A Discourse Analysis of WomenSexuality in the Lyrics of an Anonymous Turkish Folk Song

Year 2023, Volume: 24 Issue: 2, 101 - 118, 14.03.2024

Suleyman Kasap

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the gender dynamics and societal expectations embedded within a traditional song and its associated story. Focusing on the themes of virginity and womenpurity, the research investigates the power structures, control, and cultural implications reflected in the narrative. Through a comprehensive literature review, we explore existing scholarship on gender studies and societal norms surrounding virginity. The song and story are analyzed, highlighting the depiction of the character Nazife, a fifteen-year-old girl whose worth is tied to her virginity. Drawing upon gender theories, feminist theory and intersectionality, the study critically deconstructs the societal norms and power dynamics present in the narrative. The research uncovers a patriarchal notion that womensexuality is controlled by men, who act as gatekeepers of a woman's virtue. Moreover, the study examines the social stigma and shaming faced by women who do not conform to traditional expectations of purity. By analyzing the cultural and historical context, the study providesinsights into the gendered dynamics prevalent during the song's origin. This research contributes to the understanding of how societal constructs impact women's agency and the importance of challenging gender norms to achievegender equality.

Keywords

Discourseanalysis, patriarchal control over woman's sexuality, folk songs,, gendered double standards, womenvirginity and purity

References

• Adkins, L. (2002). Reconfiguring Virginity: Sexuality and Virginity in the Discourses of Heterosexuality. Sexualities, 5(3), 297-319.
• Ahmed, L. (1992). Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate. Yale University Press.
• Bartky, S. L. (1990). Femininity and domination: Studies in the phenomenology of oppression. Routledge.Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. Routledge.
• Chandra, J., & Bowles, N. (Eds.). (2019). Virginity Testing: A Systematic Review. Zed Books.
• Collins, P. H. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Routledge.
• Dworkin, A. (1987). "Intercourse." The Free Press.
• Foucault, M. (1978). The history of sexuality: Volume 1, an introduction. Vintage.
• Gilmore, D. D. (1987). The golden age of virginity: Gender, religion, and the American middle class experience. University of California Press.
• Giddens, A. (1992). The Transformation of Intimacy: Sexuality, Love, and Eroticism in Modern Societies. Stanford University Press.
• Haraway, D. (1991). "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century." Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature, (pp. 149-181.) Routledge.
• Holland, J., Ramazanoglu, C., Sharpe, S., & Thomson, R. (1998). The Male in the Head: Young People, Heterosexuality, and Power. Tufnell Press.
• Holland, J., Ramazanoglu, C., Sharpe, S., & Thomson, R. (2016). The male in the head: Young people, heterosexuality and power. Tufnell Press.
• Hollibaugh, A. L. (1984). "Desire for the Future: Radical Hope in Passion and Pleasure." Pleasure and Danger: Exploring WomenSexuality, edited by Carole S. Vance, (pp. 391-408). Routledge.
• Hymowitz, C., & Schell, E. (Eds.). (2017). The Palgrave Handbook of Infertility in History: Approaches, Contexts, and Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Jaggar, A.M. (1991). "Love and Knowledge: Emotion in Feminist Epistemology." The Politics of Knowledge: The Carnegie Mellon Symposia on Cognition, edited by Andrew Ortony, (pp. 223-251) Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Kasap, S. (2021). Impact of bilingualism and the difficulties of having minority-specific names in another dominant society: Turkish context for minority Kurdish society. Journal of the International Council of Onomastic Sciences 56. 167–186. https://doi.org/10.34158/onoma.56/2021/9
• Lloyd, M. (2005). The Case of Virginity Testing in Turkey. Women's Studies International Forum, 28(5): 445-457.
• Lorde, Audre (1984) Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power’. In: Audre Lorde Sister Outsider. Berkeley, CA: Crossing Press, pp. 53–59.
• Mulvey, L. (1975). "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Screen, 16 (3): 6-18.
• Nussbaum, M. (1999). Sex & Social Justice. Oxford University Press.
• Rich, A.(1980). "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 5(4):631-660.
• Rubin, G. (1984). "Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality." Pleasure and Danger: Exploring WomenSexuality, edited by Carole S. Vance, pp. 267-319.Routledge.
• Rubin, G. (2012)."Sexual Traffic: An Interview with Gayle Rubin." The Nation.
• Vance, C.S.(1991)."Anthropology Rediscovers Sexuality: A Theoretical Comment." Social Science and Medicine. 33(8):875-884.
• Vance, C.S., editor. "Pleasure and Danger: Exploring WomenSexuality." Routledge.