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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of Study
Gender discrimination becomes one of the big issues in many histories of human societies. It occurs as the problems for all members of society consisting of
men and women because they are treated differently. Most cases of gender discrimination place women as the victims who are suffering from oppression.
Women are oppressed by men and society because they see them as an object, rather than a subject that should be respected and treated equally. The
discrimination towards women happens because of the culture or the perspective of society that sees women as weak and dependent to men. Society differentiates
women and men by giving different rights and roles to them. As a result, women are put in the lower position than men in the society.
Gender discriminati on toward women occurs in many aspects of women’s
life such as in economic, politic, education, family, social, etc. It presents in the form of slavery, religious intolerance, racism, economic disparity, societal
reservation, and many other forms. The practice of gender discrimination has existed since many centuries ago until today. For example, based on the
transcription of Richards and Saba in Encyclopaedia of Anti-Revisionism On- Line, in England, during industrial revolution, women and children were seen as
inferior class in the society. They were forced in long hours of labours without equal payment. This action could be categorized as the form of slavery that
discriminates women and children. It caused family and society breakdown where many children were dying and many female workers were sick. Even though later,
there were reformations that reformulated the policy of women and child labour but it only leads them especially women into another form of gender
discrimination that was domestication. Women were returned to home to do house works without equal share of responsibility. Women did all of the house works
such as cooking, cleaning, and child bearing but men did not play any role at all in the house. The work that women did in the house was also categorized as the form
of labour in the household. It means that the condition of women before and after labour’s reformation remains static.
In today’s era, the practice of discrimination toward women can be seen clearly in the work field. Even though in modern society women are allowed to
have careers but it does not prevent women to get equal treatment. The examples of discriminations toward women in the work place are in the forms of unequal
payment, work load, and also discrimination in recruitment. Moreover, Topping reviews in business-humanrights.org says that according to UKs Equality and
Human Rights Commission, 54,000 women lost their job due to pregnancy. The amount is almost twice in number calculated in 2005. Another discrimination
toward women is perceived in the form of pay gap. International Labour Organisation ILO conducted a study of 83 countries and found women earn 10
until 30 less than men. The examples above are only a small part of gender discrimination toward women that happens in England.
Gender discrimination happens not only toward female adults but also female children. Both of them are the most potential objects of gender
discrimination since they are seen as weak creatures that are easily oppressed. Therefore, they need to understand their rights as human being that they cannot be
discriminated instead they should be treated equally in any aspects of life. They also need to realize that struggle against gender discrimination is important to do
if they want to survive from discrimination. For female adult, to understand about gender discrimination is not a big deal. They can search any information related to
the issue from any sources such as internet, book, or journal. However, the issues related to gender discrimination and the struggle against it are quite difficult to
understand by female children because the issues are unfamiliar and difficult. Therefore, female children need to be introduced to gender discrimination and
women’s struggle earlier to make them understand about the harms that can be caused by gender discrimination such as domestic violence, sexual abuse or
bullying. The understanding of those issues can prevent both female adults and female children from any discrimination that happened in their life and it will also
help them realize the rights that they actually have, that they are worth to be treated equally. The understanding about the rights that female adults and female
children have will encourage them to take action if they suffer from discriminations.
Society places female adults and female children in inferior position because they judge them for having inferior traits such as weak, dependent,
irrational, vulnerable and incapable of independent thinking. Society that unfairly
judges female adults and female children this way is called as patriarchal society. Patriarchal society exists because of male domination and false judgment toward
women. Therefore, it becomes the main cause of gender discrimination toward women. Patriarchal society appears from a system called as patriarchy. Patriarchy
is a system dominated by men whether in social, economy or justice. Walby 1990: 20 explains the concept of patriarchy as a system as:
“….patriarchy as a system of social structures and practices in which men domina
te, oppress and exploit women… the use of the term social structures is important here, since it clearly implies rejection both of
biological determinism, and the notion that every individual man is in dominant position and every women is a subordinate one
… patriarchy is composed of six structures: the patriarchal mode of production, patriarchal
relation in paid work, patriarchal relations in the state, male violence, patriarchal relation in society, and patriarchal relations in cultural
institutions…” From this definition patriarchy is understood as the system in social structure and
practices where men are dominating the society. Men believe that women are physically weak and inferior. The domination of men in the society causes
oppression and exploitation toward women in six different area, they are in production, paid work, state, male violence, society and also in cultural
institutions such as church or education. It means that patriarchy is very dangerous and harmful for women since it victimizes women from oppression and
exploitation. Patriarchal society believes that men hold the highest authority. Therefore,
men have abundant power and control over women. Men in patriarchal society construct women only to be wives and mothers who have no rights to participate
in any valuable activities. As a result, patriarchal structure allows men to do unfair
treatment in many different forms. For example in family, women are not seen as human beings that have the same rights and opportunities because the husband
can do anything they want to women. Weitz in Johannsdottir, 2009: 3 explains that men make women only to be their husband’s property just like any property
because women are supposed to be obedient and show submissions. In the house, women do househol
d labour and should serve man’s need, as the return, they will get maintenance from men. However, men take properties and inheritances that
women have. It means women work for men without getting equal treatment. Gender discrimination that happens in a patriarchal society triggers women
to take a real action to fight against it. The way women fight against gender discrimination becomes the cause of the emergence of women’s movement, which
tries to erase the issues of gender discrimination. The movement is called as feminist movement. Feminist movement reacts based on the idea of feminism.
