The intersection of gender and ethnicity: A visual semiotic analysis of Jewish stereotypes in Şaka magazine (1943-1944)

Abstract

This study examines the visual stereotypes constructed toward the Jewish minority in the popular satire publication Şaka magazine during the critical wartime years of World War II (1943–1944). Shaped under the intense socio-economic climate of the era, particularly following the implementation of the Wealth Tax (Varlık Vergisi), these representations are analyzed through an intersectional framework of ethnicity, gender, and class. Utilizing Roland Barthes’ visual semiotic model (denotation, connotation, and myth) in tandem with Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity, the research conducts an in-depth analysis of a systematically selected archival sample centered on repeating characters such as Rebeka, Salamon, and Moiz. The analysis identifies two primary representational trajectories that systematically establish marginalized social categorization: opportunistic and affluent figures presented through the representations of 'Corrupt Modernity' and 'Exotic Other'. The findings reveal that humor functioned as a sharp ideological apparatus during this period, fixing the non-Muslim identity as an existential, moral, and economic "Other." By mapping out these specific visual codes and performance patterns, this research demonstrates that wartime hostility was actively enforced through the weaponization of gender roles and class degradation within print media, thereby contributing a rigorous, monographic perspective to the literature on minority representation in World War II-era Turkey.