Mass media has a huge influence on people’s opinions and attitudes on various issues, including sharping the gender norms and roles at Indonesian society. We have seen frequently how media reinforces stereotypes of women and girls, particularly the online media. In many cases, online journalism often objectifies and sexualizes women and girls in their online articles and reports, resulting in discrimination against women and girls in society.
I will explore how the online media in Indonesia has imposed girls’ sexuality as a commodity for profit, establishing negative stereotypes about both men and women and perpetuating patriarchal gender norms such as men holding more power than women. These habitual practices have also influenced the behavior of Indonesian heterosexual dynamics, contributing to the rise of online sexual assault in this country. In doing so, I will be looking at a few examples of pieces from Indonesian online media to scrutinize how the language used in such articles has positioned women as sexual objects. To begin, we must investigate how the patriarchal culture in Indonesia influences the rise of girls and women’s objectification in the media.
Objectification as a Product of Indonesian Patriarchal Culture
The practice of media objectification, which often carries sexist and misogynistic overtones, developed as a result of Indonesia’s patriarchal culture. Objectification or sexualization is a form of oppression towards women and closely related to patriarchal cultural constructions of gender inequality. Sandra Lee Bartky in her book asserts that, “A person is sexually objectified when her sexual parts or sexual functions are separated out from the rest of her personality and reduced to the status of mere instruments or else regarded as if they were capable of representing her.” (Bartky, S.L., 1990)
There are seven aspects of objectification, namely: instrumentality, denial of autonomy, inertness, fungibility, violability, ownership and denial of subjectivity (Nussbaum, 1995). Objectification takes away women’s agency over how they want to be portrayed. Women’s feelings, desires, and needs are insignificant, and their existence is viewed as property, an object to satisfy men’s sexual desires (Becker, M., 1998, 1999; Taylor, D., 2021). Such a form of male dominance is aimed to subdue, order, and discipline women’s bodies, which is closely linked to the gender power relations in patriarchal culture.
The patriarchal social structure in Indonesia has been strengthened during hundreds of years of colonization by the Dutch and Japanese. Not only did colonization shaped the existed gender norms, but also created classes amongst gender. Men, in general, hold the highest place in the social hierarchy (with white men is the highest), have the power to make decisions, obtain high education, own property and make a living. Women (particularly those in lower classes) on the other hand, frequently utilized as sex slaves or concubines for the colonialists, considered to be in charge of domestic duties and denied the rights to education, unless they were coming from aristocratic families (Convention Watch, 2007). The colonial legacy has shaped how society judge and expect women and girls in daily life up to recently.
The gender coloniality has been perpetuated by the modern religions such as Christians and Islam. Islam, for instance, become the weapon to judge the morality of women and girls through verses from the Quran and hadith (source for Islamic moral guidance) that are frequently quoted literally to justify the presence of gender discrimination in the subjective interpretation of Islamic teachings. A couple misinterpretations of the Quranic texts is that women should stay at home instead of working and earning a living, how men may engage in polygamy and women are expected to sexually satisfy their husbands under all conditions. The Quran’s teachings for women to cover up themselves and wear hijab are also frequently used as justification to blame women when rape cases occur, blaming them for not being able to cover up so that the perpetrator is unable to control his lust, is what is referred to as victim-blaming.
Many Muslim feminists in Indonesia try to show that the literal interpretation of Quranic texts is heavily influenced by the patriarchal oppression that prevails in Indonesian and Arabic culture, then try to reinterpret the Quran and reveal that Islam is a religion that teaches egalitarian relations between men and women and respects women (Muttaqin, F., 2015). However, these efforts cannot shift the deeply ingrained patriarchal beliefs overnight, one of which is the practice of objectification, which is still prevalent in Indonesian media today.
