An anthropological approach to humor relations between women in everyday life

Year 2021, , 172 - 182, 28.06.2021

Barış İşçi Pembeci

https://doi.org/10.33613/antropolojidergisi.915121

Abstract

This paper argues that humor should be taken seriously as it plays a key role in understanding larger issues such as gender relations, social interactions, power, and status in a society. Acknowledging its significance as more than a cultural object, the paper first focuses on the theoretical approaches to humor in anthropology and then constructs a conceptual framework by adding to these theories a new approach that treats the production, sharing and consumption of humor in daily life more effectively. Following this novel theoretical framework, humor interactions among women of a mountainous village of Yeniköy in the city of Muğla are analyzed by positioning them within the context of social and power relations in everyday life. The argument of the analysis is that humor creates a space of agency for the women of Yeniköy who occupy a marginal space in their society and that these women creatively manipulate humor as a tactic for resisting existing power structures. As anthropological studies of humor are increasing in the world, Turkish studies on humor are yet to discover the potential of humor in pointing out important dimensions of everyday life. This study aims to contribute to such studies in Turkey through an analysis of the physicality of humor and the way it resonates through the individual and social body through a long-term participatory observation, and a localized and experience-based investigation.

Keywords

Humor, joking, everyday life, anthropology of humor

Günlük yaşamda kadınlar arası mizah ilişkilerine antropolojik bir yaklaşım

Abstract

Bu çalışmada mizahın antropolojik çalışmalarda ciddiye alınması gerektiği iddiasından yola çıkılarak günlük yaşamın kültürel bir öğesi olması ötesinde mizahın toplumsal cinsiyet, sosyal ilişkiler, otorite ve statü gibi daha genel konuları anlamada kilit görev üstlendiği gösterilmeye çalışılmıştır. Antropolojik mizah çalışmalarının temelini oluşturan mizah teorileri incelenmiş ve bu teorilerden faydalanarak ama mizahın günlük yaşamda üretilme, paylaşılma ve tüketilme biçimlerini analiz etmede daha kullanışlı olabilecek bir teorik çerçeve çizilmeye çalışılmıştır. Bu teorik çerçeve içerisinde Muğla kentinin dağlık köyü Yeniköy’de kadınlar arası mizah ilişkileri sosyal ve güç ilişkileri içinde devam eden günlük yaşam bağlamında incelenmiştir. Mizahın yaşadıkları toplumda marjinal bir pozisyonda bulunan kadınlar için bir eylemlilik alanı yarattığı ve kadınların bu alanda mizahı yaratıcı bir direniş taktiği olarak kullandığı iddia edilmiştir. Dünyada antropolojik mizah çalışmaları artarken Türkçe mizah çalışmalarında mizahın sosyal günlük yaşamın önemli boyutlarına ışık tutma potansiyeli henüz keşfedilememiştir. Bu çalışma günlük yaşamda yoğun bir fiziksellik içeren, kişisel ve sosyal bedende akseden mizahı incelemede antropolojinin uzun dönem katılımcı gözlem, yerel bağlama yoğunlaşma ve deneyim-temelli yaklaşımı ile bu eksiği doldurmaya yönelik bir girişimdir.

Keywords

mizah, şakalaşma, günlük yaşam, mizah antropolojisi

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