From sacrificing sister to star sister: the history of queer celebrity in Turkey

Abstract

This article investigates the relationship between celebrity and queerness in Turkey by examining the social media celebrities Kerimcan Durmaz, Selin Ciğerci, and Murat Övüç. Although they resemble lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) celebrities from earlier periods, queer Turkish celebrities on digital platforms like Instagram can enrich our understanding of general changes to queer celebrity in modern Turkey. While the secular nature of the Turkish Republic is revered by many, Islam is often regarded as the essence of Turkish culture. In this context, queerness is stringently repressed by religiously informed national norms, with the stage representing the sole avenue for tacitly accepted queer expression.1 For this reason, most queer artists make use of Islamic discourse. For example, they emphasise their Muslim identity and make frequent references to Allah in conversations, interviews, performances, and songs. In essence, they emphasise that they are Muslims in all circumstances and under all conditions. Any attempt to analyse and understand queer celebrity and conservative discourse in Turkey calls for a reflection on Islam and secularism. Examining these connections will be the task of this study