GENDER STEREOTYPES AND REINFORCEMENT OF PATRIARCHY CONSTRUCTED IN THE REALITY SHOW PILIH-PILIH MANTU A THESIS

GENDER STEREOTYPES AND REINFORCEMENT OF PATRIARCHY CONSTRUCTED

  IN THE REALITY SHOW PILIH-PILIH MANTU A THESIS By Rika Tri Ariani St.N: 120912132 ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AIRLANGGA UNIVERSITY 2013

GENDER STEREOTYPES AND REINFORCEMENT OF PATRIARCHY CONSTRUCTED

  IN THE REALITY SHOW PILIH-PILIH MANTU A THESIS By Rika Tri Ariani St.N: 120912132 ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AIRLANGGA UNIVERSITY 2013 i

GENDER STEREOTYPES AND REINFORCEMENT OF PATRIARCHY CONSTRUCTED

  IN THE REALITY SHOW PILIH-PILIH MANTU A THESIS Submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Sarjana degree of English Department Faculty of Humanities Airlangga University Surabaya By Rika Tri Ariani St.N: 120912132 ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AIRLANGGA UNIVERSITY 2013

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  DECLARATION

  This thesis contains no material has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. And to the best of this candidate’s knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published by other person except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis.

  Surabaya, 27

  th

  of June 2013

RIKA TRI ARIANI

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  This thesis is dedicated gratefully This thesis is dedicated gratefully This thesis is dedicated gratefully This thesis is dedicated gratefully to my to my to my to my beloved father beloved father beloved father beloved father

  Approved to be examined

  th

  Surabaya, 27 of June 2012 Thesis Advisor

  DiahArianiArimbi, Ph. D

NIP. 197004051994032003

  Head of English Department

  Dra.LillaMusyahda, M.Pd NIP. 196612102007012001 ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AIRLANGGA UNIVERSITY 2013

  v This thesis has been approved and accepted by the Board of Examiners, English

  th

  Department, Faculty of Humanities, Airlangga University, on 15 of July 2013 The Board Examiners are: 1.

  Dra.NurWulan, Ph. D NIP. 197012191993032001 2. DiahArianiArimbi, Ph. D NIP. 197004051994032003 3. DadungIbnuMuktiono, M. C. S.

  

NIK. 139 090 992

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  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah SWT the Lord Almighty. My first deep gratitude always addresses to Allah SWT for His endless blessings, mercies, and strengths until I could accomplish my thesis.Salutation also to my greatest prophet, the messenger and outstanding figure for all Muslims, Muhammad SAW.

  I would like to express my profound gratitude to my thesis advisor, Ms.DiahArianiArimbi, Ph.D., for her patience, encouragement, and supervision so I can keep finishing my thesis.This thesis would never be accomplished without her help, I am very lucky to have an advisor like her. I would also like to thank toall lecturers of English Department Airlangga University for transferring a new horizon of knowledge especially for Ms. Arum Budiastuti, S.S, MCS., my proposal advisor,and LayliHamida, M.Hum. myacademic advisor .

  My greatest gratitude is also acknowledged to my late mother who is my greatest inspiration. No one will be able to change your position in my heart.My beloved father, this thesis and sarjanadegree are more aboutyou Dad. My step mother, in the beginning the notion to have you in my lifeis really frightening, but now I really love you. I have two moms and I proud about it. The ‘Pine Family’, Mas Riza and Mb Elmi, thank you for your patience in taking care of me in home.

  Thank for Sherly for yourpresence every time I feel this world leave me alone and Mas Doni for all the printing stuff.

  My great debt for my comrade partners: Faul, my heroine in ‘27072013’ the deadline tragedy, Adityafor his patience as my proof reader, and Lely for your tolerance in handling my unstable emotion. You guys really give me the vii wonderful 4 years and thank a bunch for your support and all kindness we share together. My mutarabbi and friends in Liqo, may Allah blesses us so we can survive in this ‘circle’ to learn about the Islamic value so we can become a better muslimah. All of my friends in SKI and EDSA who have taught me about what the meaning of friends, commitment, and dedication are. Last but not least, I address my compliment to all my 2k9 friends who cannot be mentioned one by one. The amazing 4 years are irreplaceable. viii

  ❝ So verily, with the hardship, there So verily, with the hardship, there So verily, with the hardship, there So verily, with the hardship, there is relief. Verily, with the hardship, there is is relief. Verily, with the hardship, there is is relief. Verily, with the hardship, there is is relief. Verily, with the hardship, there is

  ‒ ‒ relief relief relief Surah Al Insyirah:5-6 ❞ relief. . . .

