Gender, contested intimacies, and subjectivities in the field of theatre in Turkey

This thesis examines institutional and cultural structures that produce, sustain and normalize gender-based hierarchies and domination in Turkey's theatre field. Drawing upon the semi-structured interviews with 15 theatre professionals working in the field of theatre as an actor, writer, director, designer, or technician, the thesis brings a non-Eurocentric perspective to gender and art literature in the post-#MeToo era and a gender perspective to theatre studies in Turkey. Using the analytical lens of theatrical intimacy, I first argue that the ambiguous discourses and practices surrounding how performers' bodies act in intimate encounters, conceal and reproduce sexual harassment culture in Turkish theatre. Second, intimate encounters in theatre are not in and of themselves empowering or liberating for women and LGBTQIA+ individuals. On the contrary, uncharted territory of intimate encounters renders performers vulnerable to the unexpected forms of sexual harassment and contributes to the reproduction of hegemonic patriarchal conventions in society. Finally, as more women and LGBTQIA+ people share their uncomfortable experiences during theatre performances as well as their hidden and everyday strategies to prevent them, the seemingly progressive but mostly normative conventions become the subject of feminist discussion and intervention and pave the way to a more egalitarian and non-sexist education and production processes in theatre.