The construction of femininity and masculinity in the publications of turkish presidency of religious affairs

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Keskin Korumaz E.

İstanbul Üniversitesi Kadın Araştırmaları Dergisi - Istanbul University Journal of Women’s Studies, cilt.21, sa.1, ss.71-92, 2021 (Hakemli Dergi)

Özet

Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs (TPRA) is a state institution that is in charge of providing religious services in the country. The TPRA aims to create a moral, religious society through various services, including its monthly publications. This study focuses on the articles given a place in the periodical Aile and aims to explore how these writings construct certain ideals of femininity and masculinity. The researcher conducted qualitative methodology for data gathering and analysis. In this context, the issues of Aile published between the years of 2013-2017 were examined and the articles selected were analyzed in accordance with discourse analysis. The results of the study indicate that the ideal woman is highly described within the limits of family and motherhood is seen as the essence of female identity. Since the TPRA has become one of the most powerful institutions in Turkey with its growing budget and appeals to a wide range of audience, this study helps us to figure out how a religious public institution determine and shape the prevalent gender discourse, at least among pious people