Women market vendors and their social practices in Aydın

"Women Market Vendors and their Social Practices in Aydın" is a master's thesis that examines the everyday practices and coping strategies of women market vendors working in neighborhood markets in the city center of Aydın, through the lens of Bourdieu's concepts of field, habitus, and capital, alongside gender theories. The research is based on semi-structured, face-to-face, in-depth interviews conducted with 48 women vendors who work in weekday neighborhood markets in the city center of Aydın. MAXQDA software was utilized in the analysis of the interview data. Following a qualitative research design, the data were coded and analyzed in accordance with Bourdieu's conceptual framework of field, habitus, and capital, and interpreted through gender theory. The study focuses on the social practices developed by women vendors who labor in neighborhood markets—gendered spaces functioning as male-dominated fields. Throughout the analysis, Bourdieu's theoretical contributions to sociology were employed; in particular, the concepts of cultural, social, and economic capital were used to analyze women's positionalities in the field and their strategies of existence. The study identifies common challenges experienced by women vendors, including limited access to education, the absence of organized women's solidarity and unionization, and high levels of economic precarity. The findings reveal the prevalence of symbolic violence manifested through practices such as categorizing women as merely "assisting the family" and the difficulties they face in being recognized and legitimized within the market field. The research also highlights invisible micro-strategies that enable women to sustain their work and secure a place within the markets despite fragile conditions of capital conversion. These strategies are normalized by relying on the patterns considered "natural" or "reasonable" within the doxa and illusio of the marketplace. This thesis analyzes how women vendors' capital compositions are shaped by spatial, institutional, and gendered boundaries. It proposes policy recommendations aimed at strengthening women's economic and symbolic positions in the marketplace, such as improving stall allocation procedures, enhancing safety and working conditions through infrastructural arrangements, and providing childcare support and incentives for cooperativization. Accordingly, it argues that reorganizing the marketplace as a "field" has the potential to reinforce women vendors' positions and visibility. KEYWORDS: Bourdieu; Gender; Women's labor; Market vendors; Symbolic violence; Male domination; Neighborhood market; Aydın; Women vendors