The Global Sociology Blog

I never though I’d write a title like that! Via Le Monde, Bülent Ersoy, 56, is a Turkish transsexual singer. She is immensely popular across the entire country, especially among the working class. She is now risking 18 months in prison for her call to pacifism on television, on behalf of Turkish mothers.

She did so in the midst of a wave of patriotism, last February, as Turkish troops launched an assault against the PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan. Taking everyone by surprise, as she was hosting the Turkish version of American Idol (I guess crappy television programs are the stormtroopers of cultural globalization), she declared "I am not a mother and I will never be" but that if she had had sons, she would have refused to send them "to their graves." She continued, in front of the live audience, "Our children continue to be sent there, there are only tears, blood and funerals and we continue to propagate the same cliches [the nationalist and vengeful slogans]. Why can’t we find a solution?"

The very next day, a prosecutor in Istanbul filed charges against her for "inciting the hatred against the armed forces" as well as demeaning military service. Such charges carry a maximum of three years in prison.

This has to be understood in the context of Turkey. Turkey is a democracy but the military is a very strong institution that has long dominated political life. It plays a central role in maintaining national unity through mandatory conscription for all men. As the proverb says, "every Turk is born a soldier." Conscientious objection also carries a prison term. However, in recent years, there have been calls against military propaganda and the military establishment.

This is not the first time that Bülent Ersoy gets in trouble with the authorities. Until 1988, she was banned from public performances by the military regime because of her "social deviance." Apart from her singing, she has made headlines for her marriages and divorces with much (much) younger men.

Photo source: AFP from article.