Kanca Wingking: reinterpreting the identity of Javanese women through video installation art
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v9i3.10254Keywords:
javanese women, identity, video installation art, kanca wingking, cultural representationAbstract
The identity of Javanese women has long reflected constructions by patriarchal cultural narratives, with the concept of Kanca Wingking confining them to domestic roles and subordinating them to men. This study investigates how video installation art represents and deconstructs that discourse. The research examines how visual, auditory, and interactive elements challenge the gendered symbolic order by employing a qualitative approach that integrates Julia Kristeva's semiotic theory and Foucauldian discourse analysis. The researcher collected data through a literature review and visual documentation of Javanese cultural representations. The findings demonstrate that video installation art not only symbolises patriarchal control, through elements such as the puppeteer's voice and the manipulation of women's expressions, but also subverts it by turning the audience into active participants in exposing and questioning those norms. From a Foucauldian perspective, the work reveals how domestic spaces and bodily representation function as instruments of discipline and surveillance, yet simultaneously open discursive space for agency and resistance. The study concludes that video installation art serves as both an expressive and political medium, offering critical interventions into the cultural construction of Javanese womanhood.
References
Abdulzahra, H. R., Zainal, Z. I., Awang, M. E., & Singh, H. K. J. (2021). Disciplinary Power, Surveillance, and the Docile Body in Mark Dunn's Ella Minnow Pea. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 29(4), 2675–2690. https://doi.org/10.47836/pjssh.29.4.31
Adiprabowo, V. D. (2018). Mitos Kebudayaan Dalam Film Jawara Kidul, Tinuk Dan Ktp: Analisis Semiologi Barthesian. CHANNEL: Jurnal Komunikasi, 6(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.12928/channel.v6i1.10211
Adiprabowo, V. D. (2024). Cultural Communication in Wayang Sada and Preservation of Local Values. Communicare : Journal of Communication Studies, 11(1), 66–77. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.37535/101011120245
Adiprabowo, V. D., & Widodo, A. (2023). Finding the Early Identity for Children in the Film Laskar Pencerah. IRJE indonesian research journal in education, 7(1), 185–195. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.22437/irje.v7i1.22374
Adisa, T. A., Cooke, F. L., & Iwowo, V. (2019). Mind your attitude: the impact of patriarchy on women's workplace behaviour. Career Development International, 25(2), 146–164. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-07-2019-0183
Ajie, P., Habsari, S. K., & Ardianto, D. T. (2023). Foucault's Docile Bodies Perspective: The Figure of Seniwati's Feminism in the Wido Documentary Film. Humanus, 22(2), 145. https://doi.org/10.24036/humanus.v22i2.121761
Alhemeedawi, M., & Basim Saadoon, A. (2023). Julia Kristeva's the Semiotic and the Symbolic Reading of Adrienne Rich's "Planetarium" and Carol Ann Duffy's "Havisham." International Journal of Language and Literary Studies, 5(4). https://doi.org/10.36892/ijlls.v5i4.1498
Alizadeh, H., Kohlbacher, J., Mohammed-Amin, R. K., & Raouf, T. L. (2021). Gender Inequalities and the Effects of Feminine Artworks on Public Spaces: A Dialogue. Social Inclusion, 9(4), 158–167. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v9i4.4374
Amal, Y. K., Wisnu Wibowo, P. A., & Srimuda Pitana, T. (2023). "Dadi Lemek Dadi Gandhek" in Javanese Cultural Perspective. International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 10(11), 298. https://doi.org/10.18415/ijmmu.v10i11.5296
Amri, M., Yang, J., Jessiman-Perreault, G., Haikal, A., Barrett, K., & Bump, J. B. (2024). Equity and gender mainstreaming in public policy: A scoping review protocol. PLoS ONE, 19(2 February), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0299124
Anggun Mayanti, & Haryono, C. G. (2023). Javanese Women's Gender Reconstruction in Bumi Manusia Film. Jurnal Spektrum Komunikasi, 11(2), 158–176. https://doi.org/10.37826/spektrum.v11i2.490
Arias, E. (2019). How Does Media Influence Social Norms? Experimental Evidence on the Role of Common Knowledge. Political Science Research and Methods, 7(3), 561–578. https://doi.org/10.1017/psrm.2018.1
Arowolo, G. A. (2020). Protecting women from violence through legislation in Nigeria : Need to enforce anti-discrimination laws. https://doi.org/10.1177/1358229120971953
Aryal, V. (2025). Foucault's Disciplinary Society and Gender Dynamics: A Critical Appraisal. Journal of Political Science, 25, 87–101. https://doi.org/10.3126/jps.v25i1.75775
Barker, T. (2017). Experiments with time: the technical image in video art, new media and the digital humanities. Visual Communication, 16(4), 375–394. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470357217702360
Bayramoğlu, Y., Szulc, Ł., & Gajjala, R. (2024). Transnational queer cultures and digital media: an introduction. Communication, Culture & Critique, 17(3), 147–151. https://doi.org/10.1093/ccc/tcae031
Benedictus, R. A., Murniati, J., Panggabean, H., Marta, R. F., Trimpop, R., & Eigenstetter, M. (2024). The tale of "Semar Mbangun Kahyangan": symbolic message in Javanese society. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi (Indonesian Journal of Communications Studies), 8(3), 506–520. https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v8i3.8668
Bi, X., & Tang, C. (2020). Research on the Motives Affecting the Behavior of Short Video's Creators. IEEE Access, 8, 188415–188428. https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2020.3028392
Borg, K. (2022). Chloë Taylor, Foucault, Feminism and Sex Crimes: An Anti-Carceral Analysis. New York, and London: Routledge, 2019. Pp. 272. Foucault Studies, 82–88. https://doi.org/10.22439/fs.vi32.6704
Cameron, D. (2020). Language and gender: Mainstreaming and the persistence of patriarchy. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2020(263), 25–30. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl-2020-2078
Capodivacca, S., & Giacomini, G. (2024). Discipline and Power in the Digital Age: Critical Reflections from Foucault's Thought. Foucault Studies, 36(1), 227–251. https://doi.org/10.22439/fs.i36.7215
Choi, J. (2024). Powers of (Body) Horror. Screen Bodies, 9(1), 42–53. https://doi.org/10.3167/screen.2024.090105
Choi, Y. (2019). 'One is not born, but rather becomes, a Korean woman': Gender politics of female bodies in Korean weight-loss reality TV shows. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 54(8), 1005–1019. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690218768751
Crawfurd, L., Saintis-Miller, C., & Todd, R. (2024). Sexist textbooks: Automated analysis of gender bias in 1,255 books from 34 countries. PloS One, 19(10), e0310366. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310366
Dewi, K. H. (2017). Piety and Sexuality in a Public Sphere: Experiences of Javanese Muslim Women's Political Leadership. Asian Journal of Women's Studies, 23(3), 340–362. https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2017.1352250
Djebbari, E. (2019). Dance, Music Videos and Screens: Intermediality and Videochoreomorphosis in Mali and Benin. Critical African Studies, 11(1), 87–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/21681392.2019.1650647
Downes, M. (2018). Women writing wayang in post-reform indonesia: A comparative study of fictional interventions in mythology and national history. Asia in Transition, 6, 107–127. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7065-5_7
El Bakal, M. (2024). Rewriting Patriarchy: A Feminist Reading of Grace Paley's "A Conversation with My Father." European Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(6), 83–87. https://doi.org/10.59324/ejahss.2024.1(6).09
Erlenbusch-Anderson, V. (2020). The Beginning of a Study of Biopower: Foucault's 1978 Lectures at the Collège de France. Foucault Studies Lectures, 5–26. https://doi.org/10.22439/fsl.vi0.6151
Fensi, F. (2025). Language , power , and media intimidation: a Foucauldian discourse analysis. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi (Indonesian Journal of Communications Studies), 9(July), 395–406. https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v9i2.10040
Foucault, M. (1980). Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972-79 (C. Gordon (ed.)). Pantheon Books.
Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and punish : the birth of the prison. Vintage Books.
Fu, H. (2020). Social action as 'a total social phenomenon': Comparing leadership challenges facing community-based labour organisations in China and Japan. Human Relations. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726720915957
Gong, D. (2024). Unveiling the hidden narratives: investigating gender, identity, and activism in contemporary dance performances within the realm of social arts. Environment and Social Psychology, 9(9). https://doi.org/10.59429/esp.v9i9.3032
Gosse, J. (2020). Video Installation. In Cinema and Media Studies. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780199791286-0325
Handayani, A. P., & Marianto, M. D. (2024). "Wening": Towards a Contemplation of Javanese Women's Self-Identity in The Painting of Dyan Anggraini Rais through an Art Criticism Approach. Journal of Urban Society's Arts, 11(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.24821/jousa.v11i1.11080
Kantola, J., & Verloo, M. (2018). Revisiting gender equality at times of recession: A discussion of the strategies of gender and politics scholarship for dealing with equality. European Journal of Politics and Gender, 1(1–2), 205–222. https://doi.org/10.1332/251510818X15272520831139
Kendall, G., & Wickham, G. (1999). Using Foucault's Methods. SAGE Publications Inc. https://www.libgen.is/book/index.php?md5=FE5F97636B6A86476D0A04E91C8AE7F3
Kristeva, J. (1980). Desire in Language: A Semiotic Approach to Literature and Art (L. S. Roudiez (ed.)). Columbia University Press.
Kristeva, J. (1984). Revolution in Poetic Language (M. Waller (ed.)). Columbia University Press.
Laanes, E. (2020). Entangled memories of human rights in Kristina Norman's video art: space, visual frames, politics of art. Journal of Baltic Studies, 51(3), 451–464. https://doi.org/10.1080/01629778.2020.1779097
Leff, E. (2017). Power-Knowledge Relations in the Field of Political Ecology - Critical epistemology of political ecology: the power in knowledge. Ambiente & Sociedade, 20(3), 225–256.
Leib, R. S. (2017). Spaces of the Self: Foucault and Goffman on the Micro-Physics of Discipline. Philosophy Today, 61(1), 189–210. https://doi.org/10.5840/philtoday2017321153
Leuzzi, L. (2023). Representation and Identity in Contemporary Women Artists' Video. Arts, 12(2), 42. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts12020042
Listiyani, U., & Amirudin, A. (2020). Atur Pasrah and Panampi in Javanese Wedding Ceremony as a Way to Preserve Harmonious Social Environment. E3S Web of Conferences, 202, 07013. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202020207013
Liu, H. (2024). Foucault's Study of Power Theory -- A Textual Study Based on Discipline and Punishment. Communications in Humanities Research, 33(1), 82–87. https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7064/33/20240054
Mahmudah, Z., Udasmoro, W., & Noviani, R. (2023). Gender, Cultural Locality, and Power Legitimacy in The Javanese Cultural Films (Issue Cisc). Atlantis Press SARL. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-186-9_6
Manresa, G. A., & Caldarola, E. (2020). Installation Art. Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 78(3), 331–332. https://doi.org/10.1111/jaac.12747
Mawaddah, H., Suyitno, S., & Suhita, R. (2021). Javanese Women's Efforts to Face Patriarchal Culture in the Novel Para Priyayi by Umar Kayam. International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 8(1), 100. https://doi.org/10.18415/ijmmu.v8i1.2267
Medie, P. A., & Kang, A. J. (2018). Power, knowledge and the politics of gender in the global south. European Journal of Politics and Gender, 1(1–2), 37–54. https://doi.org/10.1332/251510818X15272520831157
Messina, I., Calvo, V., Masaro, C., Ghedin, S., & Marogna, C. (2021). Interpersonal Emotion Regulation: From Research to Group Therapy. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(March), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.636919
Myrttinen, H. (2019). Stabilising or Challenging Patriarchy? Sketches of Selected "New" Political Masculinities. Men and Masculinities, 22(3), 563–581. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X18769137
Nabila, Y. A., Thamrin, H., & Supian, S. (2022). The portrayal of javanese women fortitude in entrok by okky madasari (a moral messages analysis). English Education and Applied Linguistics Journal (EEAL Journal), 5(1), 50–62. https://doi.org/10.31980/eealjournal.v5i1.2512
Nugroho, Y. E., Widodo, S. T., Wasino, & Pardi. (2024). Patriarchal hegemony of Javanese kings power in Wulang Putri text. Cogent Arts and Humanities, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2024.2335778