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Inside Cover Page ............................................................................................ i Inside Title Page ............................................................................................... ii Declaration Page .............................................................................................. iii Dedication Page ............................................................................................... iv Advisor’s Approval Page ................................................................................ v Examiner’s Approval Page .............................................................................. vi Acknowledgements .......................................................................................... vii Epigraph ........................................................................................................... ix Table of Contents ............................................................................................. x List of Tables.................................................................................................... xiii List of Figures .................................................................................................. xiv Abstract ............................................................................................................ xv

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ...................................................................

  1 1.1 Background of the Study ............................................................................

  1 1.2 Statement of the Problems .........................................................................

  5 1.3 Objective of the Study ................................................................................

  6 1.4Significance of the Study ............................................................................

  6 1.5 Outlines of Thesis Structure .......................................................................

  7 1.6 Definition of Key Terms ............................................................................

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CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW .....................................................

  9 2.1 Theoretical Framework ..............................................................................

  9 2.1.1 Gender Learning Process ..................................................................

  9 2.1.2 Feminine and Masculine Traits ........................................................

  12 2.1.3 Gender Construction in Indonesia .....................................................

  16 2.2 Related Studies ...........................................................................................

  20 CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD ......................................................

  23 3.1 Research Approach ....................................................................................

  23 3.2 Population and Sample ...............................................................................

  24 3.2.1 Population .........................................................................................

  24 3.2.2 Sample ...............................................................................................

  24 3.2.3 Variables of Traits .............................................................................

  27 3.3 Data Source ................................................................................................

  28 3.4 Scope and Limitation .................................................................................

  28 3.5 Technique of Data Collection ...................................................................

  29 3.6 Technique of Data Analysis .......................................................................

  30 CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS ..........................................................................

  31 4.1 Feminine and Masculine Representations in Pilih-PilihMantu .................

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  4.2 Gendered Characteristics ...........................................................................

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  4.3 IntertextualizingPilih-PilihMantuand Gender Construction in Indonesia51

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION ......................................................................

  58 REFERENCES ...............................................................................................

  61 APPENDIXES ................................................................................................

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  LIST OF TABLES Table 1.List of Sampling Episodes of Reality Show Pilih-PilihMantu ...........

  26 Table 2.Feminine and Masculine Representation ............................................

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  LIST OF FIGURES Figure1. Data Source ........................................................................................

  28 Figure2. Robert is Angry to Sushan .................................................................

  33 Figure3.Male Contestants are Discussing .......................................................

  33 Figure4. Mama Fey is Making a Coffee ..........................................................

  34 Figure 5.Male Contestants are Playing PerangBantal .....................................

  35 Figure 6.Tere as Cinderella in MalamPenolakan ............................................

  38 Figure 7.Some Female Contestants are Hugging .............................................

  38 Figure 8.Fitri is Catching Mice ........................................................................

  39 Figure 9.Chart of Contestant in Performing Feminine and Masculine Traits ..

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  Ariani, Rika Tri.Gender Stereotypes and Reinforcement of Patriarchy Constructed in the Reality Show Pilih-PilihMantu

  ABSTRACT

  Gender is a social construction, that is, learned and perpetuated for people’s identity.In this sophisticatedera, media become one of the most influential agents in perpetuating the idea of gender construction in society. For years media keep portraying women and men stereotypically and unequally. Women are portrayed with feminine traits such as affection, domestic, emotional, submissive, and weak. Then men are portrayed with masculine traits such as brave, dominant, rational, and strong. Masculine traits always have more positive description than feminine traits. Using content analysis this study analyzes one of Indonesian television program, Pilih-PilihMantu, and finds that this program still representsgender stereotypically. The frequency of the contestants’ representation on the traits which are stereotyped to their sexes is the highest. It affirms gender stereotype and leads to the reinforcement of patriarchy in the program.

