How does Europeanisation influence domestic LGBT discourses? Evidence from the Turkish press, 2005–2010

Abstract

While research has established the political impact of Europeanisation on candidate countries, the impact of discursive Europeanisation on cultural issues such as LGBT norms remains understudied. This article pursues this agenda by exploring the impact of Europeanisation on Turkey’s domestic discourse on LGBT issues – specifically, whether Europeanisation has influenced the media discourse of LGBT issues in Turkey. Turkey presents an interesting case as its largely conservative society is in contrast with the EU in which LGBT acceptance has gained unprecedented traction. A media content analysis comparing Turkish media reports from the year of 2005 and 2010 is used to test this thesis. The study discovers that prospective European integration has influenced the LGBT discourses of Turkey over the study period; while the majority of reports on LGBT issues continues to be negatively represented, results show an improvement over the study period. The changes effectuated were statistically significant and suggest that LGBT and possibly other cultural norms may not be as resistant to discursive Europeanisation. This study also highlights how regional integration continues to be an effective avenue for inducing normatively positive change.