HEGEMONIC MASCULINITY AND GENDERED HIERARCHIES IN JAVANESE WOMEN-AUTHORED NOVELS

Abstract

Despite growing scholarship on masculinity in Indonesia, few studies examine it through Javanese fiction written by women, and fewer still separate coercive conduct from authority that a family or community endorses. This article addresses that gap through a qualitative close reading of three Javanese novels by women authors published between 2008 and 2017, namely Singkar, Kinanti, and Lamtara-lamtara Pinggir Desa. Drawing on Connell's relational account of hegemonic masculinity, it analyzes selected scenes through the dialogue, narrative position, and interaction of characters. The analysis identifies three connected mechanisms. Protection and provision are used to regulate women's choices, men are ranked by economic and social standing, and male authority proves vulnerable to age and changing circumstances. Nani's resistance, Pertiwi's thwarted aspirations, and the disparagement of Yulia expose limits to the legitimacy of male authority. The judgments directed at Mardika and Nusa show that patriarchal expectations can also constrain men who lack wealth, secure work, or recognized family status. The study distinguishes coercive behavior from hegemonic masculinity by asking when authority receives familial or communal endorsement. The novels present masculinity as a contested position within gender and class relations and not as a stable property of male characters. The study contributes a relational reading of masculinity in Javanese fiction and limits its claims to the passages examined.