Translating gender and sexuality in children’s literature: Turkey as a case study

Abstract

Drawing on the translations of sexuality in five Turkish translations of children’s literature, this paper starts with introducing the origins, developments, and trends of gender as well as the dilemma between gender pedagogy and taboo issues closely related to the sexuality and body politics in children’s literature and its translation in different contexts. Particularly focusing on the context of Turkey where sexuality and body politics have always been controversial issues, the paper intends to shed some light on the matter. Thus, the examination of Turkish translations of children’s literature can yield eye-opening outcomes in terms of the understanding of sexuality and the travel of sexual and body-political content from one context to another.