Feminism has been constructed as an ideological category that “promotes gender equality and emancipation” Gamble, 2001: 47. Feminist movement arise based
on a belief that there should not be any different rights between men and women. Thus, feminist movement appears as the representation of women protests toward
gender discrimination. Women’s movement appears in the nineteenth century and it still
continues until today. The struggles of this movement to fight against gender discrimination vary in form. Some women’s activists voice their thought through
campaign and literary works. They want to help other women to change their condition. The example is Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who is known as one of the
great feminists, helps women by pleading for women’s equal rights concern in ownership, voting rights and more. In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft published, A
Vindication of the Rights of Women in England which shouted for full political, social, and economic rights for women. Those ideas spread over to the United
States and gave birth to the early American women’s rights movement. It is continued to spread widely in other Western countries and embarked feminist
movement into wider scales Tong, 2009: 14. After the long process of struggles, women started to have brighter life. As
the twentieth first century continues, women gradually dominated the majority of students at every level of educations. At working sphere, there is higher chance
for women to be a CEO or leader in public institutions. Women nowadays are allowed to go out from the house and divorce their husband. However, it does not
mean that discrimination towards women is totally extinct. In some cultures and countries, the practice of discrimination still exists until today. Because of this
condition, women’s struggle becomes the prominent source to diminish gender discrimination and patriarchal society, as the cause of it. Therefore, women should
continue to struggle in order to seek for freedom and equality. Women’s struggles
impose that women should not be oppressed and discriminated whereas women should be appreciated and respected by men and other members of the society.
Women need to fight because gender discriminations can be diminished only by women. Only women who understand the experience of oppression and
discrimination. This statement emphasizes by Morris 1993: 2, she says that men can identify and criticize the form of gender discrimination, but they cannot
e xperience them as women. Therefore, women’s struggle is the only way for
women to get equal rights and freedom as human. The source that can give understanding about the issues of gender
discrimination toward women and women’s struggle is from literature. The heavy issue such as gender discrimination and women’s struggle can be easily digested
by children because the language used in literature is easier to understand. Female children who often become the object of discrimination like women, also need
literature to be able to understand about the issues of gender discrimination and women’s struggle. However, children need special kinds of literature that
intentionally made for them, that is children’s literature. Children’s literature is the best source offered to them to understand about gender discrimination and
women’s struggles issues. By reading children’s literature such as children novels or picture books, children will be attracted to read the story as well as to gain
understanding from it. The author of those literary texts chooses the language carefully, therefore children can easily understand, as well as enjoy and get values
from the story even though the stories are gloomy, sad or contain unfamiliar and sensitive issues. According to Lukens 1999:
10, “literature is more than a piece of writing that clarifies; it gives the child pleasure as well as understanding.”
Literature, especially children’s literature helps children and adults to understand life’s problems such as divorce, death, gender discrimination and sexual abuse
from the story and the value embodied in the works. When children read some children’s literature works they will be able to learn without experiencing the
events in the story directly. It means that literature is a bridge to connect children
with the real world and the condition in it to make them realize and be well prepared before they face it in the future.
