Tenuous boundaries: Women, domesticity and nationhood in 1930s Turkey

Journal of Architecture

Volumn 7, Issue 3, 2002, Pages 229-244

  Baydar, Gülsüm ^a  

^a BILKENT UNIVERSITY   (Turkey)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 33749418716     PISSN: 13602365     EISSN: 14664410     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/13602360210155429     Document Type: Review

References (37)

1. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, 'Displacement and the discourse of woman' in Displacement: Derrida and After (Bloomingron, Indiana University Press, 1983), p. 169
2. The term Kemalist refers to Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic in 1923
3. For an extensive explanation see, Afife Batur, 'To be modern: search for a republican architecture' in Renata Holod and Ahmet Evin (eds.), Modern Turkish Architecture (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984), pp. 68-93
4. For a critical account of the period see, Yeşim Arat, 'The project of modernity and women in Turkey' in Sibel Bozdogǎn and Reşat Kasaba (eds.), Rethinking Modernity and National Identity in Turkey (Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1997), pp. 95-112
5. Sibel Bozdoǧan, Modernism and Nation Building: Turkish Architectural Culture in the Early Republic (Seattle, University of Washington Press, 2001)
6. While Bozdoǧan too acknowledges this point, her emphasis remains on the progressive aspects of the reforms
7. In what follows I focus solely on urban architecture. The promotion of modern architecture in rural areas in relation to the status of rural women is a significant topic yet to be researched. However, the Republican reforms remained a remote ideal for the vast majority of rural women. See, Deniz Kandiyoti, 'Gendering the modern' in Bozdoǧan and Kasaba, Rethinking Modernity, op. cit., p. 125
8. I borrow the term 'dominant fiction' from Kaja Silverman, which is what passes for reality in a given society. See Kaja Silverman, The Threshold of the Visible World (London, Routledge, 1996), p. 178
9. 'Yatak Odalarimizi Sade Yapalim' (Let's make our bedrooms simple), Yedigün 53 (14 March 1934): 13. Yedigün was a richly illustrated weekly journal, which included a broad range of articles including politics, sports, childrearing, literature, fashion and architecture. Like other popular journals that I cite below, its aim was to educate the public along Republican ideals
10. The correspondence of terms that describe modern architecture and modern woman is also mentioned in Bozdoǧan, Modernism and Nation Building, op. cit., p. 80
11. 'Aşk ve Kiskançlik İçin ne Söylemiş ler" (What has been said about love and jealousy), Resimli Ay 23 (January 1938): pp. 78-9. In terms of its editorial intentions Resimli Ay was similar to Yedigün. It was a monthly publication, with particular focus on literary topics
12. Sue Best, 'Sexualizing space' in Elizabeth Grosz and Elspeth Probyn, (eds.), Sexy Bodies (London, Routledge, 1995), p. 183
13. Celal Esat, Yeni Mimar (Istanbul, Agah Sabri Kitaphanesi, 1931)
14. 'Ev Nedir ve Bir Ev Nasil Kurulmali?' [What is a house and how should a house be set up?], Modern Türkiye Mecmuasi, 2 (1938): pp. 16-17. Although the article bears no signature, both its tone and vocabulary strongly suggest that it is written by an architect. Since the majority of the architects and almost all of those who wrote on architecture at that time were male, I will use 'he' to refer to the author. Although the journal often featured architectural topics, it included a broad range of articles on almost all aspects of everyday life in Republican Turkey
15. Yeşim Arat, 'The project of modernity and women in Turkey' op. cit., p. 105
16. Furthermore, 'the guestroom' has a long tradition in middle and upper middle class houses in Turkey. It is the room that contains the most valuable furnishings and is only used upon the arrival of guests. In fact 'What is a house and how should a house be set up?' begins by criticising that Turkish families think of the guestroom before their own comfort when they set up a house, as their priority is 'to show off to friends and acquaintances.' As Turkish architectural discourse and practice of the 1930s indicate, there had been a considerable change in the architecture of the modern house in relation to the guest. Emphasising that modern living had externalised many activities, such as large gatherings and work-related meetings that previously took place at home, one architect stated that 'the guest room is an unnecessary luxury for our present needs'. (Abdullah Ziya, 'Binanin İçinde Mimar' (The Architect in the Building), Mimar 1 (1931): p. 15
