It is normal that we haven't been able to find it because the term and the concept are very new for us. It has not yet become an indispensable part of our life. If "political correctness" is a term applied to language, ideas, policies or behavior to minimize offense to gender, racial, cultural, disabled, elderly or other identity groups, Turkish politics and social life are starting from the beginning. For our sovereign political culture, all of these ideas are relatively new.Another term that we looked for the equivalent of in Turkish was "gender." After much searching, we were finally able to find the Turkish term. But what we produced for gender, "toplumsal cinsiyet" does not mean much to many people upon first hearing it.
I don't have any complaints about the awareness of the term of "gender" or of its use. But I cannot claim the same about "politically correct" because knowledge brings responsibility.
Since I learned the term "politically correct" and became aware of the importance of being politically correct, I have obliged myself to stay within its boundaries. In a country like Turkey, where the concept of being politically correct is still developing, to obey it is sometimes disadvantageous. It does not matter how badly I want to say politically incorrect things to the people who are not politically incorrect; I restrain myself.
For example, recently someone who is described as a journalist (if I were not politically correct I would call him "so-called" journalist because he is unaware of the basic ethics of journalism), Fatih Altaylı, wrote a very sexist, nonsensical article. (If I were politically incorrect, I would say very idiotic.)
Although he did not mention a name, everybody knows he was referring to a prominent Turkish woman writer, Gülay Göktürk of Bugün daily, who was critical of the Turkish military on a TV program that she was participating in.
In his article, Altaylı wrote that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is "protecting what is between a woman's legs" because, according to Altaylı, Turkey's territory includes what's between the legs of women.
This is not the first politically incorrect statement Altaylı has made. (If I were not politically correct, I would say it's not the first time he exhibited a jackass attitude.) In the past, he declared his desire to sexually assault human rights activist Eren Keskin and to save the students who wear headscarves from being prostitutes.
(If I were not trying to be politically correct, I would raise several questions, for example, how he developed the idea that the army is responsible for protecting a woman's body. Is it because Altaylı is sitting on a tank barrel? Since I am trying to be politically correct, I cannot voice my fantasy of sending those kinds of people to concentration camps to re-educate them, either.)
Since being politically correct is important for me, I can only say that reasonable people in this country are sick of militarist, nationalist and sexist language in the media and in the sovereign political culture.
The only thing I can do is condemn Altaylı and all other politically incorrect people and repeat the Women's Media Watch Group's (Mediz) statement, though I know very well that those kinds of people will not understand anything:
"Women are not goods or territory. Women have minds, ideas and thoughts. They are not the property of anyone. None of their organs are battlefields or areas for protection. Male writers can write articles to oppose the ideas of women writers, but when they have a shortage of ideas, they should not attack their women colleagues by mentioning their 'between the legs' or 'bedrooms.' If this is the case, this is discrimination against women and sexual harassment, which does not fit with the ethics of journalism at all."
And I'll add a personal wish: I hope as soon as possible we will be able to absorb the concept of being politically correct. Otherwise we will continue to suffer.
I wish everyone a happy bayram full of political correctness.
