Navigating masculinities: the role of internalised oppression and domination in gendered violence amidst anti-gender politics

This paper explores gendered violence through intricate dynamics of internalised oppression and domination within contexts where anti-genderism has arisen and subsequently exacerbated it. Turkey exemplifies the operation of anti-genderism linked to a majoritarian-authoritarian-securitarian top-down political agenda. Growing discontent against increasing social violence linked to this agenda signals potential for men’s involvement in feminist social justice endeavours against anti-gender politics. However, men may find it challenging to embrace a feminist perspective due to their contentious positionalities regarding power dynamics involving internalised oppression and domination. Drawing on continuum thinking about gendered power relations, the paper reveals complex barriers that prevent men from cultivating alternative, empowering political-ethical imaginations. For men to engage in feminist social justice struggles against anti-genderism, they initially require reckoning with these power dynamics.