Modernleşme Sürecinde Ataerkil Rollerin Yeniden Yapılandırılması: Erkek Feminizmi ve Türk Edebiyatından Örnekler (The Re-construction of Patriarchal Roles in the Process of Modernization: Pro-Feminism Examples in Turkish Literature)

This study analyzes pro-feminism in the modernization process of Turkey. The concept of pro-feminism is used to define men who support the change of patriarchal roles, and partially support feminist movements. However, this concept limits the genuine understanding of feminism and it does not mean more than a call for the re-construction of patriarchal roles. There is a strong relationship between woman and modernization attempts. During the modernization process in Turkey, it seems that intellectuals, politicians and bureaucrats have redefined the roles of woman in society and encouraged woman’s participation in social life more than before. The changes in the role of woman also started to be used as the rhetoric of modernity. The literature developed by the writers who contributed to the modernization process in Turkey in the first half of the 20th century provides important references to understand this rhetoric and the concept of pro-feminism. For this reason, this study focuses on the works of the important writers in the modernization process in Turkey such as Ömer Seyfettin, Peyami Safa, and Vâlâ Nureddin. This study unravels that pro-feminism does not overlap with the aim of feminism to eliminate the gender inequalities in society; that profeminism leads to the emergence of new patriarchal gender roles; modernization rhetoric has been used in profeminist approaches and finally the influence of profeminism is evident in the works of the writers of that period. Novels are important media texts, which have impact on generating the values and the opinions of people. This study analyzes the approaches towards modernization and woman, which determines the new gender roles attributed to woman in the process of modernization of Turkey. These gender roles ascribed to woman are compared with the characteristics and roles of man and woman characters created in the works of the aforementioned writers.