Building upon ethnographic material and literature dating from the early 1970s until the 2010s, this thesis is about the production and transformation of dissident sexual geographies through the interplay of sexual politics and citizenship in Beyoğlu and Aksaray, two districts of Istanbul, Turkey. In particular, the interdisciplinary inquiry is composed in the form of a walk on Istiklal Street in Beyoğlu district, historically a central location for cruising activities, finding sexual communities and organising political events among LGBT circles. Throughout, the study focuses on the generational use of three interconnected areas: places, such as gay and transgender bars and clubs (1970s–2010s); politics, such as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) sexual identity politics (1980s–2010s), and virtualities, such as cyberspaces produced through internet and webcam technologies (1990s–2010s).

As such, this study contributes to the literature in an under-researched area: the academic study of the production and transformation of dissident sexual geographies between the early 1970s and the early 2010s in Istanbul. Furthermore, it advances current debates on contemporary LGBT identity politics in relation to place-making processes and their role in subverting the assumptions of heteronormativity in the Turkish context. Lastly, the empirical material on three interwoven areas (places, politics and virtualities) contributes to theoretical debates on the construction of intimacy and privacy in the Turkish context.

Föreliggande avhandling bygger på ett etnografiskt material, samt på litteratur, från tidigt 1970-tal till 2010-tal. Den behandlar konstruktion och omvandling av dissidenta sexuella geografier genom samspel mellan sexualpolitik och medborgarskap i Beyoğlu och Aksaray, två av den turkiska staden Istanbuls distrikt. I synnerhet rör sig avhandlingens interdisciplinära frågeställning längst Istiklal-avenyn i distriktet Beyoğlu. Avenyn har över tid blivit en plats för cruising, för att hitta sexuella sociala sammanhang och för att organisera politisk aktivitet i LGBT-kretsar. Genomgående i avhandlingen fokuseras olika  generationers användning av tre sammanlänkande områden: platser, såsom gay/transgender-barer och klubbar (1970-2010), politik, såsom gay, lesbiska, bisexuella och transgender-personers sexuella identitetspolitik (1980-2010), samt virtuella rum, såsom platser i cyberrymden skapade via internet och webkamera-teknologier (1990-2010).

Härigenom utgör studien med ett bidrag på ett under-beforskat område; akademiska studier av konstruktion och omvandling av dissidenta sexuella geografier från tidigt 1970-tal till 2010-tal i Istanbul. Vidare bidrar studien till att utveckla rådande diskussion om samtida LGBTidentitetspolitik i förhållande till platsskapande processer och deras roll i att underminera heteronormativa antaganden i en turkisk kontext. Slutligen bidrar studien och dess empiriska material baserat på tre sammanlänkade områden (plats, politik och virtuella rum) till den teoretiska diskussionen om konstruktion av intimitet och det privata i en turkisk kontext.

The world is becoming more transnational. This edited collection examines how the immense transnational changes in the contemporary world are being produced by and are affecting different men and masculinities. It seeks to shift debates on men, masculinities and gender relations from the strictly local and national context to much greater concern with the transnational and global. Established and rising scholars from Asia, Australia, Europe and North America explore subjects including economies and business corporations; sexualities and the sex trade; information and communication technologies and cyberspace; migration; war, the military and militarism; politics; nationalism; and symbolism and image-making.

The papers of this volume represent the intense and intellectually hectic activities which took place during the seventh research theme of the GEXcel during the autumn 2010 in Linköping, Getting Rid of Violence; TRANSdisciplinary, TRANSnational and TRANSformative Feminist Dialogues on Embodiment, Emotions and Ethics. In short, the theme was called The Violence Theme 7. All the authors were GEXcel scholars for various periods of time between October and December 2010, working with their research projects at Tema Genus, Linköping University.

All scholars also participated in the Conference arranged within the theme in Linköping on 12th–14th October 2010: Violences and Silences: Shaming, Blaming – and Intervening (see Appendix B for program). This conference gathered 35 participants from all over the world who during three intensive days exchanged knowledge. So many papers were submitted after the conference for the proceedings that those have appeared in a special Work in Progress report, volume XII.

Many of the chapters in the volume were presented at the seminars which were held regularly during the theme period (see Appendix A for program).

This volume is literally a “Work in Progress” report, meaning that some of the texts are not preliminary as to intellectual content but will in future be elaborated more before they are finally published. Some minor editorial comments and changes have been exchanged between the authors and the editors, and the content of the chapters are thus the authors’ own responsibility. Only the texts from non-native English speaking authors have gone through a formal language check by a native English-speaking editor.

We would like to thank Berit Starkman, Björn Pernrud and Ulrica Engdahl for all their efforts in the practical arrangements for the theme and the scholars, Liz Sourbut for English language revision of the manuscripts, Tomas Hägg for excellent work with the printing, Mette Bryld for invaluable advice on applicants for GEXcel, and Nina Lykke for her support as GEXcel Director.

The contributions to this volume are the result of the activities carried out within the frame of GEXcel’s ninth research theme, Gendered Sexualed Transnationalisations, Deconstructing the Dominant: Transforming men, ‘centres’ and knowledge/policy/practice. The authors were among the presenters at the GEXcel Conference ‘Men and Masculinities, Moving On Again! Transnationalising Flows, Technologies, Institutions, Theory’ held on 25th–27th May, 2011 (see Appendix 2). Some of the conference presentations will be published in GEXcel Work-in-Progress Report 18.

This volume is of a work-in-progress character, and thus the texts presented here are to be elaborated further. The reader should also be aware that, as this is a report of working papers, some minor editorial modifications have been made to some papers, but the language of  those contributed by non-native speakers of English has not been specifically revised.

We are grateful to all participants and presenters, to the chairs and rapporteurs of the workgroups, and also thank Berit Starkman, Claire Tucker and John Dickson for all their assistance in the arrangements for Theme 9 and the preparation of the conference from which this volume has been produced.

Alp Biricik and Jeff Hearn

Making Gender, Making War is a unique interdisciplinary edited collection which explores the social construction of gender, war-making and peacekeeping. It highlights the institutions and processes involved in the making of gender in terms of both men and women, masculinity and femininity. The "war question for feminism" marks a thematic red thread throughout; it is a call to students and scholars of feminism to take seriously and engage with the task of analyzing war. Contributors analyze how war-making is intertwined with the making of gender in a diversity of empirical case studies, organized around four themes: gender, violence and militarism; how the making of gender is connected to a (re)making of the nation through military practices; UN SCR 1325 and gender mainstreaming in institutional practices; and gender subjectivities in the organization of violence, exploring the notion of violent women and non-violent men. -- Book Description.