102-14. Our Blogging Queen
14 years ago
Monday, December 7, 2009
14. Masculinity in Turkish Culture
I bet Turkish "tough guys" are the most interesting ones, and believe me it is not really a subjective claim. Wherever you go, you can easily differentiate Turkish people. I know whoever reads these sentences will nod with agreement and with a little smile =) Masculinity is constructed differently in our culture than of Americans. Becoming a Turkish "tough guy" doesn't require unbelievable muscle strength or body building. The most important point is to be brave to death, literally. If you get into big trouble because of your extreme bravery than you are considered hero by some. Also, it is vital not to obey anyone. You should never be sorry. Apologies or teardrops are not inside masculinity borders. If you want to be a so called tough guy, you should get really angry if a person hits his shoulder to yours. By the way, these all are very far away to my personality, but my observations assure what I'm writing is true. To go further, you can witness street fights and even deaths after a conflict started with a conversation like: "Why are you looking at me?!" -"Will I ask you where I'll look at?!" and I'm serious. People can shoot others because of wrong staring. Oh my god.
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Indeed, I nodded with agreement and a little smile... :))
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, your portrait is evident on the streets, and sadly, the negative effects are real.
Did you see last night on the news that a man shot his wife to death on a coach? She was trying to leave him. Total psycho! These things make me so angry I cannot even think straight. This is a perfect example of why battered women are often afraid to leave their husbands; time and again, such women say, "He will hunt me down and kill me." Tragically, in this case this bleak prediction came true.
(On another note, I was horrified to see that the Turkish media showed images, playing in a continuous loop, over and over again, of paramedics pumping the woman's heart and trying to save her. Such things are never shown on American TV and I still find them incredibly upsetting...In the same programme, they showed that girl Serap who had been horribly burned by Molotov cocktails, screaming and suffering with flaps of skin coming off her face...often I have to take a time out from Turkish news!!)