It was field work day. Everyone, or most, had their own plans to venture out into Istanbul and collect information on their topics. Or maybe it just happened to be a coincidence.
We started the day split in two groups, and I went to a Syrian Refugee School. After that, I hopped on the metro to go across Istanbul.
I was on my way to Bogazici University to meet Professor Can Candan, director of “My Child”, a documentary on the accepting parents of lgbti children in Istanbul who have formed a group called LISTAG in the search of acceptance and rights for their children as part of a collective unit.
I had to take the metro and then transfer to a bus, which took more than 2 hours in all.
I thought I was late when all was done due to the bus being a bit delayed getting there due to an accident in the road and a man laying on the street. Anyway, luckily he had emailed me as well (I only got it when I got to campus…oh the struggles of no wifi) and was going to be an hour late anyway. That felt like fate was on my side.
So I was waiting there for a bit, but when he arrived, he gave me so many perspectives regarding the sentiment of Turkish people of various groups on the LGB and TI populations, as well as socio-economic implications and political motivations. We talked for about an hour and a half. He also put me in contact with various other Turkish LGBT rights organizations including the main political one in all of istanbul.
At the University, I also noticed a much higher percentage of open same sex couples, clearly engaging in amorous activities. It showed a difference in generational perception on the subject and most likely a difference in acceptance based on education level.