Abstract
“WOMEN ARE THE DEVİL OF MEN”: NEGATİVE ATTİTUDES TOWARDS WOMEN İN THE PROVERBS OF THE TURKİC WORLD
In the 20th century, in studies related to women, it is observed that the concept of female identity is often approached from a "feminist" or "conservative" perspective. In the first of these approaches, it is mentioned that women have not been able to get enough space for themselves in a male-dominated society, and in the second, they have been in an equal position with men since the past. The common point of both perspectives lies in the coexistence of male and female dominion, and especially the sacred structure within societies for an extended period, leading to a blending of patriarchal and matriarchal attributes. However, the sanctity attributed to women in matriarchal orders has gradually been displaced by the prominence of masculine discourse in patriarchal settings, subsequently leading to an increase in negative thoughts and expressions directed towards marginalized women. In fact, what is discussed in the background is the role distribution of men and women in agricultural and industrial societies. The negative qualities of women or the unfavorable attitudes adopted towards women by society have found their place in various forms within the oral cultural tradition, spanning genres from mythology to epics, fairy tales, legends, and folk stories. The curiosity regarding the extent and manner in which the negative approach towards women has been reflected in proverbs from the earliest texts of the Turkish language forms the foundation of this study. In this context, in this study, a thematic research has been conducted on 265 proverbs belonging to the Turkic World, which exhibit negative attitudes towards women. The analysis identifies the specific contexts where negative attitudes towards women are manifested in these proverbs, aiming to ascertain socio-cultural messages and interpret the obtained data from a critical perspective. As a result of the examinations, it is evident that the proverbs characterize women as disruptors of individual and societal structures, at times marginalizing them, and establish behavioral norms that perpetuate the status quo, thereby determining a place within societal functioning, and while defining gender roles, have endeavored to maintain a balance between men and women on one hand, and to preserve the cultural structure by preventing societal turmoil on the other.
Keywords
Turkish culture, oral tradition, proverbs, gender, woman.
