On Oct. 1, the new general manager of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet, Selman Ada, issued new rules for employees, declaring that "athletic wear, tight cotton shorts, tights, stretch jeans, sandals, slippers, spiked high heels, formal evening gowns, etc., may not be worn on the premises." The new rule made the headlines in mainstream media — “no more tights for opera and ballet” — and generated uproar on social media. Prominent journalist Ceyda Karan, puzzled by the decision, tweeted, “If in operas and ballets [performers] cannot wear tights, what are they to wear?” Subsequently, an explanation came from the Turkish State Opera and Ballet stating the ban does not apply to the performers onstage, but is meant for the other staff members.

Social media users recalled Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s words from 1994, when he was the mayor of Istanbul. While talking to a female producer, Erdogan had gone on record saying, “If you were a ballerina, my first advice to you would be that you should quit that profession.” Erdogan added, “Cultural imperialism nowadays aims to engage audiences with matters below the belt.” In 1995, he said, “The Istanbul municipality does not fund any ballet institutions. If it did, I would not approve funds for it, because I have to abide by the wishes of those who voted for me.”

Actress Yaprak Ozdemiroglu reacted to the news on dress code regulations for ballet and opera staff by tweeting, “Why not ban women all together? We will all be saved!”

Ozdemiroglu makes a crucial point as many bizarre examples of sexual politics by the conservatives in Turkey have been accumulating over the last decade. For instance, on Sept. 28, Yusuf Kaplan, a columnist for pro-government daily Yeni Safak wrote a column titled, “Not Erasmus, 'Orgasmus,'” describing Erasmus students as being obsessed with sex and hedonism. Erasmus is a European Union international student exchange program that serves over 37 countries of which Turkey is one. Kaplan argued that 1 million babies have been born out of wedlock due to this exchange program, and commented that these youth signal a demoralized generation of Europeans.