Bir Miti Çözmek: Sosyal Medyada Kadın Kürt Savaşçılar Mitinin Doğuşu

Bu analiz, sosyal medyada Kürt kadın savaşçıların imgelerini incelemektedir. Makale Kürt kadın savaşçıların, özellikle DAEŞ'e karşı yürütülen savaş bağlamında çeşitli resimlerini yaymaya başlayan uluslararası medya ve imgelerin halkla ilişkiler açısından değerini anlayan Kürt siyasetçiler tarafından nesnelleştirildiğini savunmaktadır. Edward Said’in tezinin temel ilkeleri, Suriye iç savaşında yer alan aktörlerin oryantalist ve cinsiyetçi temsillerini açıklamaya devam etmektedirve bu nedenle oryantalizm, kadın Kürt savaşçılarının baskın batı betimlemelerine eleştirel bir biçimde bakmak için mevcut çalışmada analitik bir araç olarak kullanılmaktadır. Bu amaçla Kürt kadın savaşçılara ait imgeler, Barthes’in “Mitolojiler” adlı önemli çalışmasında önerdiği semiyotik (göstergebilimsel) yöntem kullanılarak analiz edilmektedir. Analiz, imgeler ile uluslararası ve iç politika arasındaki ilişkiyi hakikat sonrası kavramını da kullanarak açığa çıkarmayı amaçlamaktadır. Makale, Kürt kadın savaşçılarına ait imgelerin, Batılı güçler ve Kürt siyasi grupları tarafından Suriye'deki uzun süreli iç savaşta siyasi konumlarını meşrulaştırmak için kullanıldığı sonucuna ulaşmaktadır.

Unravelling A Myth: Emergence of The Myth of Female Kurdish Fighters in Social Media

This analysis looks at images of Kurdish female fighters in social media. It argues that Kurdish female fighters have been objectified by international media and Kurdish politicians, who have realised the public relations value of images, and started to disseminate variegated images of Kurdish female fighters, particularly in the context of the war against DAESH (ISIS). The basic tenets of Edward Said’s thesis remain relevant in orientalist and gendered representations of the actors involved in Syrian civil war, and therefore the study uses orientalism as an analytical tool to critically engage with dominant western depictions of female Kurdish fighters. To this aim, news images of Kurdish female fighters are semiotically analysed using Barthes’ framework as proposed in his seminal work “Mythologies”. The analysis aims to unleash the interrelationship between imagery and international and domestic politics using the concept of post-truth politics. The imagery of Kurdish female fighters is used by Western powers and Kurdish political groups to legitimize their political positions in the prolonged civil war in Syria.

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