THE INFLUENCE OF PATRIARCHY ON OTOKO AND KEIKO’S LESBIANISM IN KAWABATA’S BEAUTY AND SADNESS
THE INFLUENCE OF PATRIARCHY ON OTOKO AND KEIKO’S LESBIANISM IN KAWABATA’S BEAUTY AND SADNESS
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By ANGELA ASTRID S. C. A.
044214024 ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2008 A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
THE INFLUENCE OF PATRIARCHY IN 20TH CENTURY JAPAN ON OTOKO AND KEIKO’S LESBIANISM IN KAWABATA’S
BEAUTY AND SADNESS
By ANGELA ASTRID S. C. A.
Student Number: 044214024 Approved by
Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani., S.S., M.Hum Date: Advisor Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum Date: Co-Advisor
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
THE INFLUENCE OF PATRIARCHY IN 20TH CENTURY JAPAN
ON OTOKO AND KEIKO’S LESBIANISM IN KAWABATA’S
BEAUTY AND SADNESS
By
ANGELA ASTRID S. C. A.
Student Number: 044214024 Defended before the Board of Examiners on September 27, 2008 and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Name SignatureChairman : Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A. ______________________ Secretary : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M. Hum. ______________________ Member : Adventina Putranti S.S., M. Hum ______________________ Member : Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani., S.S., M.Hum ______________________ Member : Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum ______________________
Yogyakarta, September 27, 2008 Faculty of Letters
Sanata Dharma University Dean Dr. I. Praptomo Baryadi, M.Hum.
Around here, however, we don’t look backwards
for very long.....
We keep moving forward, opening up new doors
and doing new things, because we’re curious....
And curiosity keeps leading us down new paths
This thesis I dedicate to
my lovely parents my brother and sister and all of my friends love you all
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I give my deepest thanks to My Lord Jesus Christ for His guidance so that I could finish my thesis. Who always listen to my prayers, who bless me all the time, who never leave me alone. I believe He always give us the best for me in my entire life.
My deepest gratitude is for Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani.,S.S.,M.Hum, my Advisor, and also Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum as my Co-Advisor, who have guided me in writing this thesis. Thanks for the time and the chance that she has given to me. I also thank all lecturers of English Department for assisting me in going through the years of my study in Sanata Dharma University. Thanks to the Secretariat staff for giving me all the information that I need.
My deepest gratitude is also dedicated the most patient parents that I have ever known in the whole world F.X Yoseph Sumardi and Emerentiana Cicik G. who always guide me to be a better person and teach me precious values needed in my life. Thanks to my brother and sister with whom I share laughter and everything I need to face. To my best friends that I ever had, Dita, Intan, Nelly, Elin, Amel, Caca, Martha, Candra, Wisnu, Rizka and the Selvita’s gangs and all of my friends in Sanata Dharma University for the wonderful friendship that we shared almost 4 years. I miss all of the nice moments that had happened. God Bless you all.
ANGELA ASTRID STELLADIBA CINDY AYU
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ……………………………………………………………….. i APPROVAL PAGE ………………………………………………………… ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE …………………………………………………….. iii MOTTO PAGE ……………………………………………………………... iv DEDICATION PAGE ………………………………………………………. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………………………………………………… vi TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………… vii ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………… ix ABSTRAK ………………………………………………………………….. x
