Traces of liberal feminism in Turkish theater: An evaluation through Lena, Leyla ve Diğerleri and Krem Karamel

In this study, the relationship between women's gender roles and their struggles for individual freedom is examined within the framework of feminist theories; first, the historical development of feminism and the main approaches of liberal feminism are discussed, followed by an exploration of the development of feminist theatre in both world and Turkish contexts. In this regard, Zeynep Kaçar's Krem Karamel and Zehra İpşiroğlu's Lena, Leyla ve Diğerleri are analyzed; the female characters' quests for autonomy, their struggles against patriarchal norms, and their processes of emancipation are comparatively evaluated. The findings reveal that both plays bring to the stage women's quests for individual and social emancipation, thereby making visible the fundamental principles of liberal feminism. The study highlights the transformative potential of feminist theatre, offers a critical perspective on female representations, and demonstrates the aesthetic and political significance of texts written from a feminist perspective in Turkish theatre, thus contributing to the literature. In this respect, it opens up for discussion the feminist trajectories in Turkish theatre—which have not previously been examined in a comprehensive manner—within the framework of liberal feminism, and provides an original contribution both on a theoretical level and through selected play analyses.