Since the advent of the women's movement, the mass media and literary classics
have become targets for intensive scrutiny by some feminists who are concerned
with the role and influence the media and literature play in promoting a gendered
society. This thesis, focuses mainly on representations of Indonesian women as
presented by the Jakarta-based women's magazine, femina. By analysing six articles
that appeared in the magazine from the 1970s to the 1990s, representations of gender
relationships have been highlighted.
Shaped dominantly by Islamic beliefs, and the Javanese values, which consist
of a syncretic blend of Animist, Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic beliefs, contemporary
Indonesian society is dominated by a strong political state and patriarchal value
system which downgrades women. Resulting from the political changes introduced
by the New Order, there has been a pivotal transformation of Indonesian women's
organisations. The regime strongly encourages wives' organisations, despite the full
equality guaranteed to men and women by the 1945 Constitution. It is demanded of
Indonesian women that their foremost duties are their motherly and wifely roles.
The influence of the priyayi, the Javanese elite, who believe that woman's destiny is
primarily centred on her role as wife and mother, is partially responsible for the
continuing influence of this ideal and the way it subordinates women to men. The
religious traditions are also not without considerable influence in this area. These
values can be found in the articles examined. Further, the thesis investigates
attitudes to women who work outside the home, the double burden that they carry,
and any changes in the representations of women and gender relations over the
twenty years as revealed infemina.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/221927 |
| Date | January 1997 |
| Creators | Suzy Azeharie |
| Publisher | Murdoch University |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.murdoch.edu.au/goto/CopyrightNotice, Copyright Suzy Azeharie |
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