Encounters
at
the
Counter:
Gender
and
the
Shopping
Experience
Ayse
Durakbasa
and
Dilek
Cindoglu
This
chapter
traces
the
feminisation
of
shopping
in
parallel
with
the
rapid
pro-
liferation
of
shopping
malls
in
Turkey
since
the
19803.
The
masculine
world
of
the
traditional
bazaar
(chars/2i)
has
been
gradually
transformed
with
the
emergence
of
the
high—street
department
store
since
turn-of-the-centuIy
Ottoman
modernisation.
New
shopping
districts
and
promenades
developed
in
the
main
cities
of
Turkey,
espec'lally
fl
afferthe"1‘960's‘,‘"a"e"Sh'oppi
fi
g‘vi“
of
mainlylniddle-clas
fi
s’hgusewives’
routines.
Gradually
women’s
control
over
the
household
budgetand
consumption
has
increased
in
urban
centres,
because
of
the
changing
roles
and
tasks
related
to
children
and
homemaking.
One
main
focus
is
the
inter-relationship
between
the
change
in
the
homemaking
activities
of
women
of
the
new
middle
classes
and
the
rise
of
malls.
We
also
describe
how
shoppers
from
different
class
backgrounds
bene
fi
t
from
a
web
of
shopping
venues,
ranging
from
the
neighbourhood
grocer,
to
open
marketplaces,
to
malls
and
hypermarkets.
The
malls
and
entertainment
centres
that
havebecome
centres
of
urban
life
and
culture
remand
Reent
fifi
'ia
fi
ofa'dis‘tin‘c'tive
fi
t'aste
among
the
upper
classes
and
an
increased
socialisation
in
urban
culture,
especially
among
the
youth
of
the
lower
classes.
The
social
atmosphere
in
these
malls
re
fl
ects
both
the
fl
uidity
of
a
post-
modern
consumption
culture
and
the
structural
inequalities
of
class
and
gender.
We
describe
the
various
dramas
enacted
between
slmppers,
shop
assistants
and
shop
managers,
parallel
with
the
changes
in
the
organisation
of
the
shop
as
a
social
setting.
Hence
the
last
section
of
the
chapter
looks
at
the
work
conditions
of
sales
personnel
as
important
actors
in
the
shopping
scene
vis-a-vis
shoppers.
The
rise
of
malls
in
urban
Turkey
In
the
1980s,
the
process
of
economic
liberalisation
in
Turkey
led
to
a
shift
in
pre-
Vlous
policies
of
protectionist
import
substitution
to
a
new
development
strategy
73
74
FRAGMENTS
OF
CULTURE
based
on
the
promotion
of
domestic
export
industries,
and
the
encouragement
of
foreign
investment.
This
has
led
Turkey
to
open
up
to
the
world
socio-culturally
as
well
as
economically.
Alongside
these
changes
there
has
been
a
shift
from
scarcity
to
abundance
in
goods
and
services.
In
the
last
decade,
big
cities
witnessed
the
emergence
of
new
malls
and
superstores,
such
as
Atakoy
Galleria
(Istanbul,
in
1988),
Atakul/e
(Ankara,
in
1989),
.Karum
(Ankara,
in
1991),
Metro
(Ankara,
in
1990),
Kipa
(Izmir,
in
1994),
Carrefou'r
(Istanbul,
in
1993),
Carrousel
(Istanbul,
in
1995),
Akm‘erkez
(Istanbul,
in
1995),
Outlet
Centre
(Izmit,
in
1997),
Bauhfus
(Istanbul,
in
1996).
These
are
ultra-modern
buildings
developed
either
in
the
heart
of
upper-middle-class
neighbourhoods
or
on
the
outskirts
of
the
city,
which
can
be
only
reached
by
car.
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- Spring '14
- Shopping mall, Istanbul
