Folklor/Edebiyat (May 2021)
The Image of Women in Early Republican Era Womens Magazines: The Example of Ev Kadın Magazine / Erken Cumhuriyet Dönemi Kadın Dergilerinde Kadın İmajı: Ev Kadın Dergisi Örneği
Abstract
The early Republican period has been a very productive era in terms of women’s magazine publishing. The women, who gained the power to use the press during the last years of the Ottoman Empire, reinforced their experiences after the proclamation of the Republic. In this context, women’s magazines became one of the most important instruments for establishing the social position of women. However, unlike the publications in the Ottoman Period, the Republican period women’s magazines were shaped by the rights and economic conditions that the regime provided to women. These magazines largely remained loyal to the image of contemporary, intellectual, productive Turkish women, who were brought to the forefront with the task of raising the future healthy and strong generations and at the same time maintaining their traditional gender roles; moreover, they took active roles in reinforcing this. In this article, we examined how the image of a woman who was redefined as a good wife and a good mother with the Republic was reflected in the Ev Kadın magazine, one of the women’s magazines of the period. As the name suggests, the magazine covers topics such as fashion, beauty, housework, hand crafts, culinary skills, childcare and the target audience are mostly housewives. The magazine, which began its publication life in 1945, continued to be published until 1950. The magazine, which was printed in color and attracted attention with the photographs of women reflecting the Western fashion trends understanding of the period, ended its publication life with the 64th issue. While the image of the intellectual, contemporary and productive Turkish woman has been supported with visuals in the magazine, this image is blended with the role of motherhood and wife. In this respect, Ev Kadın magazine The early Republican period has been a very productive era in terms of women’s magazine publishing. The women, who gained the power to use the press during the last years of the Ottoman Empire, reinforced their experiences after the proclamation of the Republic. In this context, women’s magazines became one of the most important instruments for establishing the social position of women. However, unlike the publications in the Ottoman Period, the Republican period women’s magazines were shaped by the rights and economic conditions that the regime provided to women. These magazines largely remained loyal to the image of contemporary, intellectual, productive Turkish women, who were brought to the forefront with the task of raising the future healthy and strong generations and at the same time maintaining their traditional gender roles; moreover, they took active roles in reinforcing this. In this article, we examined how the image of a woman who was redefined as a good wife and a good mother with the Republic was reflected in the Ev Kadın magazine, one of the women’s magazines of the period. As the name suggests, the magazine covers topics such as fashion, beauty, housework, hand crafts, culinary skills, childcare and the target audience are mostly housewives. The magazine, which began its publication life in 1945, continued to be published until 1950. The magazine, which was printed in color and attracted attention with the photographs of women reflecting the Western fashion trends understanding of the period, ended its publication life with the 64th issue. While the image of the intellectual, contemporary and productive Turkish woman has been supported with visuals in the magazine, this image is blended with the role of motherhood and wife. In this respect, Ev Kadın magazine reflects the roles of the women glorified as mother and wife of the era.
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