Rethinking Women Empowerment within the Context of Daytime Shows: Example of Gelin Evi

Abstract

Gelin Evi (Bride’s House) program, which has been broadcasted in the daytime since 2016, is often criticized for encouraging the conspicuous consumption culture, and reducing women representations to being a good bride by showing the domestic talents of new brides as competition although the program has the potential to affect the society, just like other media contents. Especially in the current episodes of the program, the presenter's emphasis on the importance of women's taking their own decisions when choosing a spouse and having economic independence, and institutions which women can learn an occupation gives importance to the program in terms of spreading the discourse of women's empowerment to different segments of the society. While women's empowerment conceptually expresses women's ability to use resources and opportunities to make and implement their own decisions without being dependent on others, this discourse disseminates itself in the Gelin Evi program at a contextual level. Thus, Gelin Evi program can be tool that provide women empowerment when it is considered with its influential capacity. Television does not only entertain people, but also functions as a tool to convey ideas and new living practices to the masses. In this context, since the discourse of women's empowerment is an important tool for the audience to adopt gender equality, its importance within Gelin Evi program should not be underestimated.