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ………………………………………….. 1
1 A. Background of the Study ………………………………………..
4 B. Problem Formulation ……………………………………………
4 C. Objectives of the Study ………………………………………….
5 D. Definition of Terms ……………………………………………...
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW …………………………………
8
8 A. Review on Related Studies ………………………………………
12 B. Review on Related Theories …………………………………….
19 C. Theoretical Framework ………………………………………….
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY ………………………………………... 20
20 A. Object of the Study ………………………………………………
21 B. Approach of the Study …………………………………………...
23 C. Method of the Study ……………………………………………..
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS ………………………………………………… 25
25 A. The aspects of patriarchy in the novel ..……………………………
1. Patriarchal Mode of Production …………………………………
25
2. Male Violence ……………………………………………………
28
3. Relations in Sexuality ……………………………………………
29
4. Patriarchal State …………………………………………………
33
5. Patriarchal Culture ………………………………………………
35 B. The forms of oppression experienced by Otoko and Keiko ..………
37
1. Oppression through Education ..…………………………………
38
2. Oppression through Love ..………………………………………
40
3. Oppression through Physical Dependence ………………………
42
4. Oppression through Stereotype of Women ……………………… 43
5. Oppression through Sexual or Physical Violence ..……………… 45 C. The influence of patriarchal oppression on Otoko and Keiko’s lesbianism …………………………………………………………… 47
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION ………………………………………………. 58 BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………………. 64
ABSTRACT
thANGELA ASTRID S.C.A. (2008). The Influence of Patriarchy in 20 Century
Japan on Otoko and Keiko’s Lesbianism in Kawabata’s Beauty and Sadness.
Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.A society shapes the life of each individual who is a member of that society in different ways. There are many factors that determine how a society influences an individual. One of them is gender; men’s experience in a society is naturally different from women’s experience in the same society.
The work under discussion is a novel entitled Beauty and Sadness by Yasunari Kawabata, which is set in early twentieth century Japan. The novel features Otoko and Keiko, a lesbian couple, as the major female characters. This undergraduate thesis aims to examine how patriarchy in the society around them influences their lives and their sexual orientation as lesbians.
Three problems are formulated in this thesis. The first problem examines the aspects of patriarchy portrayed in the novel. The second problem examines the forms of oppression experienced by the characters Otoko and Keiko under patriarchal society. The third problem examines how patriarchal oppression on Otoko and Keiko as women influences their sexual orientation as lesbians.
Library research method is applied to conduct this study. The primary data is obtained from Kawabata’s Beauty and Sadness. The secondary data are collected from books, theses and articles on the Internet. Theories used in this study are Walby’s theory on patriarchy, Firestone’s theory on manifestation of patriarchy in society, Dworkin’s theory on patriarchal strategies to perpetuate their oppression, Giddens’ theory on sexual orientation and Rich’s theory on lesbian existence. Feminism is used as the approach because this study discusses Otoko and Keiko’s position and experience in the society due to their sex as women, as well as the result of their position and experience.
As a result of the analysis, the writer found several aspects of patriarchy in the society as portrayed in the novel, which can be classified as patriarchal mode of production, male violence, unequal relations in sexuality, patriarchal state and patriarchal culture. Otoko and Keiko experience some forms of oppression in the patriarchal society, namely oppression through education, oppression through love, oppression through physical dependence toward men, oppression through stereotype of women as a beautiful physical object or a mother figure, and oppression through sexual or physical violence. Starting out as heterosexuals, Otoko and Keiko only developed their lesbian relationship after they started living together, initially as teacher and pupil. However, as lesbians, they can get opportunities and experience that they cannot otherwise get under patriarchal oppression, namely an equal life partner, lover, co- worker and community. Thus, patriarchal oppression functions as one of the psychological, social and cultural factors which triggers Otoko and Keiko’s transition into lesbianism.
ABSTRAK
thANGELA ASTRID S.C.A. (2008). The Influence of Patriarchy in 20 Century
Japan on Otoko and Keiko’s Lesbianism in Kawabata’s Beauty and Sadness.
Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.Suatu masyarakat membentuk kehidupan masing-masing anggotanya dengan cara yang berbeda-beda. Ada banyak faktor yang menentukan bagaimana suatu masyarakat mepengaruhi setiap individu. Salah satunya ialah jenis kelamin; pria tentu memiliki pengalaman yang bereda dari wanita, walaupun mereka hidup di masyarakat yang sama. Karya sastra yang diulas dalam skripsi ini ialah novel berjudul Beauty and
Sadness karya Yasunari Kawabata, yang bertempat di Jepang pada awal abad duapuluh.