A History of Sexualization and/or Objectification Practice Towards Women and Girls in Indonesian Online Media
The collapse of the Indonesian New Order under President Suharto in May 1998 marks the new era of reformation and press freedom. Even though Indonesia was promoted as democratic country, press freedom was very limited due to strict government control during the 32 years of the New Order era. Press-banning, publication permits revoked, even journalists’ removed from their duties frequently occur through the authority of government institutions if the news disseminated is regarded to be a violation of public order or criticizes the government (N, S.D., 2000; Kompas, 2023; National Geographic, 2021). After the onset of this era, many new media outlets were born, including online media. This phenomena has fostered the shift of the media business from ‘state-regulated’ to ‘market-regulated’, so that the factor of economic gain has played a big part in the oversight of mass media in Indonesia since then. (Hidayat, D. N.,2003; Afridah, 2012).
With the booming of Indonesian digital media, online journalism is being regarded as the future of journalism, dominating the journalism sphere and replacing traditional print media. In 2023, it is estimated that around 43.300 online media exist in Indonesia, with only 300 being verified (KOMINFO, 2017). Its ability to deliver quick information and easy access make online and social media become the most popular source of news amongst Indonesians, according to a 2022 report by Reuters Institute. The report shows that 88% of the survey respondents chose online media over television and print to acquire current information (Reuters Institute, 2022). This shows how powerful and gigantic the online media industry is in Indonesia.
Driven by the desire to gain profit, Indonesian media often run headlines and news content that emphasize elements of sensationalism, dramatization, and women’s sexuality, or what is referred to as ‘yellow journalism,’ a term coined by Erwin Wardman, the editor of the New York Press, as a sinister reference to a headline battle between two New York media in the mid-1890s which oftenly using yellow-colored headline (Campbell, W. J., 2001; Musman & Mulyadi, 2017). Yellow journalism is marked by sensational headlines that evoke the emotions of the readers rather than focusing on the facts, intended to attract more readers and revenue. In today’s digital era, the similar practice also still takes place in a different term and form known as ‘clickbait news’ or ‘viral journalism’ (Bazaco, A., et al., 2019).
According to the Act of The Republic of Indonesia No. 40 of 1999 on the Press, the National press does not only have the function as information, entertainment and social control, but also to educate the public (Dewan Pers, 2016). However, this educational function is often ignored, as the drive to generate traffic and profit, coupled with other motives for providing timely information, has led to the rise of clickbait news reporting, which in this case frequently sells girls’ sexuality as the commodity to reach the financial and social capital goals (Margianto, J.H. and Syaefullah, A., 2014).
Girls’ Objectification in Indonesian Online Media
It is vital to note that online media in Indonesia mostly relies on page views and reach metrics to sell advertising space to businesses. Clickbait news that sexualizes women and girls in various forms has appeared too often in online media, based on the pressure to increase page views and generate profits. Since launched in May 2022, Distorsi Media Monitoring reported around 2.000 headlines objectifying women and girls throughout 2022-2023, with an average of 200 girls and women objectifying news published in each month.
News headlines depicting the sexualization of girls and women appear in various forms. The first is the type of news that promotes women’s bodies or physical shape in articles such as, “5 Images of Zaskia Gotik in a Tight Clothes, Showing She’s Still Sexy Like a Teenager” (Suara Banten, 2022) or “These Beautiful 12 Indonesian Actresses’ Daughters Will Have Many Men Fall for Them in the Future” (Kapanlagi, 2020). There is a strong message conveyed through these publications that being attractive and sexually appealing, and thus drawing in men’s attention should be the primary goal for girls and women. This reflects the realities of Indonesia’s patriarchal culture, in which women are expected to marry and have children, therefore having an appealing appearance is crucial in order to find a husband. Women’s abilities, achievements, thoughts, or personalities become meaningless in this objectification practice because their physical appeal is the most valuable thing (Bartky, S.L., 1990).
