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Paper short abstract

This study explores the role of women in the disaster legends of the Turkic World, analyzing the construction of female identity through Eagly’s Social Role Theory and a feminist perspective, revealing its cultural reflections, impact on society, and the gender-based challenges faced by women.

Paper long abstract

A folktale is a unique product of oral literature that embodies the beliefs, customs, traditions, mentality, values, and daily life of the society in which it is performed. It preserves traces of the past and transmits them to the future through distinctive narrators and storytelling techniques.

This study examines four folktales of the Turkish tradition collected in Türkiye by Saim Sakaoğlu, Mehmet Özçelik, and Mine Ayan: “Ağlayan Narla Gülen Ayva” (The Crying Pomegranate and the Smiling Quince), “Padişahın Kızı” (The Sultan’s Daughter), “Arap Üzengi” (The Arab Stirrup), and “Askere Giden Kız” (The Girl Who Went to the Army).

In these tales, the female protagonist undergoes a biological gender transformation into a male as a result of a curse, and the reasons behind this transformation are questioned. The analysis is conducted through the combined framework of Social Learning Theory and Cognitive Development Theory, which explain the acquisition of gender and differences between sexes.

By addressing how a society transmits its rules and mindset to individuals and how this affects their cognition and self-identity, the study explores the role of folktales in the construction of gender and how extraordinary situations are depicted within the folktale world in relation to the society’s beliefs, values, and social organization.