Novel ini menampilkan Otoko dan Keiko, sepasang lesbian, sebagai tokoh utama wanita. Skripsi ini membahas bagaimana patriarki dalam masyarakat di sekitar kedua tokoh tersebut mempengaruhi kehidupan dan orientasi seksual mereka sebagai lesbian.Tiga pertanyaan dirumuskan dalam skripsi ini. Pertanyaan pertama membahas aspek-aspek patriarki yang ditampilkan dalam novel ini. Pertanyaan kedua membahas bentuk-bentuk penindasan yang dialami Otoko dan Keiko dalam masyarakat berpaham patriarki. Pertanyaan ketiga membahas pengaruh penindasan patriarki terhadap orientasi seksual Otoko dan Keiko sebagai lesbian.
Penulis menggunakan metode studi pustaka untuk menyelesaikan Studi ini. Data utama berasal dari novel Beauty and Sadness karya Kawabata sedangkan data tambahan diambil dari berbagai buku, skripsi, serta artikel di Internet.Teori-teori yang digunakan ialah teori tentang patriarki oleh Walby, teori tentang perwujudan patriarki di masyarakat oleh Firestone, teori tentang strategi patriarki dalam melangsungkan penindasan oleh Dworkin, teori tentang orientasi seksual oleh Giddens, dan teori tentang lesbian oleh Rich. Pendekatan feminisme digunakan karena isi skripsi ini berkaitan dengan posisi dan pengalaman tokoh-tokoh novel ini dalam masyarakat yang bersumber dari jenis kelamin mereka.
Sebagai hasil analisis, penulis menemukan beberapa aspek patriarki dalam masyarakat yang ditampilkan di novel ini, yang secara garis besar dapat digolongkan sebagai mode produksi berpaham patriarki, kekerasan oleh pria, hubungan yang tak setara dalam seksualitas, negara berpaham patriarki, dan budaya berpaham patriarki. Otoko dan Keiko mengalami beberapa bentuk penindasan dalam masyarakat berpaham patriarki, yakni penindasan melalui penindakan, penindasan melalui cinta, penindasan melalui stereotip wanita sebagai benda yang indah maupun sebagai tokoh ibu, serta penindasan melalui kekerasan seksual atau fisik. Otoko dan Keiko awalnya adalah heteroseksual. Mereka baru mulai menjalin hubungan sebagai lesbian setelah tinggal bersama sebagai guru dan murid. Namun, sebagai lesbian mereka memperoleh kesempatan dan pengalaman yang tak dapat mereka peroleh di bawah penindasan patriarki, yaitu adanya partner hidup, kekasih, rekan kerja dan komunitas yang setara. Penindasan patriarki berfungsi sebagai salah satu faktor psikologis, sosial dan budaya yang mendorong perubahan orientasi seksual Otoko dan Keiko menjadi lesbian.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Scholars as far back as Plato had conceived the nature of literature as an
imitation of life (http://www.rowan.edu/philosop/cloenwy/Aesthetics/philos_ artists_onart/plato.htm). To put it more specifically, Wellek dan Warren see literature as a social institution representing social reality:
Literature is a social institution using the medium language which represents ‘life’ and ‘life’ is a social reality even though the natural world and the inner or subjective world of the individual have also been objects of literary imitation (Wellek and Warren, 1956: 94).
According to Langland, the society in a literary work is “not only a concept and a construct in fiction, but also in life”, which can be revealed “through human relationships, through the characters’ patterned interactions and their common expectations of one another” (1984: 6). Based on those ideas, all events in a literary work are a representation of phenomenon in real life (whether as a social reality or an individual’s subjectivity), and thus cannot be separated from various factors, causes and effects.
The novel Beauty and Sadness (Utsukushisa-to Kanashimi-to) was written by Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata and was first published in 1965. It is one of Kawabata’s last novels before his suicide death in 1972 (http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/kawabata.htm). In his article for Virginia Quarterly
Review, Daniel Weiss describes it as having “that curiously haunting quality which is almost a Kawabata signature”. Christopher Fulton calls the novel a “timeless prose,” in which everything “is either sad or beautiful” (1985).
The novel contains many challenging issues, such as sex with underage child, exploitation, psychological problems, adultery, lesbianism, suicide attempt, and possibly homicide attempt. However, its portrayal of lesbianism through the couple Otoko and Keiko is particularly interesting, especially seen in the context of the novel’s time and place setting, namely Japan in the 1960’s.
