8/13/2019 Gender Relations in Late Colonial Indonesia a Brief Overview and Their Portrayal in Three Modern Indonesia Novel

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Introduction

Colonial intrusion and its impacts on

gender relations and masculinities

Colonialism is a form of cultural

contact which is influential in theconstruction of gender relations. Beside

Indian and Islamic influences, European

influences brought about by Dutch

c ol on ia li sm w er e p iv ot al i n t he

construction of gender relations during the

process of state formation that eventually

resulted in the modern nation state of

Indonesia.In relation to the construct of

masculinities, the rising awareness of

womens rights as one of the impacts of

m od e r ni t y i n tr o du c ed b y D u tc h

colonisation needs to be taken into

account. The awareness emerged as Dutch

colonial policies to reform the wellbeing

o f i n d i g e no u s p e o p l e b e c a me

institutionalised in the late phase of

colonial period.This article discusses the

ways these reformative policies affectedw om an s i de nt it y a nd h ow t he y

challenged indigenous masculinities in

the late stages of the colonial encounter.

Sources discussed are drawn both from

historical accounts on the impacts of the

policies on education for girls and

marriage, as well literary representations

that touch on related issues.

In late colonial period, both in

Indonesia and elsewhere, female colonial

subjects often became the object and site

of the imposition of reformative colonial

policies. In the minds of reformist and

*)Departemen sastra Inggris Fakultassastra UNAIR telp (031)5035676,

email wulaneka@yahoo.com

GENDER RELATIONS in LATE COLONIAL INDONESIA: A

BRIEF OVERVIEW and THEIR PORTRAYAL in THREE

MODERN INDONESIAN NOVELS

Nur Wulan*)

AbstractIn late colonial period of Dutch colonisation in the Indies, reformative policies in educationand marriage potentially opened up more room for womens autonomy. These policieschallenged the full autonomy of indigenous men. However, the growth of the nationalist

spirit of the period had the effect of re-asserting hegemonic masculinity. The ambivalencesand ambiguities accompanying the interference of the colonial authority in gender-relatedmatters, such as marriage and education for girls, can be seen in the representation of male

protagonists in three novels written in the late phase of Dutch colonisation. These novels areBelenggu, Layar Terkembang, and Manusia Bebas. There are clear indications in all threenovels that modern values are important and are to be embraced. Yet, reluctance to adoptmodern ideas emerges when they can potentially reduce the privileges and autonomy thathave been long enjoyed by men. This emerges in the writers portrayals of their female

characters as they pursue and enact their own ideals of autonomy. In all cases, the novelsrepresent changes which are occurring in gender relations among the urban, nationalistelite of the time. They do not speak for changes in Indonesian society as a whole, but they

point towards changes that were to affect broader segments of Indonesian society in thepostcolonial period.

Keyword: gender relation, colinal indonesia, novel

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