Women Representation in Print Media-Case Study: Femina, Kartini, Cosmopolitan and Her World Magazines in Indonesia

Sari

Abstract

Gender that is socially constructed is very influential in the lives of women. The construction of gender can be found in various aspects in life such as work and social environment as well as family life. This construction is reflected as a dynamic nature alongside with the progress of time. Thus, the dynamic nature of social construction can be seen from gender representations formed by the media.The media is seen as a powerful tool to construct and represent women in the society.  This was stated as "Stereotyping of women and inequality in women's access to and participation in all communication systems, especially in the media†(Chapter III - High Areas of Concern in the Fourth World Women Congress in Beijing, 1995). Women's magazines, as one of the most favorable media in Indonesia, are able to construct women representation through its articles. As revealed by Armando (2000:29), women in the mass media are constructed in accordance with the wishes of each media.  For this study, women magazines that will be examined are: Femina, Kartini, Cosmopolitan and Her World. This research applies content analysis method using Entman’s framing model with qualitative approach. The results of this study will disclose how these magazines construct Indonesian women through the articles presented. In addition, this study will also reveal the differences and similarities of each magazine in constructing women in Indonesia.

Keywords: gender, women magazine, entman’s framing analysis