entirely on Jennifer Robertson, "Japan's First Cyborg? Miss Nippon, Eugenics and Wartime Technologies of Beauty, Body and Blood," Body and Society 7:1 (March 2001): 1-34.
12. Robertson, "Japan's First Cyborg," 3.
13. Robertson J, "Japan's First Cyborg," 1 and 11-24.
14. Robertson J, "Japan's First Cyborg," 20.
15. Robertson J, "Japan's First Cyborg," 9.
16. "Ayni sheyi biz niçin yapmiyalim?" Cumhuriyet (4 February 1929), 1.
17. "Türkiye güzelinin beynelmilel müsabakaya ishtirakini temine Cumhuriyet önayak olacak," Cumhuriyet (5 February 1929), 1.
18. "Türkiyanin [sic] en güzel kadini kimdir?" Cumhuriyet (6 February 1929), 1.
19. "Her genç kiz müsabakamiza ishtirak edebilir," Cumhuriyet (11 February 1929), 1.
20. "Yarindan itibaren resimleri neshtedeceghiz," Cumhurieyet (6 March 1929), 1.
21. "Bugün itibaren resimleri neshre bashliyoruz," Cumhuriyet (7 March 1929), 1.
22. See coverage in Cumhuriyet: "Resimler deghil, kuponlar saklanacktir," (29 March 1929), 1;
23. "Güzeller hazirladightmiz supriz, onlarinsinemalarini çektirerek bir filim yaptirmaktatir," (9 April 1929), 1-2;
24. "Hakem heyeti hakkinda bir mektup." (3 June 1929), 1.
25. "Türkiye güzellik kraliçesi intihap edildi," Cumhuriyet (3 September 1929), 1-2.
26. Güzellik balomuz dün aksham verildi ve 20 güzel intihap olundu," Cumhuriyet, (10 January 1930), 1 and 4.
27. See coverage in Cumhuriyet: "Kraliçe bugün intihap ediliyor" (12 January 1930), 1;
28. "Güzellik Kraliçesi nasil intihap edildi," (13 January 1930), 1.
29. "Kraliçe hareket ederken...," Cumhuriyet (30 January 1930), 1.
30. See coverage in Cumhuriyet: "Avrupa güzellik kiralicesighi [sic] tacini. kim giyecek?" (5 February 1930), 1 and 6;
31. "Yunan güzeli nasil kazandi" (10 February 1930), 1 and 4;
32. "Miss Avrupa intihabinin iç yüzünü naklediyoruz" (15 February 1930), 1-2;
33. "Yunan güzeli hakkinda rakibeleri olan digher güzellerin söyledikleri" (6 March 1930), 1 and 6.
34. "Kraliçe bugün intihap edilecek," Cumhuriyet (5 February 1930), 1 and 4
35. and "Mübeccel Hanim Amerika'da yapilacak güzellik müsabakasina ishtirake davet edildi," Cumhuriyet, (2 July 1930), 1.
36. See coverage in Cumhuriyet: "Müsamere pek parlak oldu, güzeller alkishlandi," (16 January 1931), 1;
37. "Nashide Saffet H. 931 kraliçesi oldu," (19 January 1931), 1-2;
38. "Kraliçe bu sabah Istanbula geliyor," (7 April 1931), 1.
39. See coverage in Cumhuriyet: "Güzellik müsabakasi tehir edildi," (18 January 1932), 1-2;
40. "Bu sene Avrupa güzellik müsabakasina ishtirak etmiyoruz" (22 January 1932), 1;
41. "Dunya güzeli kim olacak?" (27 March 1932), 1;
42. "Kralice geçerken..." (14 July 1932), 1;
43. "Türkiye güzeli Keriman Halis H. dünya kraliçesi intihap edildi" (1 August 1932), 1 and 6.
44. In 1932, when the newspaper was encountering great difficulties in getting women to enter the contest, a five hundred lira prize, a large sum at the time, was offered for the first time, and lists of gifts promised by various commercial establishments were also listed as enticements. See "Kraliçe 2 temmuzda intihap edileck," Cumhuriyet (26 June 1932), 1.
45. The female form does not figure prominently in advertising in Cumhuriyet at this time; one sees the occasional line drawing of a pretty young woman promoting vacuum cleaners from time to time on the advertising pages, but not much more. This began to change gradually in 1932 as one or two foreign firms began to use rather seductive drawings of women to advertise women's undergarments and formal dresses.
