Life As a Soap Opera
Imaginaries of Romance and Social Prestige among Young Brides in Turkey
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8968909 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Merve Kütük-Kuriş (0000-0002-5883-6981, Bogaziçi University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 448-471 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal Middle East Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7438 • E-ISSN: 1471-6380 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0020743825100883 |
| OpenAlex | W4414184895 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 33 |
This article examines the recent transformation of marriage rituals in Turkey from the perspective of young brides. Based on ethnographic research conducted in Istanbul and Bursa in 2017–19, it discusses how young women construct their marital imaginaries through extravagant ceremonies and festivities such as proposals, photographs, henna nights, and weddings. Drawing from the theory of ritual economy, the article argues that their gendered desire for lavish spending does not position brides as victims of either traditional Turkish customs or the consumer market. Rather, the article emphasizes young women’s aspirations to romance and a sense of uniqueness, and their desire to feel as if they are “living a fairy tale.” These bridal imaginaries reflect the rise of neoliberal individualism, upward social mobility, and status-seeking in Bourdieu’s sense. The article’s findings contribute to the hitherto limited scholarship on changing marriage rituals and the wedding industry in Turkey
Ethnography · Identity (music · Masculinity · Perspective (graphical · Prestige · Romance · Scholarship · Turkish · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Turkey's Politics and Society
Neo-Ottoman Imaginaries in Contemporary Turkey
Distinction
Cinderella DreamsThe Allure of the Lavish Wedding
Faith and Fashion in Turkey
Dimensions of Ritual Economy
The Changing Consumer Cultures of Modern Egypt
Getting Married in Korea
Working Out Desire
An Enchanted Modern
An “Arranged Love” Marriage
Turkish television serials’ reception among women viewers in rural Türkiye
Food and Class Distinction at Israeli Weddings
Muslim Fashionistas in Contemporary Turkey
Love, Lebanese Style
Neo-Ottoman Cool
Wearing class
Consumer Culture, Islam and the Politics of Lifestyle
Will You Marry Me
Class, Culture, and State
Why so Successful
Making Money, Marking Identities
Big fat Assyrian/Syriac weddings
Boundaries of Middle-Class Identities in Turkey
The Romance of Resistance
Love by arrangement
Toward a Theory of Status Consumption in Less Industrialized Countries
Geographies of Style
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |