Selling alternative masculinities: representations of masculinities in Indonesian men's lifestyle magazines

Suzie Handajani

Research output: ThesisDoctoral Thesis

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Abstract

[Truncated abstract] After Suharto stepped down from power in May 1998, one of the major changes in Indonesian politics was media deregulation. Under Suharto's New Order, control over the media was equated with control of the masses. Media deregulation introduced a more democratic mediascape in which new publications flourished in post-Suharto Indonesia, including Indonesian men's lifestyle magazines. This new era of freedom of expression also resulted in colliding social forces, for example when Islamic groups promoted an anti-pornography bill which clashed with the newly acquired freedom of the press. The pornography debate placed men's lifestyle magazines like Playboy Indonesia in the spotlight and under public scrutiny. In this respect the magazines become a site for contesting particular Indonesian masculinities and male power. This thesis enquires into the types of masculinities represented by six Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines during 2007 – 2008. The magazines are Popular, Hai, Male Emporium, FHM Indonesia, Maxim Indonesia, and Playboy Indonesia. Understanding the magazines fundamentally as a cultural phenomenon inscribed with the experiences and aspirations of Indonesian men, the thesis is informed by profeminist masculinity studies to discern how discourses of masculinities are negotiated between men and exercised against women.
Original languageEnglish
QualificationDoctor of Philosophy
Publication statusUnpublished - 2010

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