Abstract
This article is concerned with a pervasive gender stereotype within Indonesian society, that of janda, meaning both widows and divorcees. The term janda is no neutral signifier of marital status, but rather carries a bundle of pejorative meanings concerned with status and presumed sexual availability to men. It is bound up within assumptions about the normality of heterosexual marriage in Indonesia, and in many ways janda is the antithesis of the ideal of ibu, meaning a virtuous wife and mother. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted by each of the three authors, the article examines the reproduction and effects of this stereotype in three Indonesian communities; a village in East Java, a mining town in East Kalimantan and among Indonesian expatriates in Perth, Australia. Using this multi-sited and multi-positioned material we reflect on the everyday lived experience of being a janda, in particular how the stereotype affects social status, livelihood opportunities and modes of representing oneself within a particular community.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 47-67 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Indonesia and the Malay World |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue number | 128 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2 Jan 2016 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Divorcees
- femininity
- Indonesia
- stereotype
- widows
Cite this
}
Presumptions of promiscuity : reflections on being a widow or divorcee from three Indonesian communities. / Mahy, Petra; Winarnita, Monika Swasti; Herriman, Nicholas.
In: Indonesia and the Malay World, Vol. 44, No. 128, 02.01.2016, p. 47-67.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Presumptions of promiscuity
T2 - reflections on being a widow or divorcee from three Indonesian communities
AU - Mahy, Petra
AU - Winarnita, Monika Swasti
AU - Herriman, Nicholas
PY - 2016/1/2
Y1 - 2016/1/2
N2 - This article is concerned with a pervasive gender stereotype within Indonesian society, that of janda, meaning both widows and divorcees. The term janda is no neutral signifier of marital status, but rather carries a bundle of pejorative meanings concerned with status and presumed sexual availability to men. It is bound up within assumptions about the normality of heterosexual marriage in Indonesia, and in many ways janda is the antithesis of the ideal of ibu, meaning a virtuous wife and mother. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted by each of the three authors, the article examines the reproduction and effects of this stereotype in three Indonesian communities; a village in East Java, a mining town in East Kalimantan and among Indonesian expatriates in Perth, Australia. Using this multi-sited and multi-positioned material we reflect on the everyday lived experience of being a janda, in particular how the stereotype affects social status, livelihood opportunities and modes of representing oneself within a particular community.
AB - This article is concerned with a pervasive gender stereotype within Indonesian society, that of janda, meaning both widows and divorcees. The term janda is no neutral signifier of marital status, but rather carries a bundle of pejorative meanings concerned with status and presumed sexual availability to men. It is bound up within assumptions about the normality of heterosexual marriage in Indonesia, and in many ways janda is the antithesis of the ideal of ibu, meaning a virtuous wife and mother. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted by each of the three authors, the article examines the reproduction and effects of this stereotype in three Indonesian communities; a village in East Java, a mining town in East Kalimantan and among Indonesian expatriates in Perth, Australia. Using this multi-sited and multi-positioned material we reflect on the everyday lived experience of being a janda, in particular how the stereotype affects social status, livelihood opportunities and modes of representing oneself within a particular community.
KW - Divorcees
KW - femininity
KW - Indonesia
KW - stereotype
KW - widows
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84954554192&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13639811.2015.1100872
DO - 10.1080/13639811.2015.1100872
M3 - Article
VL - 44
SP - 47
EP - 67
JO - Indonesia and the Malay World
JF - Indonesia and the Malay World
SN - 1363-9811
IS - 128
ER -