Istanbul is a metropol with striking contradictions.. Conservative values and a rapidly changing society causes clashes between people from different backgrounds.
No entry for men is written at the door of this hairdresser. All customers here are men though. The Istanbulian Transvestites are a good business. Hakan wants
a make up that makes him as unrecognisable as possible. Every night he fears, that a family-member might see him on the street.
Transvestite Hakan
We are six children. I am the only son among five sisters. And a Transvestite. Thats a problem of course. I cant feel myself comfortable with my family, because I am not able to just drop by like I am. When I visit them I have to play the man-role.
Maybe I could explain to them how I feel. That I want to wear make-up like a woman. But why should I make them feel ashamed in front of the neighbours?
Hairdresser Cigdem Tülay
Whats on Tarlabashi Boulvard?
Drugs, Diskotheques, Bars. That means rumbles, Police-stations and jail.
The Tarlabashi was a fancy Boulvard until the Fifties. The old minority population of Greeks, Armenians and Jews flew after ethnic conflicts. Today it is the red light district of Istanbul. Sex and drugs are the best money suppliers. Hakan is looking for customers. The scene is tough. He has to select carefully. A year ago a customer stabbed him with a knife, not to pay the fee.
Just a few streets further the atmosphere is much more peaceful. Istanbulians love the clubs, pubs and restaurants around the district Beyoglu. It regained the flair of the times when the minorities were living there.
Baris is on his way to work. He is part of the Istanbulian gay scene. A couple of years ago Homosexuals were hiding much more then today. The time his family wanted him to get married are luckily laying in the past. The parents didnt talk to him for two years when he confessed being gay. Today they accept it.
Tekyön means One way and is one of the most popular gay bars. Baris is the manager. Is Homosexuality more unacceptable in a muslim country, he differs.
Baris
Why only here? In the whole world Homosexuality is regarded as something beside the normal. I feel myself as a muslim. That has nothing to do with my sexual orientation.
The life of Transvestites looks different. You cant compare those with an average gay. A Homosexual is working in a normal job. The Transvestites want to catch attention, because they earn their money by offering sex.
Most Transvestites arent really fond of the way they have to earn their money Deniz is always feeling tensed. Prostitution for men is illegal. Being caught means a night in the police-station, harassment and having to pay a fine.
The environment tries to ignore whats happening in front of the door.
In the morning the face of the street changes completely. Most of the people in the neighboorhood are Migrants from the countryside. They left their villages to work in the metropol.is In this part of town the rents are low. The shrill Transvestites are outcast during the day.
The life of the women is shaped by Tradition. Female purity garanties the families honor. The sexualized feminity of the Transvestites is a provocation here.
At night Transvestites catch customers in front of this snack bar.
Imbiss-Besitzer Osman Eren
We Turks as people arent really prepared for such an environment. Thats why we dont really manage to live together with them. The lifestyles of the Transvestites causes troubles. It doesnt fit to our culture and to our understanding of moral values. But if there are such people we have to try to tolerate them.
Millions of Turks migrated to Istanbul in the past. Fifteen million people are living here today. Homosexuality isnt punished by the law like in most other muslim countries. But legally it is a reason to loose a job. Hakan has actually learnd to be a shoemaker. But when he started to look feminine he was first teased, then harrased and finally fired. His friend Deniz also lost his job in a fashion store. Specially male customers got disturbed about their outlook.
Most stunning is a contradictionTurkish scientists found out in a survey. Mostly Anatolian migrants are attracted to Transvestides. Psychologically they deny their homosexuality by wanting sex with a man looking like a woman.
Transvestite Deniz
I was looking like this already with thirteen. I told my mother then, I am together with a man. I was spending all my time with my lover and so I explained her, that he wasnt just a friend but my sweetheart. Of course she went into rage first, but she didnt exaggerate it. But then we had to tell my father, she decided. She was a modern woman. They had divorced when I was eight. My father cried. That was really hard for me.
Hakan and Deniz are sharing a flat and try to substitute family life.
Deniz
My mother
Different from Deniz whose parents died Hakan comes from a poor migrant family. He hardly can read and write and doesnt see a perspective outside of Prostitution. Deniz wears make-up all the time. Hakan prefers to look like a man during the day. The female look he uses mainly to attract customers at night.
Hakan
Nobody would be interested in me if I would look like a man. But when I put on make-up and dress nicely many men get attracted to me.
Transvestite Deniz
We are catching attention with our look and with the make-up we do. . And Transvestites are known for being sexually more progressive. Most of the women being raised in a muslim country with strict rules for women are sexually shy.
Turkish society is modernizing rapidely. But moral values are more resistant to change. Its noon.. An early time of the day for Hakan. He is on his way to visit the family. The mother needs financial help for a medical surgery. Hakan will try everything to support her. But his mother shall never learn how he has to earn his money.