  Keywords: femininity, gender stereotype, masculinity, patriarchy, Pilih- PilihMantu.

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  CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study ‘One is not Born but rather Becomes, A Woman’ (Beauvoir 1953, p.273).

  Beauvoir started her critical thinking in her book Second Sex that women become women as what society expects because they are taught to do so. Instead of a destiny, the idea of gender actually is the product of human civilization perpetuated in people’s life unconsciously and continuously during their lifetime. Gender is socially constructed, that is, learned and negotiated for people’s identity in the practices of everyday life. Becoming gendered is an ongoing social process which involves some instruments or agents to perpetuate this idea.

  One of the agents in gender construction is media. Media influence in representing the gender is important because by its various types: television programs, magazines, advertisements, films, internets, radios, and so forth which dominated people’s live, media becomes an instrument which has great ability to challenge people’s idea about gender. Moreover, media do not simply reflect the existing stereotypical images of gender which exist in society, but actively produce a symbolic form of feminine or masculine as gender identity which supports the ideology of ruling group.

  One of popular theories about media power is published by Theodor Adorno in his book titled The Culture Industry(1991). There he explained about media power

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  2 and its impact upon society. He explained that media has ability to influence its consumers in forming social opinion in order to perpetuate particular ideology.

  Furthermore, the mass culture exists in society today is the product of culture industry. Adorno said, ‘The customer is not king, as the culture industry would have us believe, not its subject but its object’ (1991, p. 99). Thus in media power concept, audiences are considered as passive object and media are the active subject which construct particular idea, to perpetuate particular ideology and control the society.

  For years, patriarchy, the ideology which keeps male in the higher position than other sex has become the ideology of ruling group to control the issue about gender over the world even though gender issue itself has been developing to be more complicated. It is not only about two sexes any more: male and female, but more than it. Yet patriarchy is claimed by David Gauntlett in his book Media, Gender, and Identity not to dominate and have control to the gender representation in media anymore. He explains that the representation of gender in media has changed significantly, especially for men and women. Men and women are represented equally during the 1990s and the following new century, gender roles on television became increasingly equal and non-stereotyped (2002, p. 58).

  Some movies such as Tomb Rider, Mulan, and Charlie’s Angel portray women as heroines who are independent, strong, and rational. Similar result is found in studying television programs. Some popular programs such as Ally McBeal and Sex and the City portray women as successful, intelligent, and active who have ability to get what they want by their own strength and often make men as object to

  3 be laughed at. Moreover pop music shows the girl movement by the existence some phenomenal woman singer or group such as Madonna and Spice Girls with their championing of girl power (Gauntlett 2002, Galician 2004). The representation of men and women are usually equal although sometimes there may be exceptions, but there is equality.

  Those are what happen in western media but it seems that there is difference between media in Western, Europe and America, and Eastern, Asia, in constructing gender. Douglas Rhein who does research in gender representation in Thai television advertisement shows that the portrayal of women’s roles in advertisement is improving, yet it is still inaccurate and these inaccuracies and discriminating characterizations of women are pervasive during prime time Thai television advertisement (2011). Rachma Ida who does research in media construction of female Indonesian celebrities finds that media still show those successful female Indonesian celebrities are tied to the domesticated position of women as mother and wife as expected by the cultural norms of Indonesia (2008).Both of the researches above show that gender representation in Asia especially South East Asia is different from the gender representation in Europe and America. Gender representation in South East Asia media is still stereotyped and unequal.

  Media representation in stereotyping gender unequally which positions women subordinate to men in Asian media, especially Indonesia media, can be found in one of reality show aired in oneof national television channel, antv, named Pilih- Pilih Mantu. This reality show was aired in antv every Monday to Friday at 09.30 pm

  4 and Saturday at 09.00 pm. This program was aired from April to July 2012 and had 74 episodes. The contestants of the program were fourteen females, seven males and seven males’ mothers. In this program they competed to find a right daughter in law, a right wife and of course a right husband. Only one couple won this reality show and got prize consisting of a packet of wedding party, one car for the male participant,

one car for the female participant, and Rp 100.000.000 for the male’s mother.

