Identity During the Gezi Protests Essay

Introduction

The Gezi protests manifested different identities that all came together under one goal; to stop the injustice taking place in the Turkish society. One of the identities constructed was the aspect of religion that had representations from different groups. Many religious sections felt that the government oppressed their freedom to carry out religious activities and express their faith. The Alevi activists were especially open about the aspect of religion being a reason for their participation in the protests. They carried the message through their attire, slogans, and nature of involvement. Amidst the religious aspects of the protests was the government trying to ensure that it comprised the goal of this movement (Ulug, Ozden & Acar 126). The government used religion to try and foster a division between the Muslims and other facets in the society that held different beliefs. For instance, the government used the international media to assert that the protesters from Alevi groups and other religious sections were disrespecting Muslims. The government alleged that they had entered the mosque while wearing their shoes and even influenced the Muslims to eat during the holy month of Ramadan. Some of the protestors were also against the religious aspects of the environment. For instance, the non-capitalist Muslims argued that the environment and especially parks held a lot of significance in the Islam. Nature represented the aspect of heaven. Given that the Gezi Park was the only form of nature left in the city, these Muslims felt compelled to protest its being used for profit. They cited that their religion put emphasis on the universality of nature and its peaceful relationship with man. The non-capitalist Muslims also argued that the government wanted to tear people apart using Islam and religion in general as a basis.

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Therefore, given this religious identity, many protestors sought to communicate the same using messages and costumes that reflected their beliefs. An example is figure 1 below that highlights a man wearing a Guy Fawkes mask as a statement about their religious beliefs. The mask has a history that involved a man named Guido Fawkes who fought for the prominence of the Catholic Church during the 15th century. In this case, he wanted rights for his people who faced the threat of the protestant reformation that would wipe put their religion. Therefore,. By wearing this mask, the man communicated unity in religion. He communicated that even though the protestors all held different religious beliefs, they respected one another and would not let religion cause division as it was the case in the 15th century. Additionally, the protestor communicate that he was against religious exploitation and discrimination as facilitated by the government.

A protestor wearing the Guy Fawkes mask.

Moreover, the religious identity of these protesters was mostly that of diversity. Indeed, while there were very specific religious groups gathered in the masses, the whole idea of Gezi was to bring about people from all religious walks of life in making a statement about the diverse nature of this aspect. There were Muslims, Secularists, Atheists, and even some Christians in the masses who all came together to embrace the idea of change. The banners and slogans that the protestors carried reflected this spirit of universality about religious identity. For instance, Figure 2 below represents one of the strongest messages the protestors carried. In this image, the first part of the message reads "Be human, show respect and be respected. Turn your face and heart to God and your people." The message communicates that the protestors recognized that everyone has their God. They looked at religion as an matter of personal choice. Its identity varied from one person to another and everybody needed the space to worship their God. For this reason, they urged the masses to worship their God in the spirit of Gezi and advancing the rights of the Turkish society.

Another identity that is notable during the protests is that of women activists. The female voice was one of the strongest as many believed the society had denied them rights for a very long time. Research indicates that more than half of the population consisted of women who came from different walks of life. They were lawyers, doctors, nurses, students, civil servants, and so on. They came out in strong numbers to protest the oppression of women. They opined that the society prevented women from speaking their minds because ATP exercised a lot of control over female voices. The women alleged that there were negative politics surrounding women as facilitated by the government (`(Ulug, Ozden & Acar 128). The women needed changes in the society that made it possible for them to have the same freedom and autonomy of the mind as their male counterparts. For instance, the government had earlier on made a statement to the effect that women need to have three children in the very least.

The image in Figure 3 below highlights the rhetoric behind the female identity in these protests. It showcases how women were oppressed and carried the metaphor for their lack of voices in the society. The woman stands in front of a police officer unperturbed. She is not violent and does not have anything that can match their guns or tear gas. However, they still use their masculinity and power to deny her a voice that could speak against oppression. The very nature of this image has been used as a metaphor for how women were treated in the Turkish society and explains why they wanted change.

