LGBTQ history in Turkey covers the development, contributions and struggles of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the history of Turkey and their relation between Turkish politics from the abolition of the Caliphate to modern-day Turkey.
The Ottomans, before the 19th-century, did not base sexual identities on attraction to a specific gender but distinguished between active and passive partners, often distinguished as "the lover" and "the beloved". [1] Therefore, choice of a partner was merely based on taste and not on sexual identity. This made certain types of same-sex attraction permissible, but this attraction was most often legitimized in a pederastic context. [1]
By the late 19th century, homosexual contact started to decline and the focus of desire turned to young girls. Ahmed Cevdet Pasha stated:
Woman-lovers have increased in number, while boy-beloveds have decreased. It is as if the People of Lot have been swallowed by the earth. The love and affinity that were, in Istanbul, notoriously and customarily directed towards young men have now been redirected towards girls, in accordance with the state of nature.
Research shows that the decline is in close relationship to the criminalization of homosexuality in the Western world, which followed repression of the queer community. [1]
After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1923 and the foundation of the Turkish Republic, Turkey's first president Mustafa Kemal Atatürk introduced a number of reforms that impacted the view on gay relationships within the country. Atatürk's goal to modernize institutions and cultural traditions was heavily influenced by conservative Western ideals. Christian countries did not allow for non-heterosexual relationships and pressed their ideals on the rest of the world. Under the influence of European modernization, Turkey adapted more and more to European clothing styles and made the wearing of hats mandatory. Refusal to wear these in public had legal consequences. Further behaviour such as open affection for the people of the same sex as well as "feminine" behaviour became stigmatized. [2] This process of "Europeanization" led to a rapid increase of discrimination against the queer community. It is unclear how much Atatürk himself accepted homosexuality. [3] Foreign and Turkish reports and biographies of the time report that Atatürk was bisexual. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
After Atatürk, the Turkish government persisted in the process of Europeanization of the country, and until the 1960s homosexuality was not publicly discussed. The queer community had the liberty to participate in all sorts of entertainment and activities. The situation changed with the election of the Republican People's Party (CHP) in 1974, in coalition with the National Salvation Party (MSP). The MSP controlled the Interior Ministry, making queer people the target of repressive policies. [3] The attacks against the community became more frequent and violent. The members of the LGBT+ community kept on fighting for their rights and, to protect themselves, attempted to create their own political identity. Multiple cities became centers of queer resistance such as Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara. With the military coup d'état on September 12, 1980, their effort came to an end.
With the establishment of the military regime, political parties were banned and the freedom of demonstration, association, speech, and the press were censored. The authorities initiated a campaign of mass persecution against the members of the community and trans sex workers were "deported" from the city centers to the outskirts of the city, and arrested from their places of work or in their apartments. The arrested were imprisoned with the political prisoners and had to face psychological and physical torture. In the 1980s, the Radical Democratic Green Party openly declared to be against police brutality and expressed their support in favor of gay rights and the transgender community assaulted by the authorities. [3]
The first legal ban occurred on March 19, 1981, when the Interior Ministry prohibited Drag queens from performing on nightclub stages. Bülent Ersoy attempted to circumvent the ban by undergoing sex reassignment surgery in London. The goal was to be legally recognized as a woman and not as a transvestite, however the Turkish government refused to recognize the transition and kept treating her as a "man in drag". On June 13, 1981, the Istanbul governor stopped Ersoy from performing, because she was wearing a woman's outfit and, according to the law, she was a man. Ersoy's ban was lifted on January 7, 1988, under Turgut Özal's government. In the same year, the Article 29 of the Turkish Civil Code was modified, allowing transgender people to change their gender in the civil status register after gender confirmation surgery. [10]
Ersoy was not the only one fighting for her rights. As a response to the situation they were living in, the entire trans community started organizing protests in Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara with the support of feminist and human rights organizations and influenced by the Stonewall riots. In Ankara, the first queer organization was founded, but failed, while in Izmir, Ibrahim Eren opted to organize individual and group discussion in his house. [11]
In 1987, the members of the LGBTQ+ community attempted to form a political party, the Radical Democratic Green Party, which brought homosexuality under the spotlight. This led to public discussions and engagement with it, and the other political parties were forced to clarify their positions in relation to homosexuality. Out of all the parties, only the Social Democratic Populist Party did not explicitly express themselves, however they weren't supportive of a law specifically written to protect the LGBTQ+ community.