No entry for men is written at the door of this hairdresser. All customers here are men though. The Istanbulian Transvestites are a good business. Hakan wants
a make up that makes him as unrecognisable as possible. Every night he fears, that a family-member might see him on the street.
Transvestite Hakan
We are six children. I am the only son among five sisters. And a Transvestite. Thats a problem of course. I cant feel myself comfortable with my family, because I am not able to just drop by like I am. When I visit them I have to play the man-role.
Maybe I could explain to them how I feel. That I want to wear make-up like a woman. But why should I make them feel ashamed in front of the neighbours?
Hairdresser Cigdem Tülay
Whats on Tarlabashi Boulvard?
Drugs, Diskotheques, Bars. That means rumbles, Police-stations and jail.
The Tarlabashi was a fancy Boulvard until the Fifties. The old minority population of Greeks, Armenians and Jews flew after ethnic conflicts. Today it is the red light district of Istanbul. Sex and drugs are the best money suppliers. Hakan is looking for customers. The scene is tough. He has to select carefully. A year ago a customer stabbed him with a knife, not to pay the fee.
Just a few streets further the atmosphere is much more peaceful. Istanbulians love the clubs, pubs and restaurants around the district Beyoglu. It regained the flair of the times when the minorities were living there.
Baris is on his way to work. He is part of the Istanbulian gay scene. A couple of years ago Homosexuals were hiding much more then today. The time his family wanted him to get married are luckily laying in the past. The parents didnt talk to him for two years when he confessed being gay. Today they accept it.
Tekyön means One way and is one of the most popular gay bars. Baris is the manager. Is Homosexuality more unacceptable in a muslim country, he differs.
Baris
Why only here? In the whole world Homosexuality is regarded as something beside the normal. I feel myself as a muslim. That has nothing to do with my sexual orientation.
The life of Transvestites looks different. You cant compare those with an average gay. A Homosexual is working in a normal job. The Transvestites want to catch attention, because they earn their money by offering sex.
Most Transvestites arent really fond of the way they have to earn their money Deniz is always feeling tensed. Prostitution for men is illegal. Being caught means a night in the police-station, harassment and having to pay a fine.
The environment tries to ignore whats happening in front of the door.
In the morning the face of the street changes completely. Most of the people in the neighboorhood are Migrants from the countryside. They left their villages to work in the metropol.is In this part of town the rents are low. The shrill Transvestites are outcast during the day.
The life of the women is shaped by Tradition. Female purity garanties the families honor. The sexualized feminity of the Transvestites is a provocation here.
At night Transvestites catch customers in front of this snack bar.
Imbiss-Besitzer Osman Eren
We Turks as people arent really prepared for such an environment. Thats why we dont really manage to live together with them. The lifestyles of the Transvestites causes troubles. It doesnt fit to our culture and to our understanding of moral values. But if there are such people we have to try to tolerate them.
Millions of Turks migrated to Istanbul in the past. Fifteen million people are living here today. Homosexuality isnt punished by the law like in most other muslim countries. But legally it is a reason to loose a job. Hakan has actually learnd to be a shoemaker. But when he started to look feminine he was first teased, then harrased and finally fired. His friend Deniz also lost his job in a fashion store. Specially male customers got disturbed about their outlook.
Most stunning is a contradictionTurkish scientists found out in a survey. Mostly Anatolian migrants are attracted to Transvestides. Psychologically they deny their homosexuality by wanting sex with a man looking like a woman.
Transvestite Deniz
I was looking like this already with thirteen. I told my mother then, I am together with a man. I was spending all my time with my lover and so I explained her, that he wasnt just a friend but my sweetheart. Of course she went into rage first, but she didnt exaggerate it. But then we had to tell my father, she decided. She was a modern woman. They had divorced when I was eight. My father cried. That was really hard for me.
Hakan and Deniz are sharing a flat and try to substitute family life.
Deniz
My mother
Different from Deniz whose parents died Hakan comes from a poor migrant family. He hardly can read and write and doesnt see a perspective outside of Prostitution. Deniz wears make-up all the time. Hakan prefers to look like a man during the day. The female look he uses mainly to attract customers at night.
Hakan
Nobody would be interested in me if I would look like a man. But when I put on make-up and dress nicely many men get attracted to me.
Transvestite Deniz
We are catching attention with our look and with the make-up we do. . And Transvestites are known for being sexually more progressive. Most of the women being raised in a muslim country with strict rules for women are sexually shy.
Turkish society is modernizing rapidely. But moral values are more resistant to change. Its noon.. An early time of the day for Hakan. He is on his way to visit the family. The mother needs financial help for a medical surgery. Hakan will try everything to support her. But his mother shall never learn how he has to earn his money.