Politics of the Female Body in Contemporary Turkey

Hilal Alkan, Ayse Dayi, Sezin Topçu, Betül Yarar

"Under the leadership of the Justice and Development Party in Turkey came new regulations about reproductive rights, family and gender policies. Women's central role in reproductive and domestic work was swiftly reaffirmed as a state value and policies surrounding issues such as abortion and IVF were newly debated. Taking Turkey as the case study, this is the first book to examine the various ways in which neoliberal modes of governing women's bodies come together with conservative and authoritarian measures. The book is divided into three parts - the 'reproductive' body, the 'maternal' body and the 'sexualized' body - to explore the three main governmental representations of, and interventions into, the female body. Topics for discussion include: the increasing control of poor or ethnic minority women's fertility, the expansion of IVF and egg markets, the commodification of pregnancy...