Compulsory Heterosexuality in Indonesia: A Literary Exploration of the Work of Ayu Utami
The fall of Suharto from the presidency in the Reformation of 1998 created space for greater freedom of expression, including for women, in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia. Ayu Utami is an Indonesian writer whose first novel, <i>Saman</i>, was published at the time...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/10/1002 |
| _version_ | 1827648110919155712 |
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| author | Santi Widianti |
| author_facet | Santi Widianti |
| author_sort | Santi Widianti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The fall of Suharto from the presidency in the Reformation of 1998 created space for greater freedom of expression, including for women, in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia. Ayu Utami is an Indonesian writer whose first novel, <i>Saman</i>, was published at the time of the Indonesian Reformation to critical and commercial acclaim. Other women writers followed her lead, expressing their work on women and sexuality. Through her writing, Utami challenges a patriarchal culture which continues to marginalise women. This paper focuses on the two of Utami’s literary works, <i>Si Parasit Lajang: Seks, Sketsa dan Cerita</i> (<i>The Single Parasite: Sex, Sketches and Stories) (2003)</i> and <i>Pengakuan Eks Parasit Lajang</i> (<i>Confessions of a Former Single Parasite) (2013).</i> These two books have parallel themes, representing Utami’s challenges to dominant discourses on women and marriage. In the first book, Utami shows that women face discrimination if they remain single. Her political stance to remain unmarried is a way to show that women can choose alternative ways of life, rather than submit to the valorised option: to get married. Utami’s shift of position, as elaborated in the second book through the story of her autobiographical character A, who is a Catholic, has to do with a developing tendency of the Islamic conservatism in Indonesia to silence the expression of minority groups, including minority religious communities. This paper argues that to understand Utami’s shift in position on marriage, we must understand the ways in which her position as a member of a minority and, sometimes endangered, religious community shapes her position. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:31:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8b4d8135f8b048feabcd6d7fa210fb1c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:31:49Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-8b4d8135f8b048feabcd6d7fa210fb1c2023-11-24T02:18:22ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442022-10-011310100210.3390/rel13101002Compulsory Heterosexuality in Indonesia: A Literary Exploration of the Work of Ayu UtamiSanti Widianti0Bandung Institute of Governance Studies, Bandung 40271, IndonesiaThe fall of Suharto from the presidency in the Reformation of 1998 created space for greater freedom of expression, including for women, in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia. Ayu Utami is an Indonesian writer whose first novel, <i>Saman</i>, was published at the time of the Indonesian Reformation to critical and commercial acclaim. Other women writers followed her lead, expressing their work on women and sexuality. Through her writing, Utami challenges a patriarchal culture which continues to marginalise women. This paper focuses on the two of Utami’s literary works, <i>Si Parasit Lajang: Seks, Sketsa dan Cerita</i> (<i>The Single Parasite: Sex, Sketches and Stories) (2003)</i> and <i>Pengakuan Eks Parasit Lajang</i> (<i>Confessions of a Former Single Parasite) (2013).</i> These two books have parallel themes, representing Utami’s challenges to dominant discourses on women and marriage. In the first book, Utami shows that women face discrimination if they remain single. Her political stance to remain unmarried is a way to show that women can choose alternative ways of life, rather than submit to the valorised option: to get married. Utami’s shift of position, as elaborated in the second book through the story of her autobiographical character A, who is a Catholic, has to do with a developing tendency of the Islamic conservatism in Indonesia to silence the expression of minority groups, including minority religious communities. This paper argues that to understand Utami’s shift in position on marriage, we must understand the ways in which her position as a member of a minority and, sometimes endangered, religious community shapes her position.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/10/1002Indonesiawomenfreedom of expressionmarriagereligion |
| spellingShingle | Santi Widianti Compulsory Heterosexuality in Indonesia: A Literary Exploration of the Work of Ayu Utami Religions Indonesia women freedom of expression marriage religion |
| title | Compulsory Heterosexuality in Indonesia: A Literary Exploration of the Work of Ayu Utami |
| title_full | Compulsory Heterosexuality in Indonesia: A Literary Exploration of the Work of Ayu Utami |
| title_fullStr | Compulsory Heterosexuality in Indonesia: A Literary Exploration of the Work of Ayu Utami |
| title_full_unstemmed | Compulsory Heterosexuality in Indonesia: A Literary Exploration of the Work of Ayu Utami |
| title_short | Compulsory Heterosexuality in Indonesia: A Literary Exploration of the Work of Ayu Utami |
| title_sort | compulsory heterosexuality in indonesia a literary exploration of the work of ayu utami |
| topic | Indonesia women freedom of expression marriage religion |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/10/1002 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT santiwidianti compulsoryheterosexualityinindonesiaaliteraryexplorationoftheworkofayuutami |