  Analyzing the title of the program, Pilih-Pilih Mantu means a mother looking for a woman to be a wife for her son. Based on the title, women, represented by mother, should be the most powerful party than other contestants. Yet, the fact is the party who has bigger power to decide the wife is the man instead of his mother.

  Women, both of the mother and female contestants, are inferior and subordinate to male contestant. Women are being object and men are being the subject.

  Moreover, the camera work in Pilih-Pilih Mantu often shoots women when they are crying and shouting or fighting to other female contestants to construct the images that women are weak and emotional. Yet the camera works in different moments to male contestants, camera often shoots them when they are discussing to resolve problems they face within the program or when they are listening their moms or female contestants who are sad then calming down those women. The scenes which portray male contestants reinforce the belief that men are more logical and independent than women. This reality show portrays men and women in gender stereotyped ways and reinforces the patriarchy to the viewers.

  5 Nielsen Research Company, one of the reliable survey research companies which count television program’s rating, revealed that program Pilih-Pilih Mantu is quite popular among Indonesian viewers especially for women in the range of age 15 until 39 years old from low class economy. It is known that the party who most suffered because of gender inequality is women. And most of the victims of the gendered process are women from low economy class that do not have high formal education background. This condition make those women are easily influenced by the media. The lack of knowledge makes them believe that media really reflects the real value of society. The effect is when they keep taking for granted all of media’s products they will more easily accept their subordination as what media presents. Simply they become like what they watch. Thus by doing content analysis, the writer is going to show the way television program, Pilih-Pilih Mantu, influences Indonesian audiences’ concept about gender by perpetuating gender stereotypes and reinforcing patriarchy in the program.

1.2 Statement of the Problems

  Based on the background of the study, the writer formulates the following statement of the problem:

  1. How are gender stereotypes constructed in the reality show Pilih-Pilih Mantu?

  2. How do, then, such stereotypes reinforce patriarchy in the reality show Pilih- Pilih Mantu ?

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1.3 Objective of the Study

  Based on the statements above, the writer determines the objective of the study as follows:

  1. To know how gender stereotypes are constructed in the reality show Pilih- Pilih Mantu.

  2. To know how those stereotypes are able to reinforce patriarchy in the reality show Pilih-Pilih Mantu.

1.4 Significance of the Study

  This study has crucial positions for revealing how media especially television perpetuates particular ideology to the viewers since television as one of popular media is often used by the power party to raise the ideology. This study about a television program reveals that reality show is not an unscripted program which portrays the ‘real’ reality in society. Fiske explains that what is called as reality in television is not reflect the ‘real’ reality in lives instead of reinforce what an artificial reality to society. Television is a principally realistic medium because of its ability to carry a socially convincing sense of the real (Fiske 2001, p.21). Thus this study is able to lead society to be aware of the ideology in the programs they watch and make viewers realize that there is no any ‘real’ reality show in television Moreover, reality show is considered as a new genre in television program so the research in this genre is still challenging. The last, this study will be able to be one of the references for English Department students in Airlangga University interested in studying about

  7 gender and media in Indonesia, especially television and reality show and students who use content analysis in their research.

  1.5 Outlines of Thesis Structure In this study the writer arranges the paper into some chapters. The first

  chapter is introduction which consists of background of the study, statement of the problem, objective of the study, significance of study, organization of the paper, and definition of key terms. The second chapter is literature review which consists of theoretical framework and review of related studies. The third chapter is research method which consists of research approach, population and sample, data source, scope and limitation, technique of data collection, and technique of data analysis. The fourth chapter is the result of the study and analysis of the problem stated in the first chapter. Then chapter five is the last chapter consists of the conclusion of the study.

  1.6 Definition of Key Terms Femininity : The qualities consist of attributes, behaviors, and roles, which are traditionally associated with women.