46. "Türk güzelinin zaferi," Cumhuriyet (8 April 1931), 1 and 3.
47. "Güzellik müsabakamiz," Cumhuriyet (3 September 1929), 1-2.
48. "Nüfus ishimiz," üUlkü, May 1936, 205-9, and "Bekarlik vergisi için meclise bit lâyiha verildi," Cumhuriyet (19 Mardi 1929), 1.
49. "Türk kadini," Cumhuriyet (4 February 1929), 3. This is the same issue that opens the question of holding a beauty contest in Turkey for the first time.
50. "Güzellik müsabakasi: revü-15-tablo," Cumhuriyet (20 February 1930), 2.
51. "Kadin tayyareci," Cumhuriyet (5 February 1929), 1
52. and "Ilk shoförün anlattiklarin," Cumhuriyet (17 January 1930), 1.
53. See, for example, coverage of the royal couple's visit to Turkey, with pictures of the queen in chic European-style clothing; photographs of six beauty queens appeared on the same page: "Kral ve Kraliçe yarin shehrimize geliyor," Cumhuriyet (7 September 1929), 1.
54. "Efgan krah istifaya niçin mecbut kaldi?" Cumhuriyet (17 January 1929), 1-2.
55. "Kral tayyare ile kandehare gitti, orada teshkilat yapacak," Cumhuriyet (18 January 1929), 1-2.
56. "Kadinlara laf atanlar derhal tevkif edilecek," Cumhuriyet (10 September 1929), 1.
57. "Güzellik ittihar edilecek sheydir," Cumhuriyet (26 February 1929), 1 and 3.
58. See, for example, "Resim neshrettirmedende girebilirsiniz," Cumhuriyet (12 January 1931), 1 and 4.
59. "Kraliçe çok mes'udum, çok memnunum diyor," Cumhuriyet (19 January 1931), 1-2.
60. "Güzellik müsabekasi etrafinda dedikodu," Cumhuriyet (21 January 1931), 1-2.
61. See also "1931 senesi Türk güzeli," Cumhuriyet (21 January 1931), 1 and 3
62. and "Maarif vekili Esat b.f. beyanatini tavzih etti," Cumhuriyet (27 January 1931), 1 and 3.
63. "Ayiptir efendiler: bir ailenin harimine kalem uzatilamaz," Cumhuriyet, (6 August 1932), 1;
64. and "Son dedikodular ve Keriman Hanimin annesi," Cumhuriyet (7 August 1932), 1 and 4.
65. "Deniz bile onlari görmek için yakinlashiyordu," Cumhuriyet (12 August 1932), 1 and 4.
66. See articles in Cumhuriyet on 4, 12, 14, 18, and especially 20 August 1932.
67. "Dunya güzeli mayo ile gezmish deghildir," Cumhuriyet (18 August 1932), 1.
68. "En büyük Türk inkilabi kadinin serbestidir," Cumhuriyet (29 August 1932), 2.
69. "Mübeccel H. evlendi," Cumhuriyet (16 May 1932), 1.
70. "Bana sorarsaniz: namusun manasi nedir?" Cumhuriyet (11 April 1930), 2.
71. In 1931 and 1932 respectively the Turkish History Society and the Turkish Language Society were founded with the aim of a promoting a nationalist ideology and cultural cohesion.
72. "20 bin kishi dün gece karlçeyi alkishladi" and "Tarih kongrsi münasebetile," Cumhuriyet (8 July 1932), 1 and 5.
73. See for example, Cumhuriyet: "Kadinlarin mitingi," (12 April 1930), 1 and 5
74. and "Beyhan Hanim dün ilk defa mahkemeye çikti," (3 May 1930), 1.
75. "Millet mektepleri bugün merasimle açilacak," Cumhuriyet (1 January 1929), 1.
76. "Bu Sene 250 bin kishi okuma öghrenecek," Cumhuriyet (10 January 1929), 1.
77. Yunus Nadi, "Ev kadini, hayat kadini?" Cumhuriyet (20 June 1932), 1-2.
78. For example, see Cumhuriyet: "Münevver bir kizimiz," (2 June 1930), 1;
79. "Paris'te bir Türk Hanimi," (2 Mardi 1932), 1;
80. "Bir Türk kizin muvafakiyeti," (9 March 1932), 1.