Homosexuality (gay and lesbianism) has been existing for centuries in
th
Japan, but until the late 20 century, it was not accepted in Japanese culture. Any homosexual practice or feeling had to be disguised, for example through cross- dressing in entertainment field. According to James Welker, in the 1960s lesbianism was confined to the bar scene, which was “occupied by and tailored to the heterosexual majority”; during the 1970s to the 1990s, lesbianism began to emerge in the general Japanese society through activist organizations (2002: 122- 125). According to Erin Subramian, in the field of literature, apart from Yoshiya Nobuko’s romance Yaneura no Nishojo in 1920, there was no considerable Japanese literary work about lesbians until the 1990s. Until now, many people in Japan still regard lesbianism as perverted, abnormal, or oversexed (Hattori in http://www.yuricon.org/essays/women_loving_women.html).
Therefore, with such literary tradition and society’s mindset of his time, it is remarkable that Kawabata wrote about lesbians exactly as ordinary human beings. The description of Otoko and Keiko as lesbians is not explicitly pornographic or only concerned with sexual intercourse, either. They have conversations, disagreements, even discussion about their work as painters. In brief, the lesbian characters in this novel are portrayed as people, who are capable of feeling and are influenced by their past life, just like any other people.
On the other hand, this novel is also a portrayal of women in men’s world: the main character of the story is a man, Oki Toshio. The story begins with Oki’s observation, musings, and memories in the train. Although the story is told from omniscient third-person point of view, the story is centered on Oki’s life. Not only his old lover and affairs, his family (wife and children) is also featured prominently. A lot is mentioned about Otoko’s past, but mostly it is related to her affair with Oki (and its aftermath). Kawabata, the author of the novel, is a man himself. The society in which the story is set is a society that favours men; a society where a married man can make a young girl pregnant and get away with it, even gain personal benefit from it with the society’s approval (Kawabata, 1975: 30-31).
To take the notion further, such society is a reflection of the real-life society, in which women all over the world are “relegated to a secondary position” (Guerin, et al., 1999: 196). Suganuma argues that “not only lesbians but Japanese women in general are denied the subjectivity necessary to own their bodies and desires,” and one of the causes of women’s lack of sexual subjectivity arises from society’s patriarchal structure. Indeed, in Japan as well as many other places, the society as well as families are governed by men, which matches Hawthorn’s definition of patriarchy as “government by men –either within the family or in the society at large– with authority descending through the father” (1992: 127).
Therefore, considering the aesthetic quality of the novel, the intriguing aspect of the story, in relation with the society and setting depicted there and the relevance to real life issues, the writer finds it interesting to conduct a study to examine the relation between the two female characters’ lesbianism and the patriarchal society around them. To be precise, the writer wants to discuss how patriarchy in the time, place, and society in which the story is set affects the lives of those characters, and eventually their sexual orientation as lesbians, either directly or indirectly, partially or completely.
B. Problem Formulation
In order to guide and limit the subjects under discussion, the research questions are formulated as follows:
1. What aspects of patriarchy are portrayed in Kawabata’s Beauty and
Sadness?
2. What are the forms of oppression experienced by the characters Otoko and Keiko under patriarchal society?
3. What is the influence of the patriarchal oppression on Otoko and Keiko’s lesbianism?
C. Objectives of the Study
This study aims to answer the research questions formulated above. The the novel; the second objective is to identify the influence of patriarchy experienced by Otoko and Keiko, and the third objective is to discover the influence of the patriarchal oppression on Otoko and Keiko’s lesbianism.
D. Definition of Terms
To avoid misunderstanding regarding the terms used in this thesis, in this part the writer provides definition of some key terms based on relevant printed and online references.
1. Patriarchy
According to Humm, patriarchy is “a system of male authority which oppresses women through its social, political, and economic institutions” (1992: 408), while Andersen views patriarchy as “institutionalized power relationships that give men power over women” (1997: 384). Thus, a patriarchal culture is a culture that is “organized in favor of the interests of men” (Guerin, et al, 1999: 196).
As proposed in Humm’s definition, the practices of patriarchy occur in various spheres of life, such as social, politics, economy, and sexual relation; according to Andersen, as a sexual system, patriarchy is “a system of power in which the male possesses superior power and economic privilege” (1997: 356).