17. This interpretation draws from the psychoanalytic account of man 'having' versus woman 'being' the phallus. For an extensive explanation, see Judith Butler, Gender Trouble (New York, Routledge, 1990), pp. 43-47
18. Sibel Bozdoǧan draws attention to this paradox in Modernism and Nation Building, op. cit., p. 197. Here I am interested in the mechanisms that suppress it
19. Speech given in İnebolu on 28 August 1925, published in M. Rauf İnan, Atatürk ve Türk Kadini (Atatürk and the Turkish Woman) (İstanbul, Arkin Kitabevi, 1991), p. 52
20. This point is elaborated in Sue Best, 'Sexualizing space' op. cit., p. 183
21. Speech given on 14 October 1925, at Women's School of Education in İzmir. Atatürk ve Türk Kadini, op. cit., pp. 54-5
22. Quoted in Ayşe Durakbaşa, 'Cumhuriyet Döneminde Modern Kadin ve Erkek Kimliklerinin Oluşumu: Kemalist Kadin Kimliǧi ve "Münevver Erkekler"' [The formation of identities of modern women and men in the Republican period: the identity of the Kemalist woman and 'enlightened men'] in Ayşe B. Hacimirzaoǧlu, (ed.), 75 Yilda Kadinlar ve Erkekler [Women and Men in 75 Years] (Istanbul, Tarih Vakfi, 1998), p. 46
23. For the emphasis on the maternal qualities of modern Turkish women in the nationalist discourse also see: Yeşim Arat, 'The project of modernity and women in Turkey' and Deniz Kandiyoti, 'Gendering the modern' op. cit., pp. 95-112, 113-132
24. Hikmet Feridun, 'Erkeklere Yasak Olan Bir Yer: Genç Kizlar Kampi' (A forbidden place for men: youth camp for girls) Yedigün 6/131 (11 September 1935): pp. 14-15
25. 'Liseli Kizlarimizin Sihhati' (The health of our highschool girls), Muhit, 4/38 (December 1931): pp. 52-3
26. The anonymous author states that he summarises the views of a doctor published in Good Housekeeping. 'Genç Kizlarimiza Takayyütler' (Precautionary measures for our young girls), Muhit, 3/31 (May 1931): pp. 44-5
27. See, 'Cumhuriyet Döneminde Modern Kadin ve Erkek Kimliklerinin Oluşumu: Kemalist Kadin Kimliǧi ve "Münevver Erkekler"' [The formation of identities of modern women and men in the Republican period: The identity of the Kemalist woman and 'enlightened men'] in Ayşe B. Hacimirzaoǧlu, (ed.), 75 Yilda Kadinlar ve Erkekler [Women and Men in 75 Years] op. cit., p. 37
28. Peyami Safa, 'Modern Türk Kizi,' Modern Türkiye Mecmuasi 1/1 (March 1938): p. 4; 1/2 (March 1938): p. 5; 1/4 (March 1938): p. 5; 1/6 (April 1938): p. 9
29. See, Duygu Köksal, '1930'lar ve 40'larda Kadin, Cinsiyet ve Ulus' [Woman, Sexuality and Nationhood in the 1930s and 40s], Toplumsal Tarih 51 (March 1998), pp. 31-5
30. When the Peoples Party of Women (Kadinlar Halk Firkasi) was not recognised by the government because of the political implications of the term party, it was re-founded under the name Turkish Women's Association (Türk Kadinlar Birliǧi). Interestingly, the former insisted on its non-political aims, stating that the primary duties of women consisted of motherhood, and family affairs. (Zafer Toprak, 'Kadinlar Halk Firkasi' (Women's People Party), Tarih ve Toplum 9/51 (March 1988): p. 158). Both the Party and the Association placed primary emphasis on educating women along the lines of Republican ideals of civilisation and progress. Ironically, the Association actively promoted women's political agency besides organising a variety of skills-related courses ranging from driving to sewing. (Leyla Kaplan, Cemiyetlerde ve Siyasi Teşkilatlarda Türk Kadini: 1908-1960 [Turkish Women in Societies and Political Organisations] (Ankara, Ataürk Kültür, Dil ve Tarih Yüksek Kurumu, 1998), p. 141). Women got the right to political representation in municipal governments in 1930 and in the parliament in 1934
31. Musa, 'Saylav Fakihe Bursa Muhabirimize Hayatini Anlatiyor' [Member of Parliament Fakihe tells her life story to our Bursa correspondant], Yedigün, 4/104 (6 March 1935): p. 13
32. Mekki Sait, 'Zarzavatçi Fatma Hanim' [Fruit-seller Ms. Fatma], Yedigün, 3/44 (10 January 1934): p. 11
33. Fatmagül Berktay points out that the proper women of the early Republic were portrayed either as de-sexualised public figures or as mothers of the family and the nation. 'Cumhuriyetin 75. Yillik Serüvenine Kadinlar Açisindan Bakmak', [Looking at the 75 year adventures of the Republic from women's perspective] in Hacimirzaoǧlu, (ed.), 75 Yilda Kadinlar ve Erkekler, op. cit., p. 3
34. Müfide Muzaffer, 'Memuriyet Sizin Olsun!. Yeni Kavuş tuǧum Evim Bana Yeter,' Muhit, 4/46 (1932), pp. 36-7
35. Also cited in Bozdoǧan, 'Living modern' op. cit., p. 317. I thank Sibel Bozdoǧan for making this article available to me
36. 'Saylav Türkan' Yedigün, 4/103 (27 February 1935): p. 15
37. Geraldine Heng and Janadas Devan, 'State fatherhood: the politics of nationalism, sexuality, and race in Singapore' in Nationalisms and Sexualities, Andrew Parker, Mary Russo et al. (eds.), (New York, Routledge, 1991), p. 356