cartoonist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
, painter, short story writer and feminist. She breaks taboos and attacks traditional gender roles with the female characters in her cartoons. She was honored with the Creative Courage Award in 2017.
Early years
Ramize Erer was born in
Kırklareli
Kırklareli () is a city in the East Thrace, European part of Turkey. It is the seat of Kırklareli Province and Kırklareli District. She spent her childhood at her grandparents' home in Kırklareli, and her adolescence in
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
. While there, she spent the summer holidays with her siblings in Kırklareli, where she tried to copy the landscape paintings on the wall of her grandparents' home. Illustrations in the novel ''
Oliver Twist
''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...
'' by
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
impressed Erer. She studied painting at the
Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University
Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University (, or MSGSÜ) is a public art university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university's campus is located in the Fındıklı, Beyoğlu. The university was established in 1882 under the leadership of Osman Hamdi Bey. Hi ...
, and graduated in 1990. During her adolescence, Erer read feminist literature. It helped her feel stronger and understand that she shared similar experiences with other women.
Cartooning career
At the age of 16, she started drawing cartoons for the weekly
humor magazine
A humor magazine is a magazine specifically designed to deliver humorous content to its readership. These publications often offer satire and parody, but some also put an emphasis on cartoons, caricature, absurdity, one-liners, witty aphorisms ...
''
Gırgır
''Gırgır'' (meaning ''Fun'' in English) was a Turkish weekly humor magazine published from 1972 to 1993 in Turkey.
History and profile
''Gırgır'' was founded in 1972 by the brothers Oğuz Aral (1936-2004) and Tekin Aral (1941-1999). After hav ...
'', produced by
Oğuz Aral
Oğuz Aral (1936 – 26 July 2004) was a Turkish political cartoonist and comics artist, known for his satirical style. He was also active as a theatre designer, playwright, ceramist and animator, establishing the first Turkish animation stud ...
a famous Turkish cartoonist. She published her first book ''Bir Bıyıksız'' (A Mustache) in 1990. She became known particularly for her cartoon character Kötü Kız (The Bad Girl) created in 1999. After six months at the Turkish daily newspaper ''
Cumhuriyet
''Cumhuriyet'' (; English: "Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey". The newspaper was awarded the ''Freedom of Press ...
'' she was fired, as they found her cartoons obscene. She published cartoons with Kötü Kız for more than ten years in the Turkish daily ''
Radikal
''Radikal'' () was a daily liberal Turkish language newspaper, published in Istanbul. From 1996 it was published by Aydın Doğan's Doğan Media Group. Although Radikal did not endorse a particular political alignment, it was generally consider ...
'', while she created the character Tüpçü (The Propane-bottle Delivery Man) for the magazine ''Feminist Pazartesi'' (The Feminist Monday).
When the
Muhammad cartoons
The Muhammad cartoons controversy (or Muhammad cartoons crisis, ) began after the Danish newspaper published twelve editorial cartoons on 30 September 2005 depicting Muhammad, the founder of Islam, in what it said was a response to the deb ...
controversy in Denmark caused a sensation and fierce debates around the world, she took a keen interest in the Cartooning for Peace international traveling exhibition of the
United Nations Regional Information Centre
The United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC) is one of 63 United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) around the world. Their main task is to spread the UN message, raise awareness and create an understanding of issues relating to the U ...
, highlighting her position on the dispute over the cartoons saying that "satire needs freedom."
In addition to her work in newspapers, Erer drew cartoons for the humor magazines ''Hıbır'' and ''LeMan''. In March 2011, she was one of the founders of the feminist humor magazine ''
Bayan Yani
Bayan may refer to:
Educational institutions
* Bayan Islamic Graduate School, Chicago, IL
Places
*Bayan-Aul, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan
*Bayan Mountain, an ancient mountain name for part of Tarbagatai Mountains at Kazakhstan in Qing Dynasty period
* ...
'', the only comic in the world designed exclusively by women. She continued to run it from Paris during her exile after threats were made against her in Turkey. Her cartoons about the
Gezi Park protests
A wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Turkey began on 28 May 2013, initially to contest the urban development plan for Istanbul's Gezi Park. The protests were sparked by outrage at the violent eviction of a sit-in at the park protesting ...
in Istanbul in May 2013 were particularly popular. Over the course of her career, Erer has drawn or illustrated more than ten thousand cartoons and stories.
Erer is married to another cartoonist, and is the mother of a son and a daughter.
Criticism
Erer admits that "her mother gave her something, which other mothers feared to give to their daughters: freedom." She observed her mother's female friends in gatherings at home, and the girls she met in the streets of Istanbul during her high school years. She liked the theme of the song
Good Girls Go to Heaven (Bad Girls Go Everywhere)
"Good Girls Go to Heaven (Bad Girls Go Everywhere)" is a song written by Jim Steinman. It was first performed by Megumi Shiina as "Kanashimi Wa Tsudzukanai" (悲しみは続かない, lit. "sadness doesn't last") and used as the opening to th ...
, and simply preferred the latter. The inspiration for her sharp-edged cartoons comes from her visits to the beauty parlor in the
Cihangir
Cihangir is an affluent neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Beyoğlu, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 3,739 (2022). It is located between Taksim Square and Kabataş. It has many narrow streets, two parks, and many st ...
neighborhood of Istanbul, where she lives. The hair salon is a meeting place where gossip is shared.
