Gender And Sexuality as a Labor Control Regime in the Garment Industry/ Konfeksiyon Sektöründe Emek Kontrol Rejimi Olarak Toplumsal Cinsiyet ve Cinsellik

This study examines how women workers experience despotic market conditions and local patriarchal structures within the context of garment production. It specifically discusses the dynamics that render women's labor temporary, obedient, and disciplined in the workplace. The study focuses on women garment workers in the Free Trade Zone in Mersin, Turkey, and is based on qualitative data derived from in-depth interviews with 19 women garment workers, three employers, one union delegate, and one employer representative. The findings reveal how patriarchal patterns are reproduced in daily workshop practices and how gender roles, sexualized meanings, and harassment serve as tools of power, control, and discipline in the workplace, reinforcing patriarchal hegemony. The study identifies that women are considered "ideal workers" in the garment industry due to being perceived as "loyal," "disciplined," and "docile." Furthermore, patriarchal discourses surrounding femininity and heterosexual relationships (whether marital or sexual) are used to control and discipline women workers throughout the production process as a labor control regime. The competition among female workers is shaped by patriarchal femininity roles rather than by the qualifications required for the job. These mechanisms contribute to the creation of a gendered workplace, reinforcing production politics that undermine solidarity among women workers and foster distinctions based on gender and sexuality