Coup de Genre: The Trials and Tribulations of Bülent Ersoy

One of Turkey's best known singers, Bülent Ersoy's transition coincided with the 1980 military coup. The regime banned her public performances and refused to recognize her gender status, thrusting her into a legal quagmire. The End of Fame (1981), a nearly lost queer gem of Turkish cinema, traverses the star's personal transition while also (pre-)narrating her troubles with the law. Combining a reading of this film with her real life trials, this essay explores the fascinating encounters that Ersoy's life hosted between the law of spectacle and the spectacle of law, between the aesthetic and juridical laws of gender.