27/05/2024 | Writer: Ege Kocaağa
At the event on May 23, the discussion focused on the cisheteronormative violence and discrimination that trans people encounter in their daily lives, as well as the solidarity and resistance practices developed in urban areas.
The Queer Academy Network held an event on May 23th. Aslı Zengin, who studies on gender and sexuality, violence and discrimination, participated in the event.
At the event, Aslı Zengin discussed the cisheteronormative violence and discrimination that trans people in Turkey face in their daily lives, as well as the solidarity and resistance they create in urban areas. Her talk was based on her book titled Violent Intimacies: The Trans Everyday and the Making of an Urban World, which was published by Duke University Press in February and traces how trans people in Turkey creatively negotiate and resist everyday cisheteronormative violence. Drawing on the history and ethnography of the trans communal life in Istanbul, Zengin develops an understanding of cisheteronormative violence that expands beyond sex, gender and sexualityThe event was moderated by Lalu Özban.
Zengin discussed the types of physical, verbal, and psychological violence that transgender people face, highlighting the negative impacts of exclusion, harassment, discrimination, and violence from both family and society on their mental and physical health. She talked about how transgender people resist violence and build solidarity networks, their efforts to create safe spaces in urban areas, their attempts to express and make visible their trans identities, and the lifestyles they develop through art and activism.
Zengin used the concept of “violent intimacies” to theorize the interconnected daily experiences of trans individuals, where violence and intimacy are mutually constitutive. Referring to the “Heteropenetrative State,” a chapter in her book, she explained the dynamics of violent intimacies and introduced new understandings of violence and intimacy. She discussed how trans people navigate and resist these violent intimacies through their interactions with the police, religious and health institutions, street life, family and kinship ties, and the impact of trans women's murders and funerals on their community-building efforts.
The event concluded with a question and answer session.
What is Theory Talks?
The Queer Academy Network aims to bring together academics working in queer theory, LGBTI+ studies, and queer studies in Turkey and internationally on the last Thursday of every month. The goal is to provide a platform to combat discrimination in schools and academic environments, understand the effects of the political climate on these studies, and integrate various ontological, epistemological, and methodological approaches with an interdisciplinary perspective. The Theory Talks initiative organizes events to support knowledge production, strengthen interdisciplinary interaction, and address sexuality studies in a broad academic and activist context. It seeks to provide a comprehensive perspective on sexuality and gender issues and raise awareness for social change by promoting queer thought in an interdisciplinary manner.
Tags: human rights
