gendered fields in women's leisure time experiences

184 Pages·2015·1.15 MB·English

GENDERED FIELDS IN WOMEN'S LEISURE TIME EXPERIENCES:
THE CASE OF 'GÜN' MEETINGS IN ANKARA

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
OF
MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

BY

EBRU KARAYĠĞĠT

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR
THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE
IN
THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY

MAY 2015
Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences

Prof. Dr. Meliha AltunıĢık
Director

I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of
Master of Science.

Prof. Dr. AyĢe Saktanber
Head of Department

This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully
adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science.

Prof. Dr. Ceylan Tokluoğlu
Supervisor

Examining Committee Members

Prof. Dr. Yıldız Ecevit (METU,SOC)
Prof. Dr. Ceylan Tokluoğlu (METU,SOC)
Assist. Prof. Canan Aslan-Akman (METU,ADM)
I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and
presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare
that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced
all material and results that are not original to this work.

Name, Last name: Ebru Karayiğit

Signature :

iii
ABSTRACT

GENDERED FIELDS IN WOMEN'S LEISURE TIME EXPERIENCES: THE
CASE OF 'GÜN' MEETINGS IN ANKARA

Karayiğit, Ebru
M. S., Department of Sociology
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ceylan Tokluoğlu

May 2015, 174 pages

Gün is a particular form of female association which is mainly practiced by urban
middle-class women in Turkey as a form of leisure time activity where women
groups periodically meet with each other. It is also a form of 'social field' where
women are positioned through their gendered existences. This thesis attempts to
analyze the gendered fields in women's leisure time experiences based on an
ethnographic study of two gün meetings in Ankara, namely Karadenizliler and
Komşular meetings. In light of gender studies and sociology of leisure, it is argued
that gün meetings create gendered fields where social control over women leads
them to adopt normative feminine leisure-time activities. The dynamics in the gün
meetings together with the participants' everyday life experiences reveal how gün
gatherings are thoroughly gendered and how these meetings reproduce patriarchal
norms despite some positive outcomes experienced by the participants.

Keywords: Women‟s studies, leisure, everyday life, gendered field, gün meeting.

iv
ÖZ

KADINLARIN BOġ ZAMAN DENEYĠMLERĠNDE CĠNSĠYETLENMĠġ
ALANLAR: ANKARA‟DAKĠ „GÜN‟ BULUġMALARI ÖRNEĞĠ

Karayiğit, Ebru
Yüksek Lisans, Sosyoloji Bölümü
Tez Yöneticisi: Prof. Dr. Ceylan Tokluoğlu

Mayıs 2015, 174 sayfa

Gün, kadın gruplarının düzenli aralıklarla buluĢtuğu bir boĢ zaman etkinliği biçimi
olarak, Türkiye‟de çoğunlukla kentli orta sınıf kadınlar tarafından deneyimlenen özel
bir tür kadın birlikteliğidir. O aynı zamanda kadınların cinsiyetlenmiĢ varoluĢlarına
göre konumlandığı bir tür sosyal alandır. Bu tez, Ankara‟daki iki gün grubu olan
Karadenizliler ve Komşular buluĢmalarının etnografik çalıĢmasına dayanarak
kadınların boĢ zaman deneyimlerindeki cinsiyetlenmiĢ alanları incelemeyi
amaçlamaktadır. Toplumsal cinsiyet çalıĢmaları ve boĢ zaman sosyolojisi ıĢığında
gün buluĢmalarının, kadınlar üzerindeki toplumsal kontrolün onları normatif diĢil bir
boĢ zaman etkinliğine yönlendirdiği cinsiyetlenmiĢ alanlar yarattığı savunulmaktadır.
Katılımcıların günlük yaĢam deneyimleri ile gündeki dinamikler, gün toplantılarının
nasıl bütünüyle cinsiyetlendiğini ve katılımcılar tarafından deneyimlenen bazı
olumlu sonuçlara rağmen buluĢmaların ataerkil normları nasıl ürettiğini ortaya koyar.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Kadın çalıĢmaları, boĢ zaman, günlük yaĢam, cinsiyetlenmiĢ
alan, gün buluĢması.
v
To My Mother and Father

vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor Prof. Dr. Ceylan
Tokluoğlu for her continuous guidance, advice, criticism, and encouragement during
the production of this study. Without her, I would not have been able to finish this
thesis process.