  Gender Stereotypes : Shared views of personality traits tied to each particular gender (Tuchman 2000, p.997).

  Masculinity : What men empirically do, an ideal type model of their social action, the discursive representation of the latter, or discourses

  8 that legitimate either patriarchy in general or particular groups of men (Scott 2006, p.98).

  Patriarchy : A form of social organization in which men are dominant and the central institutions of society are controlled by men and/or organized in their interests (Boyle 2005, p.205).

  Pilih-Pilih Mantu : A romance-reality show aired in one of Indonesian television

channel, antv, from April to July 2012.

  CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Theoretical Framework

2.1.1. Gender Learning Process

  Since gender is a social construction which generally relates to cultural programming as feminine or masculine (Tyson 2006, p.86), there is a learning processwhich is passed by both girls and boys.Simone De Beauvoir, one of the

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  important feminists in the second wave feminism in the 20 century, explains that the process of children to learn what characteristics and personalities that society expects to see from them,arestarted from their childhood and continue into their adolescence and even in adulthood. The process happens for years.

  If, well before puberty and sometimes even from early infancy, she seems to us to be sexually determined, this is not because mysterious instincts directly doom her to passivity, coquetry, maternity; it is because of the others upon the child is a factor almost from the start and thus she is indoctrinated with her vocation from her earliest years (Beauvoir 1953, p. 273-274) .

  Woman gets much indoctrination that imposes her to accept the stereotypes that placeher as the second sex. Society calls the subordinated class of woman as destiny which comes naturally since she was born. For instance, women are stereotypically considered as emotional because of their hormonal system, but men are considered rational because men do not possess it. Naturally woman is more emotional, nervous, and irritable than usual and can manifest serious psychological problems during ovulation period (p.57). In fact the hormonal system effects women’s emotional condition only for some days in a

  9 monthso it is incorrect to make the generalization that women are naturally more emotional than men.

  However gender stereotype actually affects not only women but also men.Man in his childhood is taught to become strong and independence. As a child he passed a hard process in his childhood to learn the man’s stereotypes as a superior sex in the society.

  His apprenticeship for life consists in free movement towards the outside world; he contends in hardihood and independence with other boys. Climbing trees, fighting with his companions, facing them in rough games, he is aware of his body as a means for dominating nature and as a weapon for fighting he takes pride in his muscles as in his sex; … he learns from an early age to take blows, to scorn pain, to keep back the tears. But what is very important is that there is no fundamental opposition between his concern for that objective figure which is his and his will to self-realization in concrete projects(p.284).

  It is evident that man suffers the same inconvenient phase that is also suffered by woman; but at least man is still able to express his self as he wants, the burden that society put on a man does not oppose his status as human being and his vocation as a man. Man is somewhat affected, but woman suffered much higher rates of injustice due to this gendered system.

  Therefore feminist critique is more developed than masculine critique.Beauvoir and many other feminists do not refute that nature also has its role in shaping men and women characteristics. But somehow nurturing process imposes excessive effects in gender construction in boy and girl.

  Parents, teachers and society in general both treat boys and girls differently and have different expectations as to how they should behave. The expected behavior of boys and girls is both encouraged and reinforced by the adults with whom they come into contact and the institutions of which they are members. Thus television programs and school reading schemes both show appropriate role models. Boys and girls who do not conform to the appropriate role model are both chastised and ridiculed by adults and by their peers. Boys who display what are seen as feminine traits are referred to as ‘wimps’, and girls who behave in masculine ways as ‘tomboys (Abbott, Wallace &Tyler 2006, p.7).

  In childhoodor adolescence the process of gendercharacteristic indoctrination is mostly done by their parents. Yet when the boy or girl has grown bigger parents are no longer becoming the agent of gender indoctrination, the process of indoctrination are taken by other agents in society. Gender stereotypes arealways perpetuated and reproduced continuously in society by variousagents.