Belgian-Israeli cartoonist
Michel Kichka
Michel Kichka (; born 1954) is an Israeli cartoonist and illustrator of Belgian origin. His father was Holocaust survivor Henri Kichka.
Biography
Michel Kichka was born in Belgium to Henri Kichka, a Holocaust survivor, and his wife, Lucia (née ...
(born 1954) comments that "she is a mix of the Belgian school and French comics creator Jean-Marc Reiser (1941–1983)." He adds that "her designs inevitably suggest American
sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
s." Her "bad girls" wear
hot pants
Hotpants or hot pants are extremely short shorts. The term was first used by ''Women's Wear Daily'' in 1970 to describe shorts made in luxury fabrics such as velvet and satin for fashionable wear, rather than their more practical equivalents t ...
and act freely. Her novelist friend Vivet Kanetti says that "her cartoon characters are very
hedonistic
Hedonism is a family of philosophical views that prioritize pleasure. Psychological hedonism is the theory that all human behavior is motivated by the desire to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. As a form of egoism, it suggests that peopl ...
, and expose their femininity and body fat without
inferiority complex
In psychology, an inferiority complex is a consistent feeling of inadequacy, often resulting in the belief that one is in some way deficient, or inferior, to others.
According to Alfred Adler, a feeling of inferiority may be brought about by ...
es."
Her Turkish colleague
İzel Rozental
İzel is a rare feminine Turkish given name. In Nahuatl, Izel means "only one", "unique".
People
* İzel Çeliköz, Turkish pop singer.
* İzel Hara, a Turkish radio comedian in ''Number 1 FM'' ( see Turkish Wikipedia article).
* Izel Jenkins, A ...
criticized her cartoons, saying "the background does not change much: two or at most three people are sitting on a sofa or a bed, chatting or talking loudly about sex or their relationships." She adds that "it is sometimes shocking even though we have been familiar with her cartoons for twenty years." Erer says that when she published a cartoon of a masturbating girl, a first in the Turkish press, "all hell broke loose." French cartoonist
Georges Wolinski
Georges David Wolinski (; 28 June 19347 January 2015) was a French cartoonist and comics writer. He was killed on 7 January 2015 in the ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting.
Early life
Georges David Wolinski was born on 28 June 1934 in Tunis, French T ...
(1934–2015) of ''
Charlie Hebdo
''Charlie Hebdo'' (; ) is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. The publication has been described as anti-racist, sceptical, secular, libertarian, and within the tradition of left-wing radicalism ...
'' said "he admires 'the girls
mooning
Illustration of a woman raising her dress and mooning a nun (1905)
Mooning is the act of displaying one's bare buttocks by removing clothing, e.g., by lowering the backside of one's trousers and underpants, usually bending over, and also pot ...
and kidding around with males' of the impertinent cartoonist, who attacks the Turkish community and particularly the relationship between men and women." He emphasized "she is a real sister," and had offered "endless friendship and support" to her and her family.
On the occasion of the publication of her cartoon book in Germany in 2008, the German weekly
news magazine
A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio, or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories in greater depth than newspapers or new ...
''
Stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...
'' wrote "she is one of the few Turkish cartoonists who are invariably critical of the role of women in their country. She breaks taboos and scourges the traditional gender roles with a strong dash of irony and cynicism, addressing adultery and bigamy, homosexuality and bisexuality, often reaching the limits of tolerance." The ''Stern'' commented, "for millions of Turkish women, she has become a cult—because she expresses what many Turkish women think, but do not dare, publicly to stand by: for social equality and recognition."
Painting career
In 2007, Erer moved with her 10-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, France. She took up painting again, and was invited to take part in a group exhibition at the Kuad Gallery in Istanbul after she attracted the attention of curator Beral Madra. In 2016, she held her first solo exhibition of paintings in the ''Versus Art Project'' at the Contemporary Istanbul annual art fair.
Recognition
The
Angoulême International Comics Festival
The Angoulême International Comics Festival (AICF; ) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lucca Comics & Games and the Comiket of Japan. It has occur ...
honored Erer with the ''Couilles-au-cul'' Prize ("Balls-in-the-ass") for the 2017 Creative Courage Award for the emphasis on feminism in her cartoons. At the awards ceremony, she said "I dedicate this award to my mother, who became a feminist without having known
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device.
Vir ...
or
Simone de Beauvoir
Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, nor was she ...
, and who gave me unlimited freedom and the courage to talk about the problems and desires of women and the relationships between them, men and women."
Works
Her notable works include ''Bir Bıyıksız'', ''Eşi Nadide'' ("Rare Spouse"), ''Kötü Kız'', ''Tehlikeli İlişkiler'' ("Dangerous Relations"), ''Evlilik'' ("Marriage") and ''Kız Hikayeleri'' ("Girl Stories"). Her album ''Kötü Kız'' was translated into German, and the album ''Evlilik'' into Italian. Her humor book ''Chica dü lüks'' was translated into German by Nilgün Cön und Aşkın-Hayat Doğan and published in Germany in 2008.
*
* Cartoon
*
*
* Cartoon
*
*