Such condition can continue because men have greater access to and privilege over “the resources and rewards of authority structures inside and outside the home” (Humm, 1992: 408), therefore perpetuating women’s disadvantaged
2. Lesbianism Encyclopædia Britannica Online defines lesbianism as “the quality or state
of intense emotional and usually erotic attraction of a woman to another woman” (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9384264). However, lesbianism does not always refer to erotic or sexual activity. According to Bonnie Zimmerman (in Guerin, et al., 1999: 211) lesbianism is “a kind of relationship in which two women's strongest feelings and affections are directed toward each other”, which may or may not include sexual contact. Therefore, lesbianism refers to the most intimate bond between two women, whether sexual, emotional, or both.
3. Feminism
In her book Feminisms: A Reader, Humm defines feminism as “a doctrine of equal rights for women (the organized movement to attain women's right) and an ideology of social transformation aiming to create a world for women beyond simple social equality” (1992: 406). Likewise, Goodman defines feminism as “a recognition of the historical and cultural subordination of women … and a resolve to do something about it” (1996: x). Despite its diversity, feminism is “concerned with the marginalization of all women” into secondary position (Guerin, et al., 1999: 196). Therefore, basically feminism refers to a way of thinking that women are treated unfairly because of their sex, and a movement to overcome and act against such unfair treatment.
4. Lesbian-feminism
Lesbian feminism is one of the various strains which developed from feminism; it emerged in the 1980s as “a kind of annexe of feminist criticism” (Barry, 2002: 141). It is a belief in which women identify with fellow women, commit themselves together for political, sexual and economic support, as opposed to the male-female relations which oppress the females (Humm, 1992: 407). According to Barry, based on lesbian feminist position, lesbianism shows resistance to existing forms of social relations and radically reorganizes those relations, since it turns away from involvement with patriarchal exploitation and consists of relationships among women (2002: 141).
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review on Related Studies Several studies have been made about the work, the author, and the topic
discussed in this thesis. Here are some of the studies related to the work (the novel
Beauty and Sadness), the author (Yasunari Kawabata), and the topic (lesbianism
in Japan).The first study is an undergraduate thesis by Linangkung Sri Indarsih, entitled “Revealing Messages through the Characters in Yasunari Kawabata’s
Beauty and Sadness”. This study examines the major characters, their view about
love, and the messages revealed through them. The characters have different views about love. Otoko views love as “a sacrifice” (Indarsih, 2007: 50), so she did not complain when Oki took away her virginity, made her pregnant, and left her without marrying her. As a possessive person, Keiko views love as an obsession. Oki views love as “passion and money” (Indarsih, 2007: 51); the passion comes from Otoko’s youth and beauty, and the money comes from writing about his experience with Otoko.
Also, the author conveys his message indirectly through the characters. According to Indarsih, this story has three messages. First, mothers have an important role in their children’s life, as demonstrated by Otoko’s mother.
[…] only mother who can understand her child feeling. A mother always wants to be the only place for her child to share when there is no one she want to talk to. A mother always gives the best for her child, because her happiness is when her child feels happy in her life. There is no one can be Oki lives happily (gets money and fame) after writing about his experience with Otoko, while Otoko suffers from that experience. Keiko, Otoko’s pupil, decides to do revenge out of hatred, and Oki loses his son as the result. Thus, the other messages are: hatred always brings sadness, and never feel happy on other’s suffering.
The second study is an article published in the Hudson Review in Autumn 2006, entitled “The Tyranny of Beauty: Kawabata”. Here, Brian Phillips discusses Kawabata’s works in general, using examples from several novels: The Lake,
Snow Country, Thousand Cranes, The Sound of the Mountain, Beauty and
Sadness. Phillips discovers some common aspects in the protagonists in some of
Kawabata’s works. They are men whose minds are full of memories and dreams. They travel somewhere and often have relationship with a young woman. They share some qualities: “moral weakness, extreme perception of beauty, the sense that other people have only a phantom existence” (Phillips, 2006).