The image sparked more symbolic protests from the female protestors who begun realizing the effect of their voice in the Gezi events. For instance, figure 5 below illustrates how the women begun their metaphorical protests to pass along the message of oppression after the woman in red image appeared. In this case, the women illustrate how the government has silenced them using masks. They provide an illusion of their helplessness in a society that is filled with gender politics and does not accord its women any independence to air their view as it is the case with their male counterparts. Image 4 carries a strong message that was used to formulate the identity of female activists in these protests.

There are also videos that emerged online of women in the protests chanting slogans about equal rights. Their chants were urging the government to facilitate equal rights in aspects like politics and employment opportunities. The women chanted that they wanted equal rights now and that the current government was always against women. They communicated the need for changes in women's rights as their incentive towards the protests. The thousands of women who joined in the march towards Gezi Park reflected the thirst for change and equality in the female population. The women belonged to different ethnicities and religious sects but still came together under a common identity and goal. The following video illustrates their demands for change. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIIe1ZHbG4sThe LGBT community was also one of the identities in the Gezi protests. The LGBT community protested fascism, authoritarianism, brutality, patriarchy, and the unfair nature through which the government treated its citizens. In an interesting way, the LGBT community received more attention in this protest than ever before. It was a group that had been ignored and was at the receiving end of police brutality on a frequent basis. The protests brought everyone together and people embraced the LGBT movement for the first time. The unity was beyond imaginable as the LGBT movement represented its grievances and showcased awe at the support received in its social media posts. For instance, the twitter group, LGBT Blok communicated the nature of the grievances in stories from individuals, experiences, and anti-government slogans. The LGBT Blok was a major communication tool that attracted people who did not even belong to the LGBT family. They all came together to overwhelmingly pass information and provide incitements that would rid the system of a fascist and authoritarian government (Ulug, Ozden & Acar 139). The video below highlights stories of how members of the LGBT face harassment from the police and society in general because of who they are. The Gezi protests gave them a new identity not as a people who are unwanted, but those who can be part of a conversation to create the change needed in the society. The people embraced LGBT, cheered them on, and even adorned their rainbow colors. In this video and Image 5, the rainbow was a symbol of the struggles of the LGBT movement and their cry for change. The slogans also showcased phrases such as "I am gay and I am here now!" that were meant to showcase the LGBT community was finally waking up and demanding its rights as part of the Turkish society.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEcnwvjDaJU

Image 5 showcases the LGBT rainbow colors as a symbolism of their oppression and eventual demand for better treatment.

The Interpretive Frameworks of the Movement

The interpretive framework of this movement emanates from the behavior of individuals during the protests. The groups engaged with the police for a long time but they still stay intact. The police used tear gas, water cannons, and even burned down their tents but the protesters kept coming back. The police reached out to mothers to have them talk to their children and end the protests but the opposite happened. As shown in figure 6 below, the mothers came out of their homes and supported their sons and daughters. Hence, all these aspects interpret that the people were tired of this government and wanted change. They wanted change by all means necessary and had reached the point of no return. The people were willing to sacrifice their lives, freedom, and even family to ensure that there were better times ahead. Hence, the message in the resilience of these protests was very clear. The people wanted change and were not going to accept anything less of the same.

The values of this movement included the need for democracy, inclusion, choices, freedom, and social responsibility from the government. The movement wanted a society that is aligned together and can accept individuals from all walks of life. The people wanted equal rights, the freedom of expression, and social progress in the midst of an authoritarian government that prevented any of these from taking place. Therefore, the protesters became united because they had the same vision. They had a universal goal since they had witnessed the problems generated by the government. Everyone had been a victim of this rogue government in one way or another, which influenced millions of people from 77 provinces to come together and share in these values. The protesters included people from all walks of life who wanted the government to hear them for the first time. They commanded attention to address the need for these values as part of a functional society. The movement was widespread through word of mouth, WhatsApp groups, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and the international media. For instance, the younger Generation mobilized people through the #soruyoruz that asked the government grant the people their rights.

The power of the movement can be manifested through the fact that mor...