Because of the increasing violent actions from the police, on April 29, 1987, trans people, lesbians, and gay men initiated a ten-day hunger strike in Gezi Park by Taksim Square. The strike started in a house in Taksim and was moved to Gezi Park the next day until it was dispersed by the police. However, the protest continued in different houses for weeks, and managed to get support from the Radical Democratic Green Party and some famous artists and intellectuals. This hunger strike is considered to be the first large-scale LGBTQ+ protest before the 1990s, and a tuning point in the contemporary queer movement. [12]
Some openly gay people were able to be successful in the 1980s. Murathan Mungan has been openly gay throughout his professional life as a successful poet and writer. However, many gay and bisexual men who lived during this period have since said in interviews that they felt pressured, by social attitudes and government policy, to remain in the closet about their sexual identity. [13]
The 1990s were characterized by efforts on specific topics that would condition the political agenda of the queer movement. With the support of European queer organizations, queer activists were able to found and organize the first lasting associations. In 1993, supported by the collaboration with the German initiative Schwule International, the Turkish queer activist organized their first Pride. The governor of Istanbul banned the event, but in doing so the discrimination that the LGBTQ+ community faces in Turkey was brought in their annual progress report written by the Commission for Human Rights of the European Parliament. Following the ban, queer activist founded LambdaIstanbul, and in 1994 it became part of the International Lesbian and Gay Association. At the same time, in Ankara KaosGL was founded and, together with LambdaIstanbul, they got support from Turkish non-governmental organizations.
During the second half of the 1990s, the members of the LGBTQ+ community started differentiating among themselves, to feel adequately represented within the community. New separated associations were founded, such as LEGATO. However, they kept organizing joint actions, and from 1998 until 2004, they organized celebrations twice a year both in Istanbul and Ankara.
In 1996, since the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements was taking place in Istanbul, the authorities carried out "cleansing operations" in central parts of Istanbul to free the streets from trans and other sex workers, street vendors, homeless people and drug users. The aim was to present Istanbul as a city inhabited by middle-class Turkish citizens. Despite the numerous protests, the police violence did not stop, but they managed to draw attention to the affected communities. [3]
The following year, in 1997, Lambda became the first Turkish LGBTQ+ NGO to be invited by the government to a government conference, namely the National Congress on AIDS. The same year, Hamam , a Turkish film featuring a gay romance, was released internationally and broadcast on state television.
In 1999, the Left Party banned discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity within their party. Demet Demir became the first transgender candidate to run for political office in Turkish history.
Following Turkey's recognition as a candidate for joining the European Union, Ankara passed a series of "harmonization packages" to meet international expectations of improving the conditions for minorities and for civil society in general. [14] The changes proposed had an immediate and positive effect on the queer movement: it grew considerably, gained more visibility, and it established solidarity with other social movements.
In 2002, the parliamentary elections saw the Justice and Development Party (AKP) taking power for the first time. They declared their desire to guarantee the rights to all the population, including the members of the LGBTQ+ community. The same year, the Turkish Civil Code changed its regulations regarding the sex change: to transition, the court's permission was needed. In order to do so, the applicant had to provide a report from a hospital stating the "transsexual nature", pathologizing transsexuality. Moreover, the sex reassignment surgery could only happen after the mandatory sterilization of the applicant. [15]
The following year, in 2003, Istanbul hosted the first pride and, in 2004, the Turkish Parliament approved the Law on Associations. Contrarily to the previous Associations Law, from 1983, all associations were able to be created with less bureaucracy and were less controlled by the government. Between 2005 and 2006, KaosGL and LamdaIstanbul were recognized as official. However, despite the increasing recognition of the LGBTQ+ community, in 2006 AKP took legal action against LambdaIstanbul: according to the governor of Istanbul, the association was violating the Law on Associations and the public morals, making it a threat for the Turkish family structures. Eventually, the judgment was reversed in favor of the association. [16]
In December 2006, Bigudi Club was established in Istanbul as the first lesbian-exclusive nightclub in the country of Turkey. [17] [18]
Since 2007, the conflicts between the AKP and queers became more frequent and heated. To respond to the impact of AKP's discriminatory policies, several queer associations created a coalition under the name Platform for LGBTI Rights (LGBTT Hakları Platformu). In 2008, they demanded the addition of "sexual orientation and sexual identity" to the Article 10 of the Turkish Constitution, which stipulates that "everyone is equal before the law". [19]
In 2008, Ahmet Yildiz was killed by his father in Istanbul. His murder has been referred to as the first gay honor killing in Turkey, and his body remained unclaimed by his family. [20] The same year, Ankara hosted the first pride.