  Today media is one of the most influential agents in perpetuating gender.Media has been becoming one of the most pervasive agents of gender socialization (Fischer 2010, p.28). Media coverssociety from all level of age, position, education as the object of gender characteristic indoctrination.Janice Winship (1980)argues in her works on advertisements and women magazines that,

  We are never just spectators who gaze at `images' of women as though they were set apart, differentiated from the `real' us. Within the ads are inscribed the images and subject positions of `mother', `housewife', `sexually attractive woman' and so on, which, as we work to understand the ad, embroil us in the process of signification that we complete (Cited in Tornhanm 2007, p.6).

  Nurturing does not become solitary sources of gender learning process in society. The role of media asan effective agent in constructing gender characteristics on society is realized by feminists. As the agent of learning media often portray women in unbalance images.Thus some feminists started to analyze media representation of gender today in order to criticize and counter the inequality of gender representation in media which has been occurring for years.

  Belsey and Moore (1989) as cited in Arimbi explain about the purpose of feminist criticism:

  A feminist does not necessarily read in order to praise or to blame, to judge or to censor. More commonly she sets out to assess how the text invites its readers, as members of a specific culture, to understand what it means to be a woman or man, and so encourages them to reaffirm or to challenge existing cultural norms (2009, p.16).

  Generally the purpose of feminist criticismsis to reveal that discrimination in gender portrayal in media still exists so take it for granted the notion about gender from media is a fault and feminist criticism tries to make people realize about this phenomena. The criticism is important because, as Beauvoir stated, women become what they are now do not come naturally but they are shaped by the social construction about femininity and masculinity.

2.1.2.Feminine and Masculine Traits

  Beauvoir outlined some social construction about femininity and masculinity traits of man and woman respectively. In traditional gender construction women are learnt that ‘to be feminine is to appear weak, futile, docile…Any self-assertion will diminish her femininity and her attractiveness’ (Beauvoir 1953, p.334). Woman is expected to be weak and passive and if she tries not to follow the stereotypes she will be considered unattractive. The same rule is also applied to man. If he tries to perform feminine trait people will start to consider him as a sissy.

  Suffering many repressions from environment especially from their parents in their childhood and adolescence makes ‘some girls become forever incapable of real and complete love, throughout their livesthey will seek an ideal impossible of realization’(347). Women believe that marriage is the key to get their freedom, there will be a man who will release her from all of repression which she suffers during her lifetime. However, instead of being the active party she just passively waits man to come and picks her up. ‘Prince Charming’ or ‘Cinderella’ syndrome is learnt by woman in her in their childhood and adolescence. This pseudo belief often makes a woman irrational and emotional in facing love’s problem.

  Marriage, the next stage after childhood and adolescence, actually brings other repressions for woman especially related to husband and wiferelationship, ‘Before long the wife, becoming familiar and submissive does not mask from her husband his state of isolation; she is in a charge, not a way of escape’(445). A husband in a patriarchal society thinks that woman is submissive and keeps considering that woman is a burden for him because of her emotionality and dependency. Marriage live contemplates no alternative for a woman other than the role of housewife, modeled with varying emphasis on ‘domesticity’, ‘glamour’, and ‘good’ companionship (Friedan 1974, p. 121).

  On the other hand society builds positive stereotypes for man which is the opposite of woman’s stereotype. In social construction ‘He is the Subject, he is the ‘Absolute’ - she is the ‘Other’ ’ (Beauvoir 1953, p.15). The category of the ‘Subject’ makes man is regarded as part of universality and ‘Other’makes woman is defined by feminine traits ‘against culture, society and rationality and so on are constructed’ (Abbott, Wallace &Tyler2006, p.5). Thus,the terms masculine and feminine are like two electrical poles which define each other by the opposite characteristics.

  One of masculine traits that make man superior than woman is power. Man’s power especially relates to his physical strength.One of the stereotypes which stimulate man’s effort is that of the powerful and famous man whom women adore(1953, p.334) which implicitly shows the passivity of women in accepting their inferiority by adoring the men’s power which they believe does not belongs to them. The result is men are stereotyped as strong but women are stereotyped as weak. The stereotype attached to women is simply the opposed of men’s characteristic.