81. See, for example, Cumhuriyet: "Sepet, çicek ve shapkacilik," (22 July 1929), 1;
82. "Istikbal dikish mektebinden mezun olanlar," (8 February 1929), 3;
83. "Ankara'da icra edilen Ticaret Mektebi stenograf talebesi ve muallinileri," (2 March 1929), 1;
84. "Berberler mektebi açidi," (16 November 1929), 1.
85. "Bir shafkatyuvasi," Cumhuriye, (5 January 1931), 3.
86. See Cumhuriyet: "Günde 18,000,000 sigara" (8 July 1930), 3;
87. "Bu Muhim ticaret shübesi ehemiyeti bir durgunluk içindedir" (11 March 1930) 3;
88. "Memlekette ispirto ve içki sanayii teessüs etti" (29 June 1931), 4.
89. See coverage in Cumhuriyet on 6, 7, 8, and 11 February 1929; 16 January 1932.
90. See, for example, the front page of Cumhuriyet on 21 January 1932.
91. In Menemen, a town near Izmir, a dervish led a demonstration demanding the return of the caliphate. When a local policeman showed up, the enraged crowd beheaded him, then paraded the severed head around on a pike.
92. See, for example, coverage in Cumhuriyet on 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 20 January and 1, 2, 12 February 1931. Other days the photographic contrasts were not as drastic, but the same content appeared in close proximity. See, for example, frontpage stories of 6, 8, 10, 11, 14,16-18, 21, 22, and 30 January 1931.
93. "Güzellik ayip bir shey deghil," Cumhuriyet (13 January 1930), 1 and 4.
94. Sabiha Sertel was a distinguished leftist journalist and the wife of another well-known leftist journalist, Zekeriya Sertel. See "Bana sorarsniz: eve erkeghi olmak istiyen 1000 delikanliya, ve rehberleri Va. Nu. Beye," Cumhuriyet (2 June 1930), 2. A column with this same byline (i.e., Cici Anne) written by Sabiha Sertel was also published in this period in the Istanbul monthly Resimli Ay, which the Sertels founded and edited. See Cemile Kahraman, " Resimli Ay'in hikkayesi," (August 2003).
95. "Bana sorarsaniz: genç bir kiz neden izdivaç teklif edemez," Cumhuriyet (11 March 1930), 2.
96. "Bana sorarsaniz: kadin mi zavalli [sic] erkek mi?" Cumhuriyet (4 March 1930), 2.
97. "Bana sorarsaniz: kadin erkeghin hayatina niçin müdahale edemez?" Cumhuriyet (13 February 1930), 2.
98. See cartoons in Cumhuriyet on 18 March 1930, 11 April 1930, and 22 January 1932, respectively.
99. For a modest sample of the frequency and variety of these stories see the following in Cumhuriyet. "Madam Elena dün muhakeme edildi," (6 March 1929), 1;
100. "Bir genç kiz intihar etti," (4 November 1929), 1 and 4;
101. Aliye Hanim aghircezada," (22 September 1929), 1 and 4;
102. "Aliye Hanim aghircezada," (22 September 1929), 1 and 4;
103. "Metresini bogan inekcinin muhakemesi," (24 January 1930), 1;
104. "Maznun ve yalanci shahit hanimlar mahkemede," (3 April 1930), 3;
105. "Zevcesini öldüren Hakki B. tevkif edildi," (13 January 1931), 1;
106. "Izmir'de kalbi üzerine atesh ederek intihar eden genç kiz kimdir?" (8 March 1931), 1 and 4;
107. "Fuhsha teshvik," (9 June 1931), 1;
108. "Shevket B.'in idami istendi," (4 January 1932), 1 and 7.
109. "Shishli'de geçen ashk macerasinin muhakemesi," Cumhuriyet (3 May 1930), 1 and 6. It is interesting to note that the paper carries a story on the same page about the first appearance in court of the Republic's first female judge.
110. Sarah Banet-Weiser, The Most Beautiful Girl in the World: Beauty Pageants and National Identity (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999), 60-62. See Chapter One more generally for a discussion of "respectabilityin the Miss America Pageant.
111. "Bana sorarsaniz: kadin dishi ve iptidaî bir mahlûk mudur?" Cumhuriyet (9 April 1930), 2.