In 2009, Halil İbrahim Dinçdağ was suspended by the Turkish Football Federation after he was outed as gay. He was also disavowed by friends and family. In 2015, the Federation was ordered to pay compensation to Dinçdağ as a result of his lawsuit. [21] [ unreliable source? ]
The first years of the new decade were characterized by a wave of demonstrations. During the Gezi protests in 2013, the members of the LGBTQ+ community played a major role. They created an LGBTQ+ section that organized protests, discussions and rallies, culminating in a demonstration that brought around 100,000 people to protest against AKP. [22] The same year, Ankara hosted its first pride.
During the protests new queer organizations were created, allowing them to participate more actively in the political life and to create larger networks with national and international organizations. Queer groups were founded even within some political parties, such as the People's Democratic Party and the Peace and Democracy Party. Moreover, a new polyclinic for queers and sex workers was established in Istanbul.
Under AKP's rule, state repression became more intense. In 2014 the pride march counted more than 100,000 participants, making it one of the biggest pride marches in Southeastern Europe, and politicians of the main opposition parties, CHP and BDP, lent their support to the demonstration. [23] As a consequence, the following year, Turkish authorities stopped and the annual pride parade in Istanbul through violence, making use of tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons against the marchers. [24] [25]
The following years, the authorities continued banning Istanbul Pride and, in 2017, the Ankara Governor's Office banned the German embassy's LGBT Film Festival. [26] [27] A couple of months later, on November 17, they also banned all the films, exhibitions and events related to LGBTQ+, because of "public sensitivities". [28] On November 19, two days later, two LGBTQ+ organizations said they would launch a legal process against the decision. [29]
In 2018, the Istanbul Pride parade was banned for the fourth year in a row. Despite the ban, the organizers chose to march anyway, but Turkish police clashed with the crowd, using plastic bullets and tear gas to break them apart. [30] [31] The authorities banned in Ankara the screening of the movie Pride, a 2014 comedy-drama with LGBTQ+ themes, claiming it put at risk public safety. [30] The pride march was banned in Andana too, over "possible incitement of hatred and hostility" among people. [32]
In 2019, the ban of the Pride Parade in Istanbul was renovated. [33] The opposition Member of the Grand National Assembly Sezgin Tanrıkulu of the CHP lodged a parliamentary question to the Vice President of Turkey Fuat Oktay asking for an explanation. He also asked how many members of the LGBTQ+ community were killed in the last 17 years, the amount of time passed since AKP firstly won the elections. [34] On June 29, hundreds of people chose to march despite the ban and were met with tear gas, pepper gas and plastic bullets from the police. [35]
In the midst of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic Ali Erbaş, president of the Directorate of Religious Affairs(Diyanet) in Turkey, held a Friday sermon in April 2020 [36] [37] in which he blamed "immoral" sexual behaviour, including homosexuality, for "bringing illness". In this sermon he also implied that there was a connection between the HIV epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic. Homophobic rhetoric in the political discourse increased noticeably during the months following this sermon. [38] In July of the same year, the major Turkish clothing chain LC Waikiki banned all symbols that could be linked with the LGBTQ+ community. [39] Also in July of the same year Netflix cancelled a series that was due to air in 2021, because the Turkish government objected to the fact that a gay character would feature in it. [40] Nonetheless, despite the increasing homophobia in politics and the decrease in queer public spaces, digital spaces created by LGBTQ groups flourished under the COVID-19 restrictions on social interaction. [38]
While the 2020 Istanbul Pride was held online as a result of COVID-19, in 2021 protesters once again assembled to hold a Pride Parade in the centre of Istanbul, but the crowd was dispersed by riot police. [41] The police had also set up barricades beforehand to prevent the march from happening, invoking "a law against protests that violate public "morality"" [42] In 2022 the authorities similarly attempted to prevent protesters from gathering by shutting down public transportation and blockading streets. [43] The protesters who managed to assemble nonetheless were dispersed by riot police, who arrested over 200 people. [44]
In 1926, Turkey implemented a new reform called the Turkish Civil Code (TCC) that established near complete gender equality between a man and a woman. [45] The TCC did not contain procedures when it came to transgender individuals. The lack of precedent allowed legal authorities to ignore requests from transgender individuals when they requested changes to their legally stated gender. A new amendment to the TCC in 1988 allowed for a documented gender change in the legal registry as long as the transgender individual has already performed gender-affirming surgery. [46] [47] Restrictions in the new amendment of the TCC were harsh and required many pre-requisutes in order to be able to receive gender-affirming surgery. Transgender individuals had to ask and be granted permission for the surgery, be at least 18 years of age, unmarried, and sterilized in order to receive gender-affirming surgery. [48] [46]
The case of YY v Turkey in 2015 pushed for the removal of the sterilization requirement to gender-affirming surgery. This case was a key part in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)'s landmark case in 2017 that voided the requirement of sterilization in order to qualify for gender-affirming surgery. Turkeys YY v Turkey was used as a precedent. [46] [48]
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Ukraine face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ individuals; historically, the prevailing social and political attitudes have been intolerant of LGBTQ people, and strong evidence suggests this attitude remains in parts of the wider society. Since the fall of the Soviet Union and Ukraine's independence in 1991, the Ukrainian LGBTQ community has gradually become more visible and more organized politically, organizing several LGBTQ events in Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, and Kryvyi Rih.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Cyprus have evolved in recent years, but LGBTQ people still face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female expressions of same-sex sexual activity were decriminalised in 1998, and civil unions which grant several of the rights and benefits of marriage have been legal since December 2015. Conversion therapy was banned in Cyprus in May 2023. However, adoption rights in Cyprus are reserved for heterosexual couples only.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Turkey face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents, though the overall situation is considered to be less repressive when compared to most other Muslim-majority countries.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Japan have fewer legal protections than in most other developed countries, although some developments towards stronger rights have been made in the 2020s. Same-sex sexual activity was criminalised only briefly in Japan's history between 1872 and 1881, after which a localised version of the Napoleonic Penal Code was adopted with an equal age of consent. Same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are ineligible for the legal protections available to opposite-sex couples, although since 2015 some cities and prefectures, covering over 60% of the population by 2023, offer "partnership certificates" to recognise the relationships of same-sex couples and provide some legal benefits. Japan is the only country in the G7 that does not legally recognize same-sex unions nationally in any form. In March 2021 and May 2023, the Sapporo and Nagoya District Courts ruled that not recognising same-sex marriage was a violation of the Constitution respectively. While in June 2022, the Osaka District Court ruled that not recognising same-sex marriage was not a violation of the Constitution, in November 2022, the Tokyo District Court ruled that the absence of same-sex marriage legislation was an unconstitutional state of affairs but did not violate the Constitution, though the court's ruling has no immediate legal effect. In June 2023, the Fukuoka District Court ruled that the ban on same-sex marriage was constitutional. A second ruling in September 2023 concluded that same-sex relationships should not be excluded from Japan's marriage system.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals in the Republic of the Philippines have faced many difficulties in their homeland, such as prejudice, violence, abuse, assault, harassment and other forms of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. Many LGBTQ Filipinos are met with mixed attitudes and reactions by their families, friends and others in their communities, as well as professionals, educators, their national public officials, politicians, attorneys and others working for the government and the rest of the general population.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in South Korea face prejudice, discrimination, and other barriers to social inclusion not experienced by their non-LGBTQ counterparts. Same-sex intercourse is legal for civilians in South Korea, but in the military, same-sex intercourse among soldiers is a crime, and all able-bodied men must complete about one year and half of military service under the conscript system. South Korean national law does not recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions, nor does it protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Same-sex couples cannot jointly adopt, and a 2021 Human Rights Watch investigation found that LGBTQ students face "bullying and harassment, a lack of confidential mental health support, exclusion from school curricula, and gender identity discrimination" in South Korean schools.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Georgia face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. However, Georgia is one of the few post-Soviet states that directly prohibits discrimination against all LGBTQ people in legislation, labor-related or otherwise. Since 2012, Georgian law has considered crimes committed on the grounds of one's sexual orientation or gender identity an aggravating factor in prosecution.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Switzerland are some of the most progressive by world standards. Social attitudes and the legal situation have liberalised at an increasing pace since the 1940s, in parallel to the situation in Europe and the Western world more generally. Legislation providing for same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, and IVF access was accepted by 64% of voters in a referendum on 26 September 2021, and entered into force on 1 July 2022.