Women in the Ottoman Empire

Note: This is a personal study guide for my class on Islam.

Subjects of the Ottoman Empire used a variety of words to denote male and female. These various words are associated with age and sex at different periods in a person's life; gender identity transformed over a person's lifespan by ascribing behaviors to each part of the life cycle. Hierarchies existed between age groups, and gender identity was not static. Pierce states that there was a "complex overlapping of male and female hierarchies." The transformation of roles throughout ones lifespan correlated with greater responsibilities. Life cycle stage also correlated with how much authority a person had, or how much authority was exerted on them. Pierce claims that these life cycle stages had an impact on how law was written in the Ottoman Empire, and in particular on how sexes might interact. Pierce concludes that conduct might be shaped by characteristics associated with different life cycle stages. Although these life cycle stages are defined, this does not necessarily suggest people's compliance with their defined roles.