Women in fairy tales collected from Kütahya within the context of gender roles

ABSTRACT WOMEN İN FAİRY TALES COLLECTED FROM KÜTAHYA WİTHİN THE CONTEXT OF GENDER ROLES HACER AKÇAALAN Department of Turkısh Language and Literature Uşak Unıversıty Graduate Educatıon Institute, July 2024 Advisor: Associate Professor Derya ÖZCAN GÜLER Gendered paths and outcomes become integral parts of the social world that shapes the mind. Behaviors, as part of this gendered social world, are also gendered, influencing one's sense of self and social perception. The continuous reinforcement of femininity stereotypes within our culture through fairy tales creates corresponding identities and defines individuals' long-term interests in specific areas. However, it is also observed that women in these tales do not always conform to the behavioral patterns expected by their roles. Fairy tale listeners, interacting with the storytellers, develop a thought system related to gender and femininity roles through cultural symbols, influenced by the cultural perspective formed at the intersection of coherence and diversity in these tales. The women of the fairy tale world, through their thematic reflections, transform into counterparts in the real world. This is a reciprocal epistemological cycle. Based on the premise that fairy tales function as distributors of culture, it can be argued that while femininity roles vary from context to context, these roles often intersect in a singular notion of femininity. In this thesis, which examines the representation of women in Kütahya fairy tales within the context of gender roles, the aim is to identify the socio-cultural meanings attributed to the concept of femininity -one of the key stakeholders in gender roles- and to explore the impact of these meanings on familial female roles. Additionally, it seeks to determine the thematic reflections of gender in these tales and to classify and analyze the identified roles and themes. To this end, the scope of the thesis includes 77 fairy tales selected from a collection of 146 Kütahya tales compiled by us. In this study, qualitative research methods were employed during the compilation phase. The contents of the tales were analyzed from a post-structuralist perspective using symbolic interactionism, a sociologically grounded gender theory. The roles of women in Kütahya fairy tales were identified and analyzed under nine categories: "Daughterhood, Sisterhood, Motherhood, Bridehood, Wifehood, Mother-in-law, Grandmotherhood, Aunthood, and Sister-in-lawhood." Additionally, the thematic reflections of gender in these tales were categorized under three main themes: "Virginity, Incest, and Objects." The identification of familial gender roles of women in Kütahya fairy tales and the awareness of these thematic reflections will contribute to gender justice and the creation of new fairy tales Key Words: Kütahya Fairy Tales, Gender, Gender Roles, Femininity