An Examination on a Fairy Tale from Kutahya “Ali Ali Kız Ali” in the Context of Gender Roles / “Ali Ali Kız Ali” Adlı Kütahya Masalının Toplumsal Cinsiyet Rolleri Bağlamında İncelenmesi

Abstract

Fairy tales, one of the important genres of oral culture, are the main sources that identify and shape the gender roles of men and women (femininity and masculinity) who live in accordance with the characteristics of the culture they were born into. Since they are implicit activities of social cumulative development and transformation within a variable, fluid and latent process, fairy tales interact with gender roles using analogies. In this study, our aim is to evaluate the fairy tale named ‘Ali Ali Kız Ali’, from Kutahya, in the context of implicit cultural meanings and gender roles by utilizing qualitative analysis. In this examination, gender roles and differences in society’s behavioral expectations from these roles were taken into account. The concept of “gender justice” was used instead of the concept of “gender equality and/or inequality” to avoid any discrimination and marginalization of opposite and same sexes. The present study reveals that ideological gender roles, which exist in fairy tales, are transferred to our behavior and thought systems in an effective and permanent way that is far from being noticed and questioned. In this transfer, the power of the multilingual, timeless, unconscious, extraordinary, and colorful world of the fairy tale genre is effective. When cultural and social expectations change, behavior patterns expected by the society, gender roles, and the representations of these roles in these tales change as the tales change along with the behavioral patterns of the gender roles..

Keywords

• feminity
• masculinity
• gender roles
• kütahya tale
• fairy tale