Queering Sexualities in Turkey

Cenk Ozbay is Associate Professor of Gender Studies and Sociology in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Sabanci University. He holds a PhD in Sociology from University of Southern California. His research interests are gender and sexualities, masculinity studies, urban sociology, work and labour, neoliberalism and mobilities. In addition to his many publications in English and Turkish, he is a co-editor of Yeni Istanbul Calismalari (2014) and The Making of Neoliberal Turkey (2016).

'Queering Sexualities in Turkey is a pioneering study of heterosexually-identified young men with rural family origins who engage in compensated sex with middle-class gay clients in Istanbul. It richly melds compelling ethnography, in-depth interviews, and theory within a cultural and political-economy framework. Richly rewarding his readers with a powerful intersectional analysis through thick description and theoretical depth, Cenk Ozbay shows how a closely studied case illuminates broader theoretical questions central to understanding the key roles of class, the body and heteronormativity in shaping embodied masculinities and sexualities. Engaging, original, beautifully written, and distinct for its global orientation, Queering Sexualities in Turkey is a must read for gender and sexuality scholars, and an invaluable teaching resource in a wide range of disciplines.' - Gul Ozyegin, Associate Professor of Sociology and Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies, College of William and Mary, 'Grounded in careful observation and richly theorized, Cenk Ozbay's Queering Sexualities in Turkey stretches and deepens our understanding of the shifting dynamics of gender relations, sexual identity and sex work in neoliberal contexts.'- Michael A. Messner, Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies, University of Southern California, 'Cenk Ozbay's innovative and inspiring study provides Queer Studies scholarship with a much needed critical focus on the regional operations of class, gender and sexuality. Benefitting from a cross-disciplinary and transnational range of academic literature, Ozbay's analyses prove to be a powerful intervention to existing debates on globalization of sexualities, and the geopolitics of knowledge production in Queer Studies.'- Cuneyt Cakirlar, Lecturer in Communications, Culture and Media Studies. Nottingham Trent University

• List of Photographs Acknowledgements Introduction: Queering Sexualities in Turkey1. Sexuality, Masculinity and Male Sex Work 2. Rent Boys and the Contours of Exaggerated Masculinity 3. Rent Boys’ Intimacies in Neoliberal Times 4. Queer in the Spatial, Temporal and Social Margins 5. Contemporary Male Sex Work Conclusion: Perverse Mobilities and Deviant CareersNotes Bibliography Index