We were isolated and looking for sexual partners. Hence, in the mid-1980s in Istanbul, homosexual men did not socialise freely because of the frequent police raids. Considering these conditions homosexual men could not create their own places and communities and thus become visible in the public sphere until the beginning of the 1990s. The majority of interviewees believe that a visible gay community exists in Istanbul in the 1990s. They claim that they do not copy traditional ibne or kulanpara types of homosexual relationships.
Researchers offer four progressive staged processes for the formation of gay identity.
According to my research results, gays in Istanbul. have gone through these stages, however, the identity synthesis stage seems most problematic as the other three stages have been rather recent experiences for them compared to their western counterparts. For instance, they emphasise that they often have to face the traditional homosexual roles when they are seeking an alternative identity. At the same time they say that it is easier now than the 1980s, partly because their involvement with each other and with the public through their publications has increased. They think that traditional fix concepts do not represent their feelings and life styles. The young urban gays now expect more than sexual intercourse from their relationships, nevertheless, struggle to form a political identity and establish an alternative lifestyle.