I do not believe in gender equality!” (Phillips 2014). “Do not delay marriage! Do not be too picky in choosing a spouse!” (“Evlilik konusunda çok seçici olmayın” 2014). “Have at least three children!” (Çetik, Gültekin, and Kuşdemir 2008). “Abortion is murder!” (“Erdoğan: Kürtaj bir cinayettir” 2012). These are the words of the previous prime minister and current president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose blunt statements on gender issues have become a characteristic of the Turkish political landscape of the twenty-first century. Erdoğan’s comments are part of a contentious array of government discourses and policies around gender, sexuality, reproduction, and family developed particularly in the later years of conservative Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party, AKP) rule in Turkey. Yet Erdoğan’s comments are often dismissed as mere discursive maneuvers intended to change the political agenda and distract from “real” politics. I argue that dismissing...

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