Feminist Perspective on Women’s Museums in Turkey: İzmir Case

Özet

Museums appeared as modern institutions in the nineteenth century. Historical transitionssuch as the Enlightenment, emergence of scientific conceptions based on principal ofuniversality and preservation of dominant ideology (such as imperialism, nation building)affected the context of modern museums. Hence, museums clearly indicate the inclusion andexclusion mechanisms of modernity. The changing nature of history through pluralizationopened new spaces for women, children, workers, ethnic and religious communities as wellas other silenced people. Thus, women’s museums reflect the flux of identity, alternativehistory and representation of mundaneness. Turkey’s first women’s museum, Women’sMuseum İstanbul, was established as a virtual museum in 2012. The first women’s museumto have an actual location, however, came in 2014 in İzmir. Women’s museums ensurevisibility of women contributing to the feminist movement. Feminist critiques indicate that menand women in the classical museum are not represented based on equality principle; on thecontrary, exhibitions of gender relations are hierarchical, and the roles of women aresecondary to those of men. Apart from gender roles, women’s museums are also importantfor representation of women, since the issue of women who are represented and womenwho are excluded, is also subject of feminist debate. Women’s museums, considered inrelation to collective memory and can be differentiated from historical experience. This paperthereby tries to evaluate opportunities and limitations of women’s representation in the casestudy of Turkey’s first women’s museum in İzmir.