Aysel: An Anarchist with a Pink Wig

Aysel refers to herself as “the first anarchist girl of Turkey.” Although we 100% agree with her, this is not the only reason that puts her on our inspiration radar. Discover this adorable woman who embraced colours and colourful characters throughout her life:

Who is Aysel?

A fan of Bille Eilish's or Lady Gaga's unique personalities, songs or styles? Wait till you get to know Aysel, who was born decades before them. A feminist, an animal rights activist, an artist, a poet, a woman full of life...

Her full name is Gonul Aysel Gurel but her close group of friends always called her ‘Lunatic Aysel’. Aysel was a fierce songwriter. She was not singing her own songs. Somehow she was still outshining any pop star to whom she gave her lyrics.

She was born in 1929, only 6 years after the announcement of the Republic in Turkey (29 Oct 1923). Those were the times in which citizens in Turkey have started to gain democratic rights. Especially the women were getting out of an oppressive patriarchal system. They had the chance to be educated, started to learn reading and writing, they get the right to vote or to be elected. Even the way they dressed became modernized.

Thanks to all those democratic rights, Aysel was able to go to the university. After studying Art History and acting in a couple of theatres, she chose songwriting as a profession and made sure that every lyric she wrote is a piece of art.

Her passion for songwriting stayed strong until her death. Even after she passed away, twenty thousand new song lyrics were found at her home. One of those lyrics was composed later and became a big hit in pop culture.

Why is Aysel an Inspirational Icon?

Aysel was always ahead of her time with the way she behaves or thinks. There wasn’t only one reason to adore her.

She was rebellious against most of the social taboos. Writing songs about sex or the empowerment of women was her signature move despite the era she lived in. She also prioritised female vocalists to sing her songs.
"You are a crazy sex addict!" was the first reaction even by an open-minded singer because of her lyrics: I want you. In the song, Aysel talks about her horniness and asks for a one-night stand with a man in a very descriptive way.
Aysel was of course not only about sex or love songs. Maybe it was due to the conjuncture during her youth years in Turkey, she also wrote many songs related to social issues.
One of her most buzz-generating songs was called “Unzile”. She tells the common stories of child brides of Turkey in the name of a kid called Unzile In her song.

Before reaching the age of eight

She became an adult Unzile

Both a child and a woman

A mother on the age of 12th

She is red like a rose and delicate

She is transparent and calm like a water

She keeps quiet, the woman Unzile

Who pours the rain?

How many sheep is Unzile worth?

Silenced by the beating

She regrets asking anything

Aysel was an Aquarius woman, a free spirit. Her lyrics were not the only tool to express her disobedience to the norms. Regardless of her age or fashion trends, she preferred to express herself via colourful wigs, oversized colourful glasses, and bright clothes when it came to her style.

Her daughter one day asks Aysel, “Mom why do you wear a pink wig and walk around in our nightwear?

Aysel replies: “These are my ‘listen to me costumes’. If I wore a suit with hair in a bun on the neck, I wouldn’t be able to get the attention to my words. I’d be ordinary and nobody would have listened to me.”

Aysel died on February 17, 2008, in Istanbul, and even her coffin was filled with pink flowers.

10 years after her death, Google dedicated one of the doodles to Aysel and her pink exuberance, and noted that “her joy is hard to contain on the screen.”