Neredesin Aşkım: 'Sexual Politics and the Queering of Public Space in Times of Erdoğan'

Speaker: Prof. Evren Savci, Women and Gender Studies, San Francisco State University

A lecture by Prof. Evren Savcı, SF State University. Prof. Savcı explores the way that the gender and sexuality
politics of the current Turkish government have been central both to its encouragement of neoliberal conservatism and to its overall autocratic and authoritarian governance. While the popular press often questions whether Erdoğan's pro-natal proclamations on abortion and birth rates, or his disapproving comments on mixed-gender university housing are simple covers for his "real" politics, the centrality of gender and sexuality to Erdoğan's authoritarian regime has been recognized not only by feminist and queer activists, but also by the larger population during Gezi Protests and its aftermath. Prof. Savcı focuses on the way that the
anti-morality politics of Gezi Park protests frame and mark the current anti-neoliberal movement in Turkey. While she argues that the recognition of gender and sexuality as central to authoritarian regimes is key for social justice movements, she also cautions against the potential erasure of racial politics in the country when
morality is understood solely in terms of gender/sexuality.