“Beauty” and “sadness” are constant elements which go together in Kawabata’s works. Despite the “deep, strange, penetrating beauty” of Kawabata’s works, they do not merely present beauty, but also the darker side as its consequence:
And yet Kawabata is an important writer—important not only in Japanese literature, but in literature. His brief, sad, fragile and unbalanced books, far from presenting mere fumes of prettiness, are continuously surprising, often intensely unsettling; at their best they are unequaled in portraying the psychic cost of aesthetic pleasure, the deadening of sympathy and sense in minds highly susceptible to beauty (Phillips, 2006). According to Phillips, the characters in Kawabata’s works are affected and lured by beauty until they lose their ability to act, perceive the world, and love or understand the people in their lives. They withdraw to an “unreal aesthetic world”, which “comes at a large human cost” when faced with reality. In conclusion, the beauty that moves the reader is “the same power that has made the characters cold or cruel or desperate”.
The third study is an article entitled “Women-loving Women in Modern Japan” by Erin Subramian. This article discusses the development of lesbianism (defined as female-female sexual and romantic relations) in Japanese society.
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Historically, until the first half of the 20 century, “homosexual desire was seen as a mental illness”. It was therefore disguised, for example through Takarazuka Revue, a musical play with all-female performers, half of whom dressed as men and played male roles, while the other half dressed as women. There were also clubs and bars with onabe (women dressed as men) bartenders. An extreme solution was “lesbian double suicide,” which occurred several times at that period.
It even accounted for “around thirty percent of all suicides between 1932 and 1935”. In the 1980s, homosexual-related activism and movements began. The first Japanese homosexual organization JILGA (Japan International Lesbian and Gay Association) was founded, followed by other similar organizations, including lesbian-only organizations. Now there are also parades and weekend gatherings which accommodate lesbian community.
However, outside the field of political and social movements, lesbians still have negative image among the general Japanese society until now. It is mostly caused by stereotypes of lesbians in the mass media and pornography as sex- obsessed women. According to Ayako Hattori’s “Lesbian Feminism in Japan” as quoted in Subramian’s article, many people see lesbianism as something alien, identical with abnormality:
Homosexuality is often linked either to pornography or to the West; Japanese are hesitant to believe that homosexuals can be “normal” Japanese people. (in Subramian, http://www.yuricon.org/essays/women_loving_women.html)
Another obstacle faced by lesbians in Japan comes from financial problems. Women’s incomes are often lower than men’s, so many lesbians have difficulties to live together.
This thesis uses some of the ideas from the studies above, for example the role of mother, Oki’s happiness and Otoko’s sacrifice and suffering as described in Indarsih’s thesis, the concept of beauty which makes people cold or cruel from Phillips’ article, and lesbians’ problems and position in society from Subramian’s article. However, this thesis develops those ideas from a new point of view, with the focus on patriarchal society and the characters’ lesbianism. This thesis also discovers something new, namely the relation between the characters’ experience, feelings, even sexual orientation, with the condition in their patriarchal society. Basically, this thesis differs from the other studies in its point of view and focus; this thesis closely examines lesbianism and patriarchy and tries to discover the relation between those things.
B. Review on Related Theories
1. Theory on Patriarchy
There are many theories on patriarchy, which cover a wide range of subjects. One of them is Walby’s theory from her book Theorizing Patriarchy.
Walby defines patriarchy as “a system of social structures, and practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women” (1990: 20). Walby defines a model of six aspects, or structures, of patriarchy, which consist of: a patriarchal mode of production in which women’s labour is expropriated by their husbands; patriarchal relations within waged labour; the patriarchal state; male violence; patriarchal relations in sexuality; and patriarchal culture (Walby in Acker, 2005: 43). In a patriarchal mode of production, the wives’ domestic labour is exploited by their husbands without any payment. Patriarchal relations within waged labour refers to the different treatment experienced by male and female workers in the workforce. For example, female workers are often paid lower than male workers at the same position, or female workers cannot reach higher positions in the office. The patriarchal state refers to either the government or the laws produced by the government, which often give more advantage to men or put women in a disadvantaged position. Violence acts done by men to women, due to men’s superior physical strength compared to women, can serve to keep women under control. Indirectly, the threat of male violence also intimidates women not to fight against the laws or conventions in the society. Patriarchal relations in sexuality refers to the different ways men and women regard sexuality and the different positions occupied by men and women in a sexual relation, namely men to any idea or practice instilled in the society, which regards women differently from men and disadvantages women. For example, the idealization of women as “the fair sex”, which also limits their capacity to their physical appearance (Walby, 1990: 20-24).
