Negotiating boundaries: Gender and social identities in the Ottoman Christian communities; the case of divorces (1647-1923)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to identify the negotiation of boundaries between the social identities of gender. This process focuses on the prevailing perceptions of the social role of the man and the woman. It attempts to identify the different reasons for seeking divorce between men and women and the integration of these differences in a social context and determine the qualitative characteristics of the gender ratio of women and men that is articulated by the invocation of divorce. This research has a historical character and focuses on the period from 1647 to 1923 and is realized within the Ottoman Orthodox Christian communities and the divorces issued by these. This study uses content analysis to examine divorces. The most significant source