Children’s literature becomes the best literary genre offers to children to deliver the understanding about gender disc
rimination and women’s struggles topics. Children’s book will give the vivid portrayal of gender discrimination
problems in the real life with the content that is already adjusted with children’s ability to digest the story. Moreover, it can give understanding to children that
they need to do something to change their conditions if they face difficulty in their life. The book that depicts gender discrimination issue should contain the image
of a strong female character to show and to inspire children that they should struggle to fight against discrimination when they face this problem in their lives.
Morris 1993: 7 explains positive images of female experiences and qualities can be used to raise women’s self-esteem and lend authority to their political demands.
In other words, a strong female character is needed to be presented in children’s literature in order to make women and children become more confident and brave
to take part in social activities. A strong female character rejects false women’s stereotypes in a patriarchal society that see women and children as weak and
dependent. It will help female children who experience discrimination to be encouraged to struggle. The character is presented by having strong personal traits
that are usually own by men. The image of a strong female character gives enlightenment that female hero is equal to male hero. Children’s book that offers
good example of a strong female character is Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling. Hermione Granger, the female main character, is portrayed as a female heroine
who helps the hero to fight against the villains. Hermione Granger has strong personal traits such as smart, brave, responsible, reliable, strong and independent
that are usually depicted in hero character. She helps and even saves the male hero in the story. Children’s book such as Harry Potter series encourages female
children to be strong and brave to struggle and fight against any problems in life such as gender discrimination.
One of the great authors who writes many stories with strong female child as the main character is Jacqueline Wilson. She writes plenty female children’s
stories that contain sensitive issues such as divorce, illness, violence, gender discrimination, abandonment and death. She wins several awards for her works in
children’s literature. One of her works that tells about the struggles of female adults and female children against gender discrimination is entitled Cookie. This
book becomes one of her books which portrays gender discrimination problems in England modern society that is relevant with the condition of the society in this
era. Cookie tells about the struggle of Beauty, a female child, against gender
discrimination in patriarchal society. She is an elementary student who lived in an elite neighbourhood with her parents. This family looks fine and happy from the
outside with all of the glamour and fancy facilities that they have in the house. However, Beauty and her mother feel the opposite because of the father’s
treatment. Beauty’s father is very arrogant and will easily get mad if he sees something did not happened like he wants. He creates rules and forces it towards
his daughter and wife. This action makes them always feel afraid and intimidated.
Beauty feels afraid and insecure when her father is having a bad mood because he will mad at her for any small mistake she does. Furthermore, when Beauty is sent
to an elite girl school, she is being bullied by all of her friends. She gets bullied because her friends think that she is ugly and fat. They call her with inappropriate
nicknames, such as ugly-wugly and brainbox. Therefore, Beauty is discriminated from her social life because no one wants to be her friends.
Beauty suffers from discrimination and oppression in the family and the society. She tries to bear it but then she realizes that her father and her friends
would not stop the harm that they do to her. When she begins to realize that she needs to struggle against the discriminations where patriarchy system strongly
affects it, she gains her courage and start to fight against the discriminations by doing several forms of struggle. She does certain actions to prevent her father
discriminating her and tries to change her friend’s attitudes towards her. Beauty is portrayed from weak to strong female child character who is able to fight to get
equality and happiness and to make a new life that free from discrimination by her own ability.
Every woman and female child should be free from any discrimination and inferior judgment because they have the rights to get freedom and fair treatment.
Therefore, the researcher believes based on some reasons that conducting a study about gender discrimination is mandatory. First, there are still gender
discrimination issues faced by women and female children in every life aspect and social class. Second, female children understanding about gender discrimination
issue is more challenging and difficult compared to female adults. Third, gender
discrimination is very harmful for both female children and female adults because it can make them suffering in their lives.
Based on those reasons, the researcher considers that study about gender discrimination and women’s struggle in children’s literature is very important to
be studied deeper to give more awareness and understanding to the reader that gender discrimination and women’s struggles issues remain important. From this
study, adults can be encouraged to introduce about gender discrimination and women’s struggle to female children since their early age. It will make them
realize that they have the rights to get equal treatment like men. Thus, Beauty’s struggles to fight against patriarchal society become something interesting to
discuss. The revelation of Beauty’s struggles signifies that women especially female children are not weak and they are not dependent to men. They can be
independent and become valuable for other people as well as for themselves. Beauty’s struggles also signify that it is possible for female children to change the
harmful condition that they face using their own ability and courage.
B. Research Focus
Kategori