The second one is the kind of news portraying victim-blaming narrative of girls in rape cases that occur such as “Young Girl Wearing See-Through Dress Caused Her Uncle to Arouse, They Had Sex Twice” (Tribun Pekanbaru, 2022). This suggests that the perpetrator’s inability to suppress his lust is beyond his control and considered normal because it was the victim who triggered it, which falls under the category of victim-blaming narrative. It dehumanized women and placed women’s value as an “object” to please men’s desire rather than a human being. Another example is a piece titled, “Woah! 16 Year Old Girl Was Sexually Assaulted by a Young Man Until She Was Moaning in Pain” (Radar Bali, 2023) utilizing passive sentences, such as ‘she was sexually assaulted’ or ‘the rape occurred’, which can entirely exclude the culprit from the conversation (Henley, N. M. et al., 1995; Layman K., 2020).
When reporting rape cases, Indonesian journalists also usually replace the word ‘rape’ with ‘taking the virginity’ or ‘fondling’ (Abrar, 1995), makes it sound subtler while demonstrating the passive voice, indicating that a woman is passive and a male is active in sexual activity. This illustrates how Indonesians view sex: men are expected to be active, while women are not. The use of verbs that involve ‘having sex’ or ‘intimate relations’ in articles such as “This Young Girl in Brebes Often Had Intimate Relations with Her Father While the Mother Slept Beside Her” is also easily associated with mutual consensual acts, which may weaken the link to assault or violence. (Bavelas & Coates, 2001; Layman K., 2020). By exaggerating sexual assault stories and dramatizing actual incidents, the media has trivialized the experience of women as rape victims and placed the blame on them, rather on the perpetrator (Gill, 2007; Afridah, 2012).
The evidence provided above reveals that many media outlets in Indonesia are still lacking in a sensitive gender perspective. A possible cause for this is that men dominate the Indonesian media sphere. According to the 2012 Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) of Indonesia’s survey, there are only two female journalists in Indonesia for every ten journalists. Additionally, only 6% of female journalists are editors-in-chief, with the remaining 94% working as reporters or editors rather than as editorial decision makers (AJI, 2012). Although this cannot be generalized, there is also a stereotype about female journalists, that they are often posted to specific departments such as entertainment, lifestyle, fashion, and beauty departments rather than politics and national security for example. Some female journalists have also revealed their experiences of missing out working in the field because they are deemed fragile (Adriana, T., 2021). Because Indonesian journalism is arguably controlled by men, it frequently generates gender-biased news that is hostile to women (AJI, 2012).
Aside from that, gender-sensitive journalism training in the Indonesian media industry is still not prioritized. As a former journalist in Indonesia, I can attest to the fact that this kind of training is still uncommon. This is supported by AJI’s survey results, which show that only 17% of journalists have received gender-sensitive journalism training. To bring to light the necessity of developing sensitive and gender-friendly journalism in Indonesian online media, I will discuss the impact of news involving girls’ objectification, particularly on girls and boys below.
The Impact of Girls’ Objectification in Perpetuating Gender Inequality
I will analyze how the objectification of young women in online media contributes to the perpetuation of gender inequality in Indonesia in three aspects, namely its impact on: (1) the behavior of Indonesian heterosexual relationship, (2) the rise of online sexual violence in Indonesia, and (3) boys’ perception on gender.
Firstly, on the impact towards the behavior of Indonesian heterosexual dynamics. The dehumanizing portrayal of women in the media is not only a reflection of the cultural patriarchy reality, but it may additionally reinforce sexual objectification that takes place in real interpersonal and social interactions, typically through gazes and comments about appearance (Kozee et al. 2007), not just from men to women but also from women to other women. Research shows that the more embedded male’s perspectives are in seeing women as objects, the more likely they are to normalize sexual harassing conduct and have little empathy for rape victims (Papadopoulos, 2010; Kalof, 1999; Galdi et al. 2014), this in turn can increase the tendency to engage in sexual harassing conduct (Galdi et al. 2014; Rudman and Mescher 2012; Sáez, G., et al., 2019). Aside from that, sexual objectification towards girls and women has created a rape myth, which is a “prejudicial, stereotyped or false beliefs about rape, rape victims, and rapists” (Burt, 1980), such as rapists are always males, women are sexual assault victims, and the victim is actively complicit in preventing the rape (Layman, K., 2020).
