Assignment for Methods of Literary Research (Cultural Studies)
Write the methodology used in the article entitled “Reading Men’s Lifestyle Magazines in
Indonesia: Defining Indonesian Modern Masculinities”.
Your methodology derived from the article has to consist of about 750 words. It has to
contain Research approach, Technique of Data Collection, and Technique of Data Analysis.
This assignment has to be typewritten and submitted on 2nd January 2014 at 3 pm, on the
desk of the secretary to the Vice Dean (mbak Dahlia)
Reading Men’s Lifestyle Magazines in Indonesia: Defining
Indonesian Modern Masculinities
Dadung Ibnu Muktiono
(Faculty of Humanities - Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia)
Men’s lifestyle magazines have attracted scholars’ attention to examine issues related to them. It is because these
magazines are assumed to provide men with images and/or qualities of being the ‘real’ man. Men then are
suggested to ‘work’ with such magazines in order to become the ‘right’ man. The popularity of men’s lifestyle
magazines circulates not only in Western world, but also to other parts of the world including the developing
countries. Indonesia is among those countries which experience the booming of such magazines. Although men’s
lifestyle magazines are heavily drawn from Western origin, Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines have made their
own standard of modern masculinities in Indonesia. As part of global media, Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines
adopt the general images of global masculinities. But at the same time, they also adopt local values of masculinity
to show their locality and assert Indonesian masculinities within the discourse of global masculinities. Therefore,
this paper will show how Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines negotiate local values of and global masculinities
and then present them to readers as their notion of Indonesian modern masculinities. The presented values of
masculinities in those magazines will also show that they are different from what presented in similar magazines in
Western world.
Keywords: masculinities, lifestyle magazines, global media, Indonesia
Introduction
Men’s lifestyle magazines have attracted scholars’ attention to examine issues related to
them. It is because these magazines are assumed to provide men with images and/or qualities of
being the ‘real’ man. Men then are suggested to ‘work’ with such magazines in order to become
the ‘right’ man. The popularity of men’s lifestyle magazines circulate not only in Western world,
but also to other parts of the world including the developing countries. Indonesia is among those
countries which experience the booming of such magazines. Although these magazines disperse
in many countries, they promote a common issue which is modern masculinities toward their
readers. However, the term modern here is arguable since every country has its own
measurement toward modern. Participating in global modern masculinities does not mean that
Indonesia adopt their whole values. Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines then, I argue, have
their own images of what so called as Indonesian modern masculinities.
Although they are heavily drawn from Western origin, Indonesian men’s lifestyle
magazines have made their own standards of modern masculinities in Indonesia. As argued by
Appadurai and Hannerz, globalization does not mean producing uniformity of a social condition
but rather heterogeneity as well as sameness (in Scholte, 1997: 32). As part of global media,
Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines adopt the general images of global masculinities. But at the
same time, they also adopt local values of masculinity to show their locality and assert
Indonesian masculinities within the discourse of global masculinities.
This paper will show how Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines negotiate local values of
and global masculinities and then present them to readers as their notion of Indonesian modern
masculinities. The presented values of masculinities in those magazines will also show that they
are different from what presented in similar magazines in Western world. At first, I will look
shortly to Indonesian local values of masculinities, and then I will move to global values of
masculinities commonly found in men’s lifestyle magazines as the bases for my analysis of
images of masculinities presented in Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines. As a finale, the
conclusion will sum the whole discussion.
Masculinities in between: to be a father or a man
Studies on masculinity, particularly heterosexual masculinity, in Indonesia have not been
familiar until nowadays. There are some backgrounds that lead to such situation. One of them is
the internalization of patriarchal culture in every aspect of life during the New Order era, from
1966-1998. Indonesia at that time can be claimed to submit to a masculinist social order (Clark,
2010: 7). In fact, as part of its confirmation towards patriarchy and masculinist social order, the
state, as argued by Boellstorff, made immense endeavours to indoctrinate gendered ideologies of
ideal citizen, which are national masculinity and femininity (2004: 470). These ideologies aimed
to strengthen and affirm the domination and leadership of male in life.
The superiority of men was symbolized by the images of ‘State Fatherism’ (Boellstorff,
2004: 470) conceptualized by the state as the embodiment of kodrat pria (nature of man). Father
in the state images denoted the highest honour and stratum, embodying prestige of the family
and nation. Therefore, male world was in the work, position, status, and prestige (Mulders, 1997:
141). Men then must be successful as a family breadwinner and leader to pursue status and
prestige for himself and his family. Men in that era experienced dominance and control toward
others and it was guaranteed by the state since the superiority of men was considered as the
national culture. As a member of the society, Indonesian men then must refer to the images of
‘State Fatherism’ to confirm themselves as both Indonesian men and ideal citizen.