Each of those aspects is comprised of its own system or subsystem, with its own means of reproduction of domination and exploitation. As discussed by Ferguson in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-class), Walby divides the aspects of patriarchy into two spheres: public and private. The private (household) sphere consists of three aspects: mode of production, sexuality, and violence by male. The public sphere consists of three other aspects: relation within waged labour, the state, and culture. Different strategies are used in each structure and each sphere. In the private sphere, for example, exclusionary strategy is used. Exclusionary means the women are “oppressed on a personal and individual basis”, done by individual male patriarch, namely the breadwinner of the household. In the public sphere, segregationist strategy is used. Public structures like those cannot “oppress individual women or exclude them directly”, so the main focus is to control women's access to public arenas, and maintain gender differences. In practice, all six structures of patriarchy have different forms and relationship, but they are related one another, and work together towards the same goal, namely the subordination of women as well as “supporting, reflecting and maintaining patriarchy itself” in general (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-class).
2. Radical Feminist Perspective on Patriarchy’s Manifestation in Society
According to radical feminist perspective, gender is a fundamental system which is constructed in the patriarchal society. In this gender system, humans are classed based on their biological sexual difference; men are the oppressor class, while women are the oppressed class (Madsen, 2000: 152). Gender oppression is “the most fundamental form of oppression” and becomes the foundation for further oppressions, such as economic and cultural opporession. Thus, all meanings within society are determined in terms of men’s sexuality as the dominant group (2000: 153-154).
As discussed in Madsen’s book Feminist Theory and Literary Practice, Shulamith Firestone argues about the manifestation of patriarchy in society: first is the “education” of women and children to accept their place in a lower class, a ridigly segregated class modelled upon the sexual class that is ‘woman’, through the twin mythologies of femininity and childhood (2000: 158). Due to such process of education, the women regard their subordination to a lower level as a normal thing, as part of the nature. Second is love as a “political force for unequal power relations”. According to Firestone, men and women comprehend and practice love and romance very differently: men idealise, mystify and glorify the individual women with whom they fall in love in order to obscure her inferior class status; women, in contrast, pursue the male love and approval that will raise her up from her subordinate class position and validate her existence (2000: 159).
As we can see in the quotation above, men view love as a recreational, idealistic action to people in lower position, while women view love as a way to make her oppressed class results in “physical and economic dependence” (2000: 158) and “gendered divisions of culture as well” (2000: 159).
Another writer, Andrea Dworkin, discusses about strategies taken by patriarchal society to perpetuate their oppression: firstly, by promoting the “stereotype of women as conservative, home-bound, and nurturing” (Madsen, 2000: 160). Thus, women are, in a way, forced to “conform in their social behaviour to this paradigm” (2000: 161). Madsen calls it “the objectification of women” or “the creation of cultural artefacts from women’s bodies” (2000: 155). Secondly, through male violence, either sexual or physical. Women who oppose or do not conform to patriarchal values face the threat of violence from men. It can range from rough physical violence like “rape, wife beating, forced childbearing, medical butchering, sex-motivated murder”, to indirect violence like “destitution, ostracism, confinement in a mental institution or gaol” (2000: 161). For example, women are confined in when and where they can go, or what clothes they can wear. If they do not conform to that confinement, they might be abused by men, and it will be seen as their responsibility. In addition, the women’s rights to contraception and abortion are also restricted.
