From nonosh to pasha: The belated debut of queer men in contemporary Turkish popular culture

Abstract

The historical drama series, The Club (2021–22), narrating the story of a nightclub at the centre of Istanbul nightlife during the 1950s, achieved great success by becoming the eighth most-watched non-English-language series on an international digital streaming platform. The significant public affirmation the series gained rose on the representation of the leading character – the nightclub star. He directly refers to respected queer singer Zeki Müren (1931–96). Müren has been credited as the greatest performer in Turkey and a modern male icon with his artistic excellence in singing and his outstanding stage performances for over 40 years. He designed his own costumes as well as those of his musicians, the décor for his performances and the choreography of the dancers. Müren appeared on his stage in black tuxedos, suits with sparkling accessories or even mini-skirts with platform shoes. He was aware of the taboos on homosexuality and how this might have affected him. Although his sexuality was in question, his sex never was. He was, after all, an exemplary male citizen of the Turkish Republic with his kindness to his audience, his charity works, his artistic status. Many fans, including the media, referred to him as a pasha, a heroic military commander, to express that he was the most influential artist in Turkey. The referential association of the fictional character with Zeki Müren will be interpreted in the article to further discuss the portrayal of the queer performance in the series. For this purpose, the article will introduce the conceptualization of nonosh, a polite yet explicit contempt, and present an embraceable form of queer identity in Turkish society to define the common portraiture of queer in Turkish popular films and TV shows.