ABSTRACT

Examining the labor policies of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) in Istanbul from 1919–1930, this article claims that the organization’s mainly American staff were critical of women who stayed at home because the idea of being ‘an individual’ for them meant working, or having a professional goal. They encouraged young women develop their individuality and self-expression as independent career-oriented women. By establishing an Employment Bureau, offering business training, presenting career-oriented role models and talks, YWCA staff encouraged young women to gain financial independence and pushed them towards making active decisions about their careers, detaching them from paternal and societal authority. Working for oneself and focusing on one’s own career became the key to taking control of one’s life and choices, pursuing personal happiness and potential, all of which was part of attaining a sense of individuality. Their prioritizing of having a career over marriage and motherhood contributed to feminist activism. This case-study argues that the YWCA’s mainly American staff at the Istanbul centers promoted the value of a professional identity for women beyond the bounds of nationalistic duty or motherhood, which contrasted with the late Ottoman state’s and Early Republican Turkey’s ideologies while simultaneously challenging gender roles and patriarchal codes.

摘要

本文考察了伊斯坦布尔基督教女青年会 (YWCA) 从 1919 年到 1930 年的劳工政策，声称该组织的主要美国员工对留在家中的女性持批评态度，因为对她们来说，成为“个人”意味着工作，或有职业目标。他们鼓励年轻女性发展她们的个性和自我表达，成为独立的职业女性。YWCA 工作人员通过设立就业局、提供商业培训、展示职业榜样和讲座，鼓励年轻女性获得经济独立，并推动她们对自己的职业做出积极的决定，使她们脱离父权和社会权威。为自己工作，专注于自己的事业，成为掌控自己生活和选择的关键，追求个人的幸福和潜力，所有这些都是获得个性的一部分。他们将事业优先于婚姻和母亲身份促成了女权主义激进主义。本案例研究认为，YWCA 在伊斯坦布尔中心的主要美国工作人员提升了女性职业身份的价值，超越了民族主义义务或母性的界限，这与奥斯曼帝国晚期和土耳其共和国早期的意识形态形成鲜明对比，同时挑战性别角色和父权代码。