Book launch and discussion
with Rebekka Endler, Ecem Arslanay, and Bahar Siber

An event of the Tarabya Cultural Academy in cooperation with İletişim and Robinson Crusoe 389 Kitapevi.

Our environment is designed by men for men. In Das Patriarchat der Dinge [“The Patriarchy of Things”], journalist, author and current resident at Tarabya Cultural Academy, Rebekka Endler surveys and comments on the male-oriented design that surrounds us everywhere. In her book, now published in Turkish by İletişim under the title Eşyaların Patriyarkası (2022), Endler shows the life-threatening consequences of this for people who are not cis males. For example, our Western medicine is – with the exception of gynaecology – calibrated for cis males, from diagnostic procedures and medical devices to medicinal dosages. And even gynaecology remains encumbered by misogynistic assumptions. Crash test dummies are also based on the cis male body – and, thus, so is the entire car, including its airbags and seat belts. The public space is also made for men: architecture, infrastructure, and transportation, even the number of public toilets and temperature settings in buildings.

Who survives a heart attack? For whom is a work environment designed? Whom does safety clothing fit? For whom are technical devices easy to use? The patriarchy creates and designs our environment. When we realize this, we begin to look at these issues in a new light.

On the occasion of İletişim’s 2022 publication of Eşyaların Patriyarkası, Rebekka Endler and the architect, editor, and author Ecem Arslanay will discuss the role of gender in the design and construction of our public space, finally opening the floor to members of the audience as well.

Ecem Arslanay is an Istanbul based editor, writer, lecturer, architect, and filmmaker. In her architectural design career, she has focused specifically on stage design. She taught at Istanbul Bilgi University Faculty of Architecture between 2017 and 2019, and has been a lecturer at Bahçeşehir University Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design since 2021. She is a PhD candidate in architecture, focusing on the digital museum experience. She worked as the production designer of the feature-length film The Connected (2018-ongoing), supported by the Sharjah Art Foundation and Salt. She wrote and codirected the short film The Clocks (2021), which was a finalist in many international festivals and the winner of two honourable mentions. As a member of AICA, she has produced many texts on art, design, architecture, dance, theatre, and cinema for various publications, including exhibition catalogues. She is the publications editor at the Sakıp Sabancı Museum and the director of the program titled “Queering and Writing,” funded by the European Union through the Arts and Culture Program titled CultureCIVIC.

Rebekka Endler is a journalist, author, and podcaster from Cologne, Germany. The Patriarchy of Things is her first book. She is very happy about its translation into several languages, and she is humbled by the efforts that translators have made to reach readers all over the world. She is currently a resident at the Tarabya Cultural Academy, where she is working on two new books that also deal with the patriarchy.