87. Today in 1920s Turkey: 15 May 1924 (Modern Turkish Women)
Türkçe
Kadınlarımız: Dün/Bugün
(Sağ) Erkek: Hanım, sen bu yolu bilmezsin, buradan gidelim, daha kestirmedir.
(Sol) Kadın: Bey, sen bu yolu bilmezsin, buradan gidelim, daha kestirmedir.English
Our Women: Yesterday/Today
(Right) Man: Wife, you don’t know this road, let’s go down this way, it’s a shortcut.
(Left) Woman: Husband, you don’t know this road, let’s go down this way, it’s a shortcut.
Comments:
Comparing and contrasting old and new ways of existence was a common activity of the modernist press preoccupied with demonstrating change and progress. As far as cartoonists and illustrators were concerned, the divided frame is a common method of presenting a comparison in a digestible format. In today’s case, two types of Turkish women are the subject of the split-screen image. The two frames are meant to progress chronologically from Yesterday/Dün (“before” on right) to Today/Bugün (“after” on left).
Each frame is occupied by a husband-and-wife pair. The couple on the right appears older than that of the left which contributes to the theme of “age” conveyed by the “Yesterday” labeling. Despite their age difference the two men are dressed more or less alike but it is the women whose attire has changed drastically. The older woman on the right wears a headscarf and a çarşaf or a “chador” which is a full body covering outer garment best known for its functionality rather than aesthetic appeal. The woman on the left, however, wears the latest in fashion: a form-fitting dress with a fur-lined, belted coat, a pair of heels, and a skullcap with feathers in it. This woman leads her husband while the woman on the right is being led by her spouse. The two women not only differ in appearance but also in attitude which is what is conveyed in the text.
According to this comparison, men determined course of action and direction in the past. Whereas today women are the ones steering the ship. The woman of today speaks her mind and is cultured, experienced, and clever enough to know the ins and outs of the city, whereas the woman of the past has no such experience or confidence in public spaces. But in addition to being a comparison this also constitutes a generalization. While this may be stating the obvious, women vary… and extroverts and introverts, old-fashioned and modern women coexist to this day just as old and young exist side-by-side. Moreover, it is telling that although both images also feature men, they are not the subject of superfluous scrutiny.
Originally published at https://steemit.com on May 15, 2017.