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in India have expanded in the 21st century, though much of India's advancements on LGBT rights have come from the judiciary and not the legislature. LGBTQ people in India continue to face legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ people. There are no legal restrictions against gay sex within India. Same-sex couples have some limited cohabitation rights, colloquially known as live-in relationships. However, India does not currently provide for common-law marriage, same-sex marriage, civil union or unregistered cohabitation.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Eswatini have limited legal rights. According to Rock of Hope, a Swati LGBTQ advocacy group, "there is no legislation recognising LGBTIs or protecting the right to a non-heterosexual orientation and gender identity and as a result [LGBTQ people] cannot be open about their orientation or gender identity for fear of rejection and discrimination." Homosexuality is illegal in Eswatini, though this law is in practice unenforced. According to the 2021 Human Rights Practices Report from the US Department of State, "there has never been an arrest or prosecution for consensual same-sex conduct."
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in El Salvador face considerable legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ Salvadorans. While same-sex sexual activity between all genders is legal in the country, same-sex marriage is not recognized; thus, same-sex couples—and households headed by same-sex couples—are not eligible for the same legal benefits provided to heterosexual married couples.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Kosovo have improved in recent years, most notably with the adoption of the new Constitution, banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. Kosovo remains one of the few Muslim-majority countries that hold regular pride parades.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Lesotho face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Lesotho does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment is banned since 2024.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Kyrgyzstan face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activities are legal in Kyrgyzstan, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are ineligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.
Istanbul Pride is a pride parade and LGBTQ demonstration held annually in Turkey's biggest city, Istanbul since 2003. Participants assemble in Taksim Square before marching the entire length of İstiklal Avenue. It has been described as the first and biggest LGBT event in Muslim-majority countries.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people generally have limited or highly restrictive rights in most parts of the Middle East, and are open to hostility in others. Sex between men is illegal in 9 of the 18 countries that make up the region. It is punishable by death in four of these 18 countries. The rights and freedoms of LGBTQ citizens are strongly influenced by the prevailing cultural traditions and religious mores of people living in the region – particularly Islam.
The following outline offers an overview and guide to LGBTQ topics:
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Kerala face legal and social difficulties not experienced by non-LGBT persons. However, Kerala has been at the forefront of LGBT issues in India after Tamil Nadu. It became one of the first states in India to establish a welfare policy for the transgender community and in 2016, proposed implementing free gender affirmation surgery through government hospitals. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 2018, following the Supreme Court ruling in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India. In addition, numerous LGBT-related events have been held across Kerala, including in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. However, there is also increasing opposition to LGBT rights recently as evidenced by the anti-LGBT campaigns spearheaded by meninist groups and Muslim organisations like Indian Union Muslim League, Samastha and Jamaat-e-Islami.
Queer radicalism can be defined as actions taken by queer groups which contribute to a change in laws and/or social norms. The key difference between queer radicalism and queer activism is that radicalism is often disruptive and commonly involves illegal action. Due to the nature of LGBTQ+ laws around the world, almost all queer activism that took place before the decriminalization of gay marriage can be considered radical action. The history of queer radicalism can be expressed through the many organizations and protests that contributed to a common cause of improving the rights and social acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community.
Istanbul is generally tolerant of LGBTQ people, at least compared to elsewhere in Turkey.
Women, for Mustafa, were a means of satisfying masculine appetites, little more; nor, in his zest for experience, would he be inhibited from passing adventures with young boys, if the opportunity offered and the mood, in this bisexual fin-de-siècle Ottoman age, came upon him.
"In the reaction he lost all belief in women and for the time being became enamoured of his own sex. [...] He started a number of open affairs with women, and with men. Male youth attracted him.
He had never loved a woman. He knew men, and was accustomed to command. He was used to the rough camaraderie of the Mess, the craze for a handsome young man, fleeting contacts with prostitutes.
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