Is homophobia really just a Turkish thing?

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Tarih	: 22 ?ubat 2008 13:13

BIG Brother six featured a contestant named Kemal Shahin who is a British Turkish Cypriot. He will be remembered for publicly ‘coming out’ as a homosexual to his friends and family via the show.

After the show ended I received a phone call asking if I wanted to participate in a TV studio discussion around the Turkish community’s reaction to Kemal’s homosexuality. I was unable to attend as I was going Cyprus that week, but would not have gone anyway, as I was not too sure what I was expected to say.

I was pleased to note that Kemal’s parents were very positive about the whole thing and at no point played into the hands of those seeking drama by acting like ‘stereotypical Turks’ that are vehemently opposed to homosexuality. There is no denying that homophobia is an issue amongst Turkish communities but it is fair to say that it is a problem amongst most communities and that includes indigenous British.

Let us also not forget that one of the most famous Turkish superstars of all time is in fact a transsexual by the name of Bulent Ersoy, which surely demonstrates a certain degree of tolerance.

What I personally objected to was the idea of a TV show about this one individual, surely his difficulties in ‘coming out’ were not only related to his specific ethnic background? Afterall it is not uncommon to hear stories about the difficulty in ‘coming out’ for people from all types of backgrounds. The need to stereotype and presume that all people from a Turkish background will automatically be homophobic is presumptuous to say the least.

CLASS NOT RACE?

I think the issue of class may make a difference to this debate, it seems to be the case that within white working class districts of Britain there is as much open opposition to homosexuality as there is anywhere else. By the same token when I went to Istanbul a few years ago I went to a club that was full of middle class society people of Turkish origin. One woman quite openly approached my female friend and asked her for a date, her homosexuality was not under cover and she seemed proud and confident in her actions. This would probably be a very different story in a Turkish village far away from Istanbul and its cosmopolitan ‘free for all’ atmosphere.

UNLIMITED

Just to be clear that what I am writing here is not a defence of homophobia or of the negative attitudes of certain ethnic or religious groups towards people who are homosexual. What I aim to do is provide a reminder that this form of discrimination is not limited to any particular group or religion and it should not be used as a way of demonstrating how specific ethnic groups are backward and intolerant in comparison to their white counterparts. Homophobia is a universal problem and as such it is an issue that will need to be tackled where and when it arises. 

GET OVER IT

On a final note a recent campaign by Stonewall states: ‘Some people are gay; get over it’. The reality is you can debate endlessly about the rights and wrongs and put forward various arguments that forbid homosexuality, but there will always be people who have the urge to be with someone of the same sex - the rest of us will really just have to ‘get over it’.

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