Negotiating reproduction and gender during the fertility decline in Turkey

Zeynep Angin and Frederic C. Shorter

Social Science & Medicine, 1998, vol. 47, issue 5, 555-564

Abstract: This paper is concerned with the cultural construction of reproduction and gender in Turkey as it relates to the remarkable decline from high levels of fertility to near-replacement levels. It critiques demographic transition theory and family systems theory as found in the Turkish demographic discourse. A combination of ethnographic and demographic methodologies are used. The ethnographies are from working-class communities in Istanbul. A concept of negotiated conduct is used to interpret family dynamics in matters of reproductive control replacing the family systems models that are based on the assumption of male domination or patriarchy. It is found that the physical characteristics (male or female) of methods of contraception do not directly reveal whose power dominates negotiations. The variety of experience shows that not only women, but also men, negotiate in favor of birth control or, in some instances, to birth more children. The changes in structural conditions that brought fertility from high levels to near-replacement levels in Turkey were effective without very much "empowerment" of women. The proposition that women's status, in terms of education and economic activity, must improve to bring about a fertility decline is questioned by the Turkish experience.

Keywords: Turkey; reproduction; gender; ethnography; contraception; demographic; transition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1998
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(98)00079-3
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:47:y:1998:i:5:p:555-564

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
http://www.elsevier. ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

Access Statistics for this article

Social Science & Medicine is currently edited by Ichiro (I.) Kawachi and S.V. (S.V.) Subramanian

More articles in Social Science & Medicine from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().