New Normalcy and Shifting Meanings of the Practice of Veiling in Turkey

The paradigm of identity politics and the dual analysis ofsecularism and Islamism are insufficient to contextualize the phenomenon of veiling in Turkey. The practice of veiling needs to be recontextualized considering the patterns of pragmatist consumerism and the influences of the neoliberal market environment on sociocultural milieus of the everyday life. This article attempts to explore the shifting and intermingling meanings of the veiling in its recent circumstances in Turkey. It is argued that the veiling is an indicator of lifestyle, social class and status; however, it also continues to be the discursive practice of Islamic faith.