I would also like to thank to the members of the thesis jury Prof. Dr. Yıldız Ecevit
and Assist. Prof. Canan Aslan-Akman for their valuable suggestions and comments. I
wish to thank my lecturer Prof. Dr. Tayfun Atay who introduced me ethnography and
was effective in choosing of this topic. This study has started as a final paper of his
lecture "Anthropological Theory and Method" in METU.

I have very special thanks to Assist. Prof. Asuman Göksel and Assist. Prof. Özgür
Dirim Özkan for their valuable support. I wish to thank the tutors of METU
Academic Writing Center for their help during the process of editing.

My single greatest debt to my mother Nihal Karayiğit and my father Mehmet
Karayiğit for their sensitive and encouraging attitude during this thesis process.
Without them, this experience would have been more stressful for me. This study is
dedicated to their invaluable trust and belief in me during my life.

As last, I own thanks to the participants of this study whom I cannot mention their
names for their enthusiasm and sincerity when contributing to my research.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PLAGIARISM.......................................................................................................... iii
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iv
ÖZ .............................................................................................................................. v
DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ viii
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... x
CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................ 13
2.1 Theorizing Gendered Fields ............................................................... 13
2.1.1 Gender and Feminist Theory ..................................................... 13
2.1.2 Pierre Bourdieu's Theory of Practice.......................................... 20
2.1.3 The Concept of Gendered Field ................................................. 25
2.2 Sociology of Leisure ………………………………………………... 31
2.2.1 The Main Approaches in Sociology of Leisure.......................... 31
2.2.2 Feminist Leisure Studies ............................................................ 42
3. GÜN IN TURKISH EXPERIENCE............................................................. 51
3.1 Turkish Women's Gendered Fields ..................................................... 51
3.1.1 Culturally Specific Experiences of Gender ................................ 51
3.1.2 Private/Public Distinction .......................................................... 55
3.2 Studies into Gün Meetings and Rotating Credit Associations ............ 62
3.2.1 Gün Experiences of Women from Past to Present ..................... 62
3.2.2 Economics of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations
(ROSCAs) in Gün Meetings ............................................................... 71
3.3 Reflections of Gender Segregation on Women's Leisure Practices..... 78
4. THE CASE OF TWO GÜN MEETINGS IN ANKARA:
"KARADENİZLİLER" AND "KOMŞULAR"................................................ 89
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4.1 General Profile of the Participants ...................................................... 90
4.1.1 Indirect Participants: Does Economy Always Matter? .............. 98
4.2 Characteristics of the Two Gün Meetings ......................................... 100
4.2.1 Karadenizliler Gün Meeting: Sharing a Common Past ........... 101
4.2.2 Komşular Gün Meeting: "Houses are larger, but guests are
fewer" ...................................................................................... 106
4.2.3 Meanings of Inside and Outside Home .................................... 110
4.3 The 'Gendered Field' of Gün ............................................................. 116
4.3.1 Economy: a Gendered Field? .................................................. 122
4.3.2 Gendered Fields in Women's Everyday Life Experiences ....... 127
5. CONCLUSION .................................................................................................. 137
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... 145
APPENDICES
A. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE DIRECT PARTICIPANTS ........ 157
B. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE INDIRECT PARTICIPANTS .... 160
C. TURKISH SUMMARY ............................................................................. 163
D. TEZ FOTOKOPĠ ĠZĠN FORMU .............................................................. 174

ix
LIST OF TABLES

TABLES
Table 1 The Categories of Gender Division.............................................................. 57
Table 2 General Characteristics of Participants......................................................... 91
Table 3 Migration History of Participants..................................................................96
Table 4 Usage of the 'Money of Gün'.......................................................................124
Table 5 Decision-maker at Home (for Married Participants) ..................................132

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