1 Korkman, Zeynep K. “Politics of Intimacy in Turkey: Just a Distraction from ‘Real’ Politics?” Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies 12(1):112‐121. Politics of Intimacy in Turkey: Just a Distraction from “Real” Politics?: 1 “I do not believe in gender equality!” 2 “Do not delay marriage! Do not be too picky in choosing a spouse!” 3 “Have at least three children!” 4 “Abortion is murder!” 5 These are the words of the previous prime minister and the current president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose blunt statements on gender issues has become a characteristic of the Turkish political landscape of the 21 st century. Erdoğan’s comments are part of a contentious array of government discourses and policies around gender, sexuality, reproduction, and family that were developed particularly in the later years of conservative Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP, Justice and Development Party) rule in Turkey. Yet, Erdoğan’s comments are often dismissed as mere discursive maneuvers intended to change the political agenda and distract from the “real” politics. I argue that dismissing Erdoğan’s comments as distractions reduces the politics of intimacy to a lower order of significance and creates three obfuscations that hamper critical political analysis and coalitional politics. The dismissal of Erdoğan’s comments denies their vital significance for the lives of women and LGBTQ peoples, hides the very centrality of the politics of intimacy to the economic and political governance of the country, and obscures the gendered nature of political rule at large and the value of feminist and queer politics in the exposure and challenging of this gendered rule. 1 An earlier and shorter version of this article was published in Turkish, available online at http://www.bianet.org/biamag/siyaset/161108‐hakiki‐gundem‐kadin‐ bedeni‐ve‐politika. Korkman, Zeynep Kurtulus. 2014. “Hakiki” Gündem, Kadın Bedeni ve Politika.” Bianet. December 27. 2 http://www.newsweek.com/women‐and‐men‐are‐not‐equal‐says‐turkish‐ president‐286681 3 “Evlilik konusunda çok seçici olmayın,” Milliyet, July 19, 2014. http://www.milliyet.com.tr/evlilik‐konusunda‐cok‐ secici/siyaset/detay/1913996/default.htm 4 Çetik, Arzu, Turan Gültekin, and Yavuz Kuşdemir,“Erdoğan: En az üç çocuk doğurun,” Hürriyet, March 3, 2008. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/8401981.asp 5 “Erdoğan: Kürtaj bir cinayettir,” Milliyet, May 26, 2012. http://www.milliyet.com.tr/erdogan‐kurtaj‐bir‐ cinayettir/siyaset/siyasetdetay/26.05.2012/1545254/default.htm