REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN THE SUNDANESE PROVERBS

Yasir Mubarok
Student, Indonesia University of Education, Indonesia, yasirmubarok1@gmail.com

Abstract
The gender difference is actually not a problem as far as not giving birth gender inequality. However, gender difference has spawned various injustices, especially for women. The phenomenon can be seen in a proverb. Researches both at global level and in Indonesia show that the representations of women in proverbs are very popular. For example, study conducted by Storm (1992), Sunderland (2006), Hussein (2009), Anderson (2012), Wang (2012), Asimeng-Boahene (2013), Lee (2015), Diabah and Amfo (2015) and Mubarok (2016). With viewpoints and different data, the study examines the representation of women as espoused in a number of Sundanese (an ethnic group native to the western part of the Indonesian island of Java) proverbs. The objective is to analyze traditional views on the perceptions and roles of the woman in Sundanese society and explore the interrelation between language, gender and culture. Using a Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (FCDA) Approach, 7 Sundanese proverbs about women, selected from written sources, are examined. The study shows that women are portrayed in Sundanese proverb as constructions of submissiveness “awewe mah dulang ti nande” (women are like a big rice bowl waiting to be filled), which means that a woman usually depends on the desires of man. “Awewe mah tara cari ka Batawi”, that means a woman did not has to go far trying to make a living, just need to serve the her husband only. “Babon kapurba ku jago”, that means a woman must obey her husband. “Sapi anut ka banteng”, means that a woman should be devoted to her husband. Women as an object of sex “Anak hiji keur gumeulis” which means that a woman who recently had one child looked more beautiful, especially if she is good at caring for the body. “Anak tilu keur kumusut”, means that a woman who already had three children looked disheveled, especially if she is not good at taking care of her body or dress up. Further, women are portrayed as representation of virtue “Ngeunah angeun ngeunah angen” which means that a wife should be loyal, her cooking tasty, not lack of food, and has no trouble. Based on these findings, the study concluded that Sundanese proverbs tend to present women in particular stereotypical ways, most of which can be interpreted as derogatory, negative or subservient.

Keywords: Gender, Proverbs, Representation, Women, Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis, Patriarchy, Representation