Queering Sexualities in Turkey: Gay Men, Male Prostitutes and the City

(Hardback)

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Despite its some of its more liberal and democratic characteristics - when compared to many other countries in the Middle East - the more conservative elements within Turkish politics and society have made gains over the past decades. As a result, like many others in the region, Turkish society has multiple standards when naming, evaluating and reacting to men who have sex with men. Cenk Ozbay argues that overall, self-identified gay men (as well as men who practice clandestine same-sex acts) are most of the time marginalised, ostracised and rendered 'immoral' in both everyday practices and social institutions. He offers in this book an analysis of the concept of masculinity as central to redefining boundaries of class, gender and sexuality, particularly looking at the dynamics between self-identified gay men and straight-acting male prostitutes, or 'rent boys'. A result of in-depth interviews with both self-identified gay men and rent boys, Ozbay explores the changing discourses and meaning of class, gender and queer sexualities, and how these three are embedded within urban and familial narratives.

Reviews

'Queering Sexualities in Turkey is a pioneering study of heterosexually-identified young men with rural family origins who engage in compensated sex with middle-class gay clients in Istanbul. It richly melds compelling ethnography, in-depth interviews, and theory within a cultural and political-economy framework. Richly rewarding his readers with a powerful intersectional analysis through thick description and theoretical depth, Cenk Ozbay shows how a closely studied case illuminates broader theoretical questions central to understanding the key roles of class, the body and heteronormativity in shaping embodied masculinities and sexualities. Engaging, original, beautifully written, and distinct for its global orientation, Queering Sexualities in Turkey is a must read for gender and sexuality scholars, and an invaluable teaching resource in a wide range of disciplines.' - Gul Ozyegin, Associate Professor of Sociology and Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies, College of William and Mary, 'Grounded in careful observation and richly theorized, Cenk Ozbay's Queering Sexualities in Turkey stretches and deepens our understanding of the shifting dynamics of gender relations, sexual identity and sex work in neoliberal contexts.'- Michael A. Messner, Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies, University of Southern California, 'Cenk Ozbay's innovative and inspiring study provides Queer Studies scholarship with a much needed critical focus on the regional operations of class, gender and sexuality. Benefitting from a cross-disciplinary and transnational range of academic literature, Ozbay's analyses prove to be a powerful intervention to existing debates on globalization of sexualities, and the geopolitics of knowledge production in Queer Studies.'- Cuneyt Cakirlar, Lecturer in Communications, Culture and Media Studies. Nottingham Trent University

Author Bio

Cenk Ozbay is Associate Professor of Gender Studies and Sociology in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Sabanci University. He holds a PhD in Sociology from University of Southern California. His research interests are gender and sexualities, masculinity studies, urban sociology, work and labour, neoliberalism and mobilities. In addition to his many publications in English and Turkish, he is a co-editor of Yeni Istanbul Calismalari (2014) and The Making of Neoliberal Turkey (2016).