Coğrafi Araştırma Yöntemlerinin Toplumsal Cinsiyet İlişkilerinin İncelenmesine Katkısı

Sosyal davranış ve mekânın birbirini nasıl karşılıklı olarak ürettiği konusuna ilginin artmasına paralel olarak sosyal bilimlerde coğrafi araştırma yöntemlerinin kullanımı da artmaktadır. Bununla birlikte, söz konusu yöntemlerin uygulanışı, ürettikleri verinin niteliği ve sahadaki deneyimlere ilişkin sınırlı sayıda kaynak mevcuttur. Bu çalışmada toplumsal cinsiyet ve sınıf dinamiklerinin kadınların mahalle düzeyinde ‘serbest zaman’ (leisure) deneyimlerini nasıl şekillendirdiğini inceleyen doktora tezimin saha deneyimlerini değerlendiriyorum. 2014-2015 yılları içinde toplamda 8 ay süren araştırmamda Türkiye’nin Bursa şehrinin, iki farklı sınıf karakterine sahip mahallesinde, yürü ve konuş görüşmeleri, haritalama tekniklerinin kullanıldığı odak grup görüşmeleri ve çeşitli leisure mekânlarında katılımlı gözlem yöntemlerini kullanarak veri elde ettim. Söz konusu yöntemler, katılımcılar için kendilerini ifade etmede sözel anlatımın sınırlarını aşabilecek yeni imkânlar sağlarken, araştırmacı için de geleneksel yüz yüze görüşmelerde akla gelmeyecek yeni soruların sorulmasına olanak sağlayan araçlardır. Bu nedenle, bu makale coğrafi araştırma yöntemlerinin toplumsal cinsiyet ilişkilerinin çok katmanlı ve karmaşık yapısını yansıtabileceğini ileri sürmektedir.

Contribution of Geographical Research Methods to the Study of Gender Relations

Geographical research methods have been increasingly used in social sciences due to the interest inhow social behaviour and space are mutually constructed. However, there is still a limited number ofstudies dealing with the application of such methods, the variety of produced data, and fieldexperiences. In this paper, I reflect on fieldwork experiences of my doctoral research, whichinvestigated how gender and class dynamics shape women’s experiences of leisure at theneighbourhood level. During the eight-month fieldwork between 2014-2015, I used the methods ofthe walk and talk interviews, focus groups with mapping exercises and participant observation inleisure spaces of two differently-classed neighbourhoods in Bursa, Turkey. These methods provideparticipants with new possibilities of expression, beyond verbal communication capacities, allowingresearchers to think about questions that may not necessarily arise in traditional sit-in interviews.Therefore, this article concludes by suggesting that geographical methods can mirror the multilayeredand complex nature of gendered social relations

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