Nurahmawati, H. (2024). The Emerging of a Nouvelle Culture and Gender Equality among Javanese Women who Married to French Locals Related to Javanese Values Masak. Journal of Media & Management, 6(4), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.47363/jmm/2024(6)169
Orrghen, A. (2020). Art criticism and the newness of video art: the reception of video art in the Swedish daily press, 1985–1991. Journal of Aesthetics and Culture, 12(1), 1985–1991. https://doi.org/10.1080/20004214.2020.1729539
Paul, S. (2020). Inversion and Prolepsis: Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain's Feminist Utopian Strategies (pp. 29–47). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27893-9_2
Pech, A. S., Valencia, B. G., & Romero, A. J. (2020). Reflections from novice youth participatory action researchers: Emphasis on critical gender perspectives. Journal of Community Psychology, 48(2), 302–322. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22253
Rajcinovska-Pavleska, N. (2021). The poetic act as an act of resistance in the feminist practice of Ana Mendieta. Glasnik Etnografskog Instituta, 69(2), 289–302. https://doi.org/10.2298/GEI2102289P
Ramesh, D. S. (2023). Dance and Society: An Exploration of Cultural Expression and Social Impact. Journal of Humanities,Music and Dance, 31, 17–19. https://doi.org/10.55529/jhmd.31.17.19
Rukwanda, Y. (2023). Men and Woman as Victims of Patriarchy in Ika Natassa's Books: Critical Eleven & Divortiare Trilogy. K@ta Kita, 11(1), 162–170. https://doi.org/10.9744/katakita.11.1.162-170
Salem, R., & Yount, K. M. (2019). Structural accommodations of patriarchy: Women and workplace gender segregation in Qatar. Gender, Work and Organization, 26(4), 501–519. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12361
Sarwoto, P. (2020). Reimagining the fluid categorisation of the communist, Chinese, and jews in Umar Kayam's fiction. Kritika Kultura, 2020(35), 194–212. https://doi.org/10.13185/KK2020.03511
Selbin, J. C. (2024). The Global New Woman and the Invention of Modern Feminism. Pmla, 139(1), 32–49. https://doi.org/10.1632/S0030812923001141
Setyawan, S. (2024). Shift in the meaning of Kanca wingking in Javanese society. Javanologi: International Journal of Javanese Studies, 7(1), 55–61. https://doi.org/https://dx.doi.org/10.20961/javanologi.v7i1.84123
Smith-Hefner, N. J. (1988). Women and politeness: The Javanese example. Language in Society, 17(4), 535–554. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500013087
Stanciu, A. S. (2024). Body and Interdisciplinarity. From Performance Art to a Choreographic Body Installation. CONCEPT, 27(2), 127–140. https://doi.org/10.37130/h9vfvv79
Wagner, C. J. (2019). Connections Between Reading Identities and Social Status in Early Childhood. TESOL Quarterly, 53(4), 1060–1082. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.529
Widayati, M., Nugrahani, F., Sudiatmi, T., Sudiyana, B., & Suryono, J. (2019). Representation Women Subordinated of Java Culture in Bumi Manusia by Pramudya Ananta Toer. https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.21-12-2018.2282782
Widiana, Y., Sumarlam, S., Marmanto, S., Purnanto, D., & Sulaiman, M. Z. (2020). Intrusive busybody or benevolent buddy: Phatic communication among javanese women. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 20(2). https://doi.org/10.17576/gema-2020-2002-03
Widyastari, D. A., Isarabhakdi, P., Vapattanawong, P., & Völker, M. (2020). Marital Dissolution in Postmodern Java, Indonesia: Does Early Marriage Increase the Likelihood to Divorce? Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 61(8), 556–573. https://doi.org/10.1080/10502556.2020.1799308
Wiedemann, T. (2018). Discursive practice of Combat Girls: the construction of social reality in contemporary German film. Studies in European Cinema, 16(2), 126–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/17411548.2018.1435340
Wu, M.-H. (2019). Kristevan Herethics in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. Brontë Studies, 44(4), 376–391. https://doi.org/10.1080/14748932.2019.1643087
Zami, L. (2021). Dancing After Life: Flexible Spacetimes of Black Female ResistDance. Dance Research Journal, 53(2), 67–87. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0149767721000206
Zhuwawo, A., & Sibanda, N. (2020). Productive docile bodies in Zimbabwean dance training: the African body in classical ballet training at Afrikera Arts Trust. Research in Dance Education, 00(00), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/14647893.2020.1746257
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Jurnal Studi Komunikasi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The authors agree to the terms of this Copyright Notice, which will apply to this submission if and when it is published by this journal (comments to the editor can be added below).
