Çifte külfetli: İstanbul'daki Suriyeli gey erkekler

Syrian refugee crisis started in 2011 affected lives of millions of people. While the numbers of Syrian refugee population outside Syria vary in different countries, Turkey currently hosts more Syrian refugee population than any other country does. It has been eight years since the first refugee group arrived in Turkey and xenophobia is rising dramatically. In the social arena of Turkey where xenophobia and homophobia are becoming more ordinary, Syrian gay men find themselves in a double discriminated position. This thesis sheds light into what it means to be a refugee, gay, and Syrian in Turkey – focusing particularly on Syrian gay men who are either living in Istanbul or used to live in Istanbul before their resettlement into a third country in Western Europe. It explores the various contexts in which shifting identities and the senses of belonging change and reshape lives of those people who claim their reason for escape on the ground of their sexual orientation. Through the lenses of masculinities theory and social network theory, the aim of this thesis is to disclose the realities of social borders through which experiences of Syrian gay men are shaped.