  Another masculine trait is independency. As the ‘Subject’ man is completely an individual who does not have to depend to another person to solve his problem. He is defined as strong so it is okay to face the problem by himself. Man is taught that as a human being he is ‘socially an independent and complete individual; he is regarded first of all as a producer whose existence is justified by the work he does for the group’ (416). Moreover he is depicted not only finishes and does his work for himself but also for other people.

  Relating to marriage life, manas a husband is depicted as decision maker. He is in the highest hierarchy of household life which makes him has dominance in making decision. Even before the marriage happens, man has the right in selecting or refusing the woman, it relates to the ‘Cinderella’ syndrome on woman which falsely convinces her to wait for man to free her from the pressure. In Prince charming and Cinderella syndrome, ‘It is the man who takes the woman, he has somewhat more possibility of choosing-especially when feminine offers are numerous’(423). Man is able to choose the woman he loved, but woman does not have the same opportunity. It reflects the notion that man is subject and woman is just an object.

  The inferiority of woman is the result of the gender learning process which she has endured since childhood. In family life the figure presented by the husband in the eyes of the young woman is a demigod endued with virile prestige and destined to replace her father: protector, provider, teacher, guide (447). As a girl, she learns that in family life her father is the one who protects the family. Her father is stronger than her mother so in her child mind, she sees her father as the protector. The similar pattern is also applied to boys who see the superiority of their father in home. This notion is kept perpetuated until their marriage life.The patriarchal concept indoctrinated to her enforce young woman to see a man, either her father or future husband, as a better person than her in many things such as in intelligence, stamina, and so forth. Then for young boy, he learns that he is physically powerful so becoming the protector is his job. Patriarchy enforces that he is more clever and logic than girl so becoming provider and teacher is man’s authority.

  Generally masculine traits are always stereotypically more positive than feminine traits that lead togender inequality in society. In gender stereotype, men are definedwith their masculine traits such as strong, independence, dominant, and rational. Yet women are defined with feminine traits such as weak, emotional, superstitious, and submissive. Masculine and feminine become two different groups of traits which one gives opposite trait to the other but the pattern always places superior traitsto masculinity and the inferior to femininity.The inequality is really clear thus it is important to criticize the false stereotypes which develop in the society.

2.1.3.Gender Construction in Indonesia

  Different cultures might expect different personality traits and characteristics of gender. Yet, there are still some stereotypes that are universally expected by world citizens. Brannon in her book Gendered Psychology make a summary based on some studies of other researchers that, “There six adjectives were associated with males in all of the cultures—adventurous, dominant,

  forceful, independent, masculine, and strong—and three adjectives were identified

  with femalesin all cultures—sentimental, submissive, and superstitious” (2002, p.182).This study concerns with gender stereotypes in a reality show which air in Indonesia television channel. Thus it is important to note how gender is stereotyped in Indonesian culture as well as the similarity and difference.

  One of feminists who concern with gender system in Indonesia is Julia Suryakusuma. In her book entitled State Ibuism(2000) she explains that inequality of gender stereotypes also exists in Indonesian culture. By an ideology popularly known as Ibuism,Indonesian culture weakens the position and role of women in society. Under Ibuism women should serve their men, children, the family, the community and even the state. Ibuism is an ideologywhich ‘sanctions any action provided it is taken by the mother who looks after her family, a group, a class, a company, or the state, without demanding any power or prestige in return’ (Suryakusuma 2000, p.2).The Ibuismconcept enforces Indonesian women to accept the concept of domestication and places them in inferior position, similar to the general construction of women in most culture in the world.

  In Indonesia, the state by New Order government actively contributes to perpetuate the inferiority of women in the society. Suryakusuma explains that Indonesian women are firstly identified by the notion ‘wives’ to enforce the subordination of women to men. Secondly women are identified by the notion ‘mother’ to enforce the concept of domestication. Therefore a hierarchy gender was constructed.