Furthermore, sexual objectification can be adopted by girls through internalizing the idea that women have a weak and submissive role, perceive themselves to be the objectified entity, and males to be the objectifier, a behavior known as self-objectification. (Bartky, S.L., 1990; Fredrickson, B.L. & Roberts, T.-A., 1997). By self-objectifying, women gain satisfaction when their physical attractiveness is valued, adored, and gazed at by males. They view that appearance is fundamental to a woman’s value, which pushes them to meet impossible beauty standards and can lead to negative body image and body dissatisfaction (APA, 2008; Fredrickson, B.L. & Roberts, T.-A., 1997). This internalization is evidenced in a Dove 2017 research report on Indonesian women, which found that as many as 72% of Indonesian women still believe that to achieve success in life, women must meet certain beauty standards (Unilever Indonesia, 2018).
Secondly, girls’ objectification in Indonesian online media puts them in a vulnerable position of encountering online-based sexual violence. In Indonesia, sexual violence is the most frequently reported category of gender-based sexual violence (Komnas Perempuan, 2023). However, as the number of internet and social media users in Indonesia grows, so do reports of online-based sexual abuse. The cases of online gender-based violence reported to the National Commission on the Elimination of Violence against Women climbed by 83% from 2020 to 2021, which was also aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic (Komnas Perempuan, 2023). The cases range from cyber harassment, sextortion, sexting, to revenge porn.
Nowadays, many online media outlets utilize social media to share stories with a larger audience in order to increase traffic to the website. This therefore offers an arena of discourse for the public to openly react to news about women’s objectification. One of the case examples is from 2017, when an actress even sued a netizen who referred to her daughter as “Lolita” in a comment on an online news story, a term used to describe a sexually seductive girl (Detik News, 2017). The media’s objectification of women gives a platform for the public to express sexist and abusive comments that support rape culture in the online sphere (Davis, 2018), a view of society that normalizes sexual assault and harassment of women and girls (Herman, 1994; Layman, K., 2020).
And lastly, boys’ perception on gender will also be heavily influenced by the objectification of young women in online media. Fundamentally, female objectification encourages male superiority as an aspect of hegemonic masculinity (Connel, 1987). Boys are also under pressure to attain the ideal masculinity, which includes being assertive, dominant, rough, and constantly better than girls across many fields.
More importantly, the hegemonic masculinity notion that underlies female objectification behavior might hinder boys’ interactions with the opposite sex. In this scenario, when boys regard girls as objects rather than complex beings with personalities, interests, and skills, they will restrict opportunities to connect intellectually, compete healthily in academics and non-academics, and establish mutually respectful friendship (APA, 2008).
Conclusion
Based on my arguments above, we can conclude that Indonesian online media’s practice of objectifying women and girls, has a harmful effect on perpetuating gender inequality in Indonesia, influencing the heterosexual dynamics, the increase of online sexual violence cases, and also girls’ and boys’ perception on gender roles. The fact that males continue to dominate positions of power in the media industry entrenches a strong male perspective in the news and produces news that is dehumanizing to women.
As a result, numerous steps must be taken to develop a gender-sensitive journalistic environment, including: (1) Media businesses must have a uniform framework for publishing news that refrains from covering elements of gender discrimination and sexualization, as well as regularly undertake gender training for journalists. (2) Creating a safe, pleasant, and supportive work environment for female journalists so that more women may occupy strategic positions in newsroom decision-making and produce a journalistic perspective that is gender-sensitive and gender-transformative, (3) Supervision of online media and the news they publish by related media institutions and organizations such as the The Alliance of Independent Journalists and the Indonesian Press Council, as well as harsh punishments for media that breach journalism principles, and lastly (4) Strengthen the awareness of the public, media company owners, and the government about the power of the media in perpetuating gender inequality in society so that together we can collectively create gender-transformative media ecosystem to challenge the traditional gender norms.
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