The Bull, Entertainment and Prestige: Bullfighting and masculinity in the Muğla countryside

Barış İşçi Pembeci

Makale detayları

The Bull, Entertainment and Prestige: Bullfighting and masculinity in the Muğla countryside

Yazarlar:

Barış İşçi Pembeci

Yayıncı:

Ankara University

Ana Başlıklar:

Kırsal Antropoloji | Sosyal ve Kültürel Antropoloji (Diğer)

Dergi:

Antropoloji Issue 50, pp.1-12

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001348710

pISSN:

0378-2891

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 Bullfights, which start in spring and end in autumn in rural Muğla, stand out as an important event where people get away from the monotony and workload of daily provincial life and get together with their relatives and friends from the surrounding villages and have a pleasant time with the participation of a large audience. In this study, it is emphasized that bullfights, which are spatially and temporally temporary events for most of the participants, have special meanings and functions for rural men. This study emphasizes that, although bullfighting is a temporary event in terms of space and time for most participants, it holds special meanings and functions for rural men. Over the course of eleven months of ethnographic research, the network of relations, symbols, meanings, and practices within bullfighting were analyzed through the lens of Clifford Geertzs interpretive approach. It is claimed that the wrestling not only provides men with an opportunity to distance themselves from the masculinity norms of rural life but also provides the opportunity to reproduce and display these norms. In this context, the article examines the symbolic meanings of the bull associated with masculinity, the ways in which the wrestling events offer rural men an opportunity to escape the pressures of social masculinity, and the efforts of men to compensate for their fragile masculine reputations through spending practices during the events. This study is expected to contribute to anthropological research that focuses on the intersections of gender, power, and social status in rural societies.

 Bullfights, which start in spring and end in autumn in rural Muğla, stand out as an important event where people get away from the monotony and workload of daily provincial life and get together with their relatives and friends from the surrounding villages and have a pleasant time with the participation of a large audience. In this study, it is emphasized that bullfights, which are spatially and temporally temporary events for most of the participants, have special meanings and functions for rural men. This study emphasizes that, although bullfighting is a temporary event in terms of space and time for most participants, it holds special meanings and functions for rural men. Over the course of eleven months of ethnographic research, the network of relations, symbols, meanings, and practices within bullfighting were analyzed through the lens of Clifford Geertzs interpretive approach. It is claimed that the wrestling not only provides men with an opportunity to distance themselves from the masculinity norms of rural life but also provides the opportunity to reproduce and display these norms. In this context, the article examines the symbolic meanings of the bull associated with masculinity, the ways in which the wrestling events offer rural men an opportunity to escape the pressures of social masculinity, and the efforts of men to compensate for their fragile masculine reputations through spending practices during the events. This study is expected to contribute to anthropological research that focuses on the intersections of gender, power, and social status in rural societies.

 Bullfights, which start in spring and end in autumn in rural Muğla, stand out as an important event where people get away from the monotony and workload of daily provincial life and get together with their relatives and friends from the surrounding villages and have a pleasant time with the participation of a large audience. In this study, it is emphasized that bullfights, which are spatially and temporally temporary events for most of the participants, have special meanings and functions for rural men. This study emphasizes that, although bullfighting is a temporary event in terms of space and time for most participants, it holds special meanings and functions for rural men. Over the course of eleven months of ethnographic research, the network of relations, symbols, meanings, and practices within bullfighting were analyzed through the lens of Clifford Geertzs interpretive approach. It is claimed that the wrestling not only provides men with an opportunity to distance themselves from the masculinity norms of rural life but also provides the opportunity to reproduce and display these norms. In this context, the article examines the symbolic meanings of the bull associated with masculinity, the ways in which the wrestling events offer rural men an opportunity to escape the pressures of social masculinity, and the efforts of men to compensate for their fragile masculine reputations through spending practices during the events. This study is expected to contribute to anthropological research that focuses on the intersections of gender, power, and social status in rural societies.

 Muğla kırsalında ilkbaharda başlayıp sonbaharda sona eren boğa güreşleri, geniş bir izleyici kitlesinin katılımıyla, insanların günlük taşra yaşamının monotonluğundan ve iş yükünden uzaklaşarak çevre köylerden gelen akrabaları ve dostlarıyla bir araya gelip keyifli vakit geçirdikleri önemli bir etkinlik olarak öne çıkmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, katılımcıların çoğu için mekânsal ve zamansal açıdan geçici bir etkinlik olan boğa güreşlerinin taşralı erkekler için özel anlam ve işlevler taşıdığına vurgu yapılmaktadır. On bir ay süren etnografik araştırma boyunca, boğa güreşlerinin içerdiği ilişkiler ağı, semboller, anlamlar ve pratikler, Clifford Geertzin yorumsamacı yaklaşımı esas alınarak incelenmiştir. Güreşlerin erkeklere taşra yaşamının dayattığı erkeklik normlarından uzaklaşma fırsatı sunmasının yanı sıra, bu normları yeniden üretme ve sergileme olanağı da sağladığı iddia edilmektedir. Bu bağlamda, boğanın erkeklikle özdeşleşen sembolik anlamları ele alınmış, güreşlerin taşralı erkeklere toplumsal baskıdan uzaklaşma fırsatını sunma biçimleri ve güreşlerde para harcama pratiklerinin erkeklik itibarı ile ilişkisi incelenmiştir. Bu çalışmanın, kırsal toplumlarda cinsiyet, güç ilişkileri, sosyal statü arasındaki kesişimlere odaklanan antropolojik çalışmalara katkı sağlaması umulmaktadır.

Makale detayları

The Bull, Entertainment and Prestige: Bullfighting and masculinity in the Muğla countryside

Yazarlar:

Barış İşçi Pembeci

Yayıncı:

Ankara University

Ana Başlıklar:

Kırsal Antropoloji | Sosyal ve Kültürel Antropoloji (Diğer)

Dergi:

Antropoloji Issue 50, pp.1-12

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001348710

pISSN:

0378-2891

Bullfights

Countryside

Fragile Masculinity

Anthropology of SportsBoğa Güreşleri

Taşra

Kırılgan Erkeklik

Spor Antropolojisi

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: Barış İşçi Pembeci

Yayıncı: Ankara University

Ana Başlıklar: Kırsal Antropoloji | Sosyal ve Kültürel Antropoloji (Diğer)

Dergi: Antropoloji Issue 50, pp.1-12

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 6/2025

Belge Dili: Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.): 2001348710

pISSN: 0378-2891

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Barış İşçi Pembeci

Yayıncı:

Ankara University

Ana Başlıklar:

Kırsal Antropoloji | Sosyal ve Kültürel Antropoloji (Diğer)

Dergi:

Antropoloji Issue 50, pp.1-12

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001348710

pISSN:

0378-2891