Gendered fields in women's leisure time experiences: The case of 'Gün' meetings in Ankara

---

Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi, Sosyoloji Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2015

Öğrenci: EBRU KARAYİĞİT

Danışman: AYŞE CEYLAN TOKLUOĞLU

Özet:

Gun 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 gendered fields in women's leisure time experiences based on an ethnographic study of two gun meetings in Ankara, namely Karadenizliler and Komşular meetings. In light of gender studies and sociology of leisure, it is argued that gun meetings create gendered fields where social control over women leads them to adopt normative feminine leisure-time activities. The dynamics in the gun meetings together with the participants' everyday life experiences reveal how gun gatherings are thoroughly gendered and how these meetings reproduce patriarchal norms despite some positive outcomes experienced by the participants.