  In addition gender construction in Indonesian culture cannot be separated from gender construction in Islam since Islam is a religion adhered by majority of Indonesian (Robinson 2009).In Islam women position relates to authority concept belongs to men instead of women. For example when Megawati becomes the first woman president in Indonesia, pro and cons derives not only from secular public figures or politician, but also from leading religious figures.This condition is similar with the situation during the period of parliamentary democracy in 1950 when ‘NU had issued a fatwa in 1957 which stipulated that there was no barrier to women voting orstanding’ (p.168). The cons appeared from one of Kyai, term for an Islamic religious figure, who cited a hadith from Abu Bakrah: ‘Success will not come to a nation ruled by women’ (ibid.). In Indonesian culture people incorrectly make Islamic rules as justification about the inequality of men and women even though Islam actually places women equal to men. Only in particular issue there is an exception, such as in Megawati’s case, yet an exception cannot be used as a generalization for all cases. Therefore in Islamic perspective women and men are equal but when it relates to the issue of leadership, such as become the leader of community and make an important decision, men have higher position than women.

  In addition gender construction in Indonesia is also influenced by adat especially from Javaneseculture since most of Indonesian population is from Java ethnic (Arimbi 2009, Suryakusuma 2011). In Javanese culture the role of women are reflected in three prominent beliefs,

  The first lies in the saying ‘koncowingking’ (literally meaning: companion whose place is in the back part of the house); the second in ‘suargonunutnerakakatut’ (meaning: a wife will go wherever her husband goes, to hell or heaven, making her a mere follower of the husband’s deed); and the third says women’s roles are ‘manak, masak, macak’ (to breed, to cook, and to adorn herself for her husband) which correlate closely to women’s places in ‘kasur, dapur, sumur’ (bed, kitchen, doing household jobs) (Arimbi 2009, p. 61).

  The first and second belief, konco wingking and suargo nunut neraka

  nunut reflect the subordination of women. In family life they are powerless so they cannot make their own decision and only follow their husband’s decisions.

  Then the last belief, manak, masak, macak, reflects that women’s main roles are serving and doing household chores for their husband prosperity and happiness.

  Furthermorewomen subordination in Indonesia is also imposed by concept of kodrat that is related to biological destiny. The concept of kodrat limits Indonesian women movement outside the household life.

  The regime placed limits on thepossibilities for women’s social participation and political agency through state sponsored practices organized around a dominant trope of woman as wife and mother and the notion of women’s social roles being based on their biological nature, expressed through the concept of kodrat wanita (p.10). Term kodrat, in Indonesianlanguage, means‘the unalterable nature one is born with, or predetermined’ (Arimbi 2009, p.57), really supports the concept of domestication by stating that it is natural for women to serve their family, submissive to the husbands and nurture the children. Family needs are considered more important than women’s because women’sexistences are appraised by their success in managing their family lives. When their families are happy, they are considered as successful women.

  Besides using some terms such as wives, mother, and kodrat to bind women in pseudo-feminine, Indonesian government also uses term Bapak to enforce the patriarchal ideology in gender construction in Indonesia. This term was popularized by Indonesian second president, Soeharto, who called himself as

  Bapak Pembangunan (Suryakusuma 2000, Robinson 2009).

  Using term Bapak to reinforce patriarchal concept and kodratto weaken women position the concept of ‘ideal’ household lives is constructed by New Order government called asas kekeluargaan. In asas kekeluargaan the hierarchy is constructed by men in the highest position of family authority then followed by women and children. This subordination is regarded natural in Indonesian culture.

  Women’s citizenship was maternal citizenship, and their difference from men was deemed to be located in their kodrat (biologically specific nature) assumed to be God given and sanctioned by Islam. It was a central pillar of the ideology of the New Order—the azas kekeluargaan, the family foundation of the state (Robinson 2009, p. 68).

  Thus, generally, gender constructions in Indonesian culture are not much different from gender characteristics in global construction. Women are placed underneath men; subordinated. It does not happen naturally but due to social constructions.

2.2. Review of Related Studies

  The first related study is a thesis done by Sabrina Fischer, a graduate student from Auburn University, Alabama, USA, titled “Powerful or Pretty: AContent Analysis of Gender Images in Children’s Animated Films”, examines the portrayal of gender roles, images, and stereotypes in five children animated films. This study examinesthe distribution of male and female characters relate to their physical appearance, social roles, and behavioral attributes.