3. Giddens’ Theory on Sexual Orientation
According to Anthony Giddens in his book Sociology, The American Psychological Association defines sexual orientation is “an enduring emotional, romantic, sexual or affectional attraction to another person” (in Giddens, 2006: 652). In general, human beings have one of three sexual orientations: attraction to individuals of the opposite sex is described as heterosexual; attraction to individuals of the same sex is described as homosexual; attraction to either sex is described as bisexual. According to Giddens, human beings’ sexual orientation is formed by the combination of several factors:
Sexual orientation derives from a complex interplay of biological, psychological, social and cultural factors (2006: 655). Biological factor refers to the inherent physical traits, such as genes, the brain, and hormones that help determine an individual’s sexual orientation. For example, there have been researches that show “neurochemical and neurophysiological differences between individuals of different sexual orientations” (2006: 655). Meanwhile, according to Bailey and Pillard in 1991’s Archives of General Psychiatry (in Giddens, 2006: 655-656), studies conducted at Northwestern University and Boston University suggest a strong genetic component for sexual orientation. If an individual is homosexual, his or her twin sibling has a bigger chance of being homosexual as well, especially for monozygotic twins. Thus, considering this biological factor, an individual might be homosexual since birth.
Psychological factor refers to “the self-esteem and psychological well- being” (2006: 655) of the individuals related to their sexual orientation. If an individual can successfully integrates his or her sexual orientation into other aspects of his or her life, it will be good for his or her mental health (2006: 656).
Homosexuality is also often related to psychoanalytic theories, which usually focus on the role of parents and family, but not the society as a whole.
The social and cultural factors refer to various elements outside an of social and cultural factors, sexual orientation “emerges from a conscious or unconscious training regimen” which is imposed by “parents, teachers, peers, and society in general” (Giddens, 2006: 657). For example, the way a child is raised at home may affect his or her sexual orientation when he or she reaches adolescence, sexual crimes may alter the victims’ sexual orientation, and so on. Thus, these factors may influence human beings’ sexual orientation at any age.
Besides, Giddens discusses lesbianism specifically. According to Giddens, lesbianism often gets less attention than male homosexuality, for example in studies and researches. On the other hand, lesbianism “may be simply a sexual preference”, but it also functions as a political choice more than male homosexuality. Lesbianism is associated with feminist movement and feminist groups, with the aim “to establish female solidarity and a woman-centred culture and life-style” (2006: 673).
4. Rich’s Theory on Lesbian Existence
According to Adrienne Rich in her essay “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence”, one of the strategies to control feminine sexuality is through what she calls “compulsory heterosexuality”: the most fundamental form of oppression experienced by women is heterosexually and specifically this enforced, compulsory heterosexuality (Madsen, 2000: 170). It is the assumption that women are naturally attracted to men (2000: 171); that “sexuality” refers to male sexuality, with feminine sexuality as the “variant (or deviant)”; masculine heterosexuality is the norm, and feminine heterosexuality is the complement (2000: 154). Male dominance or authority is represented as
“sexually arousing”, and “the ‘erotic’ is defined in terms of masculine power” (2000: 155). On the other hand, women are trained culturally to romanticise their submission to men. The example is the pornographic images which present women as “natural sexual prey to men” who love being victimized; which implies that “sexuality and violence are congruent” (2000: 171). Thus, the reform of discriminatory laws is not enough to end the oppression, because women’s sexuality is still controlled by men. The power imbalance between men and women will keep occurring.
Meanwhile, Rich argues that “all women are originally female-identified”, since the original love object for children, both male and female, is the mother.
During the process of “becoming a woman” in patriarchal society, a woman also undergoes the process of becoming heterosexual, or male-identified. Actually, according to Rich, women have their own experience, values and culture, which are very different from patriarchal heterosexual culture. Women’s unique experience, values and culture are often rendered invisible and marginal, even taboo (Madsen, 2000: 171).
According to Rich, lesbianism is “a kind of feminist separatism” which comprise elements such as: the participation of all women in the woman- identified experience called ‘lesbian continuum’, which can be found in every woman’s emotional being; the erotic as the sharing of joy among women; women’s choice of women as “passionate comrades, life partners, co-workers, lovers, community” (in Madsen, 2000: 170-171). Physical sexual lesbianism is regarded only as an additional experience, which Rich terms “lesbian experience”, as an addition to the cultural and historical lesbian continuum. Through those ways, lesbian existence challenges male power’s strategies.