Body polemics ala Turka

Singer and producer  Bülent Ersoy, a male-to-female transsexual and a national icon, was harassed by Mustafa TopaloÄŸlu, a singer who often appears on weekend programes airing on religious-leaning channels. While at an anniversary party for the Association of Customs employees on Friday, December 8, TopaloÄŸlu claimed to the press that “Miss Bülent” was not showing him “enough respect.” “To me, she’s not a diva,” he continued. “She’s a barge.” Pointing out that TopaloÄŸlu has sold over four million albums, while “Ersoy is just a producer,” he said that “I will not forgive [Ersoy] until she kisses my hand.”

Ersoy has recently announced that she would like to re-marry. A legendary figure in the musical genre known as Turkish art music, and married a man, Cem Adler in 1998, yet divorcing him a year later due to his cheating on her with a call girl. Upon returning to Turkey after gender re-assignment in the UK in 1981, she faced strong discrimination from the military government of Kenan Evren. Her performances were banned in Turkey as a part of a crackdown on so-called “social deviance”. She then went on in 1983 to continue her career in Germany. She returned to Turkey in 1988 when the Turkish Civil Code was amended to recognize the status of transgendered people. Her career continued to flourish.

Now in semi-retirement, she is celebrated as an “abla”, a casual term for an older woman. She makes the rounds on judging panels for “Idol” series reality contest shows, and continues to push the boundaries on gender roles in modern Turkey.