Tracing “Gender Critical” Ideology in Turkey: A Study of the Feminist Movement on Sex/Gender in Relation to Trans and Queer Inclusivity

Abstract: Drawing from queer theory and transfeminism, this article discusses whether queer- and trans-inclusive feminism is a possibility within the contemporary feminist movement in Turkey by analyzing its approach to the concept of sex/gender. In this context, in-depth interviews were conducted with activists who took part in the feminist movement and the LGBTQIA+ movement in Izmir, Turkey. These interviews reveal that the feminist movement bases its understanding on the sex and gender distinction and heteropatriarchy’s gender binarism, questions the identities of trans subjects, and establishes power domains in terms of being white and cishet. The present study has concluded that the feminist movement does not build sufficiently on transfeminism and queer theory, and reinforces a cisnormative sex/gender approach.