Discussing new masculinities in turkey: a critical masculinity reading through the popular turkish tv serials

• Author: Dr. Hasan Gürkan
• Pages: 189-210

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DISCUSSING NEW MASCULINITIES IN

TURKEY: A CRITICAL MASCULINITY

READING THROUGH THE POPULAR TURKISH

TV SERIALS

DR. HASAN GÜRKAN

Istinye University & Girona University

ABSTRACT

This study aims to understand the masculinity that is accepted and not accepted

on television and to investigate how the audience enters into a dialogue with the

narratives they watch. This study is based on examining popular TV serials based

on image, discourse, and action, and discussing depicted masculinities in the

context of today’s Turkish society. In the study, the popular TV serials released

after 2015, such as Cesur ve Güzel (2016), Kiralık Aşk (2015), Siyah ve Beyaz

Aşk (2018), Sen Anlat Karadeniz (2018), Poyraz Karayel (2017) are analyzed

using text analysis method. In these serials, which are masculine-centered

narratives, male characters reconstruct hegemonic masculinity by defining the

roles of masculinity as 'correct' masculinity, sensitivity to art/environment,

communicating efficiently with women, being educated, well-groomed, and

polite. However, these new masculinities appear to display masculine roles that

are physically strong and psychologically resilient, brave and virile. The new

masculinities depicted in these serials are resistant to traditional masculinity

patterns and make change possible by revealing a hybrid structure. In addition,

these new masculinities create a hegemonic masculinity profile that needs to be

reached physically and masculinized power.

KEYWORDS: new masculinities; Turkish popular TV serials; sexual identity;

representation; Turkish society

DEBATES EN TORNO A LA COMUNICACIÓN, LA IGUALDAD DE GÉNERO Y LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS

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Juan Carlos Suárez-Villegas - Sergio Marín Conejo (co-editores)

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1. Introduction

Ideal masculinities are produced and presented through mass media (Coles, 2009;

Connel, 1993; Connel, 1998; Hobbs, 2013); media greatly influences the

dominance of masculinity styles in a society. Popular culture products and TV

serials define male characters and construct a definition of masculinity (Bannistar,

2017; Song, 2010; Gürkan et al., 2021; Gürkan et al., 2017). One of the essential

elements used by the media, especially television serials, to produce cultural values

in society is the characters (Ahmed, 2012; Gillepsie, 1995). Especially the main

characters in popular TV serials are formed with the cultural values and personality

traits accepted and adopted by society in general, or the cultural and personality

attributes desired to be adopted and internalized are produced through these popular

characters. As a result of all these, it becomes easier to accept the lifestyles, gender

roles, and other personality traits presented to the audience with the characters in

the TV serials.

Generally mainstream narratives are male serials. These male-centered serials

present “masculine stories”. This study’s popular serials are narratives with

masculine stories. By examining male figures, this study seeks an answer to the

question of how and why the stereotyped perception of masculinity and its

representation in media have changed in recent years. As Aydon Edwards (2015)

stated, masculinity reflects the traditional values of society and forms the basis of

modern society's self-determination. Gender studies seek to break down an

established, stereotypical concept of gender roles that sharply separates masculine

and feminine categories. In other words, innovations created by society that

naturalize social differences is discussed (Bourdieu, 2012). One of the most

common research topics in gender studies is the representation of gender roles in

society. At this point, I am aiming to analyze the movement areas of masculinities

in Turkey.

Moreover, Connel (1990; 1991; 2005), Connel & Messerschmidt (2005), Kimmel

(2004), Demetriou (2001) discuss the gender role through the relations of power

between the sexes and they also review the role of women and men as equal and

mutual with each other. Connel (2005), Demetriou (2001) state that gender is not a

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