The ‘State Fatherism’ and male domination are sounded through media. It was possible
since the New Order government supervised and controlled the mass media, as argued by
Heryanto and Adi (2002: 63). The New Order regime defines, as mentioned by Sen and Hill,
media as vehicles to the creation and promotion of ‘national culture’ (2000: 11). Since patriarchy
is the state’s official culture then the state had to protect and to ensure it was not contested,
including in media. Therefore, patriarchy and male domination are considered as, according to
Berger, the ‘natural’, the best, or the only way to do things (in Holmes, 2009:28). Consequently,
study of masculinities in particular is ‘untouched’ and rarely carried out in Indonesia. Masculinity
per se has been little studied in the Indonesian context (Nilan, 2009: 327). Masculinities in media
are then also rarely touched since most studies of gender relation are focused on women
empowerment and gender equality.
While there is a little studies about masculinities on media and nothing on men’s lifestyle
magazines in Indonesia, such studies have become familiar among scholars, in particular from
Western world. Similar to the discussion above about how media influence images of
masculinities found in Indonesia, it is continuously believed that media provide images,
discourses and frameworks to make sense of our everyday lives (Stevenson et al., 2003:113-114).
Men’s lifestyle magazines provided a language and representation of male performativity which
might ensure a young man’s social acceptance by his male peers (Rutherford, 2003: 3). In fact,
within them, meanings of masculinity circulate and are negotiated or contested (Benwell, 2003:
8). It shows that men’s lifestyle magazines are essentially influential in the construction of
masculinities. Examining them will provide us a thorough comprehension of ongoing
production of masculine images.
If studies of masculinities in Indonesia still focus on examining images of masculinities
presented in popular media, then similar studies on men’s lifestyle magazines have moved further
into mapping them into specific divisions. The most influential division of masculinities in men’s
lifestyle magazines is the one between the representation of ‘new man’ and ‘new lad’. The ‘new
man’ is generally characterized as sensitive, emotionally aware, respectful of women, and
egalitarian in outlook – and, in some accounts, as narcissistic and highly invested in his physical
appearance, while ‘new lad’ is depicted as hedonistic, post (if not anti) feminist, and preeminently concerned with beer, football and shagging women (Gill, 2003: 37). It implies that
‘new man’ works as ‘softer’ masculinity which is displayed as a more serious life of a man. It
shows that there is a negotiation toward the power previously privileged to male. ‘New lad’, on
the other hand, is seen as a ‘harder form of masculinity’. It was a clear reaction to new man to
reassert the power of masculinity deemed to have been lost by the concessions made to
feminism by new man (Benwell, 2003: 13). The competition of ‘new man’ and ‘new lad’ has also
proven that representations of masculinities are contested in men’s lifestyle magazines as I
previously stated.
In the end, ‘new lad’ is seen to be able to outfight ‘new man’ in gaining popularity as the
most appropriate representation of masculinities. The study from Stevenson et al. shows that
men accept ‘new lad’ more because it is more realistic (true to men’s real selves) and consider
‘new man’ as something impossible to reach because it is too perfect to reach and media
construction (Stevenson et al., 2003: 124). In other words, ‘new lad’ is more successful because it
promises freedom to men and is something ‘natural’, it is what men are. Men will not get it by
being ‘new man’ since it comprises values which are not men, they will be bound in huge
responsibility and directions which guide men what to and not to do. ‘New lad’ then opens up a
space of fun, consumption and sexual freedom for men, unfettered by traditional male
responsibilities (Gill, 2003: 47) found in ‘new man’.
Eventhough ‘new lad’ is seen as more successful than ‘new man’ in representing
masculinities, fundamentally they both have similarities. ‘New man’ and ‘new lad’ are both
products of Western world and media driven representations of masculinities. In fact, they both
are stemmed from the male insecurity (Simpson in Song and Lee, 2010: 175) to regain their
power against feminism by searching for the new right masculine qualities. This is then
commodified by media, in particular men’s lifestyle magazines to offer ‘new man’ and ‘new lad’
as the right types of masculinities to displace such insecure feeling. Furthermore, as part of their
commodification, the construction of ‘new man’ and ‘new lad’ depend upon and are constructed
around a series of commodity signifiers and consumerist practices (Edwards, 2003: 139). These
commodities range from fashion styles and brands, cars, and gadget. It demonstrates that in
general, modern masculinities are constructed through commodification and consumption.
Men’s lifestyle magazines play a key role in shaping what commodities and consumption are
correct to gain such masculinities.
Indonesian masculinities: pursuing appearance but not leaving the nature of father
This paper examined three Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines. They are Esquire
Indonesia, Cosmopolitan Men Indonesia and Men’s Health Indonesia. I assume that these magazines are
originated from Western version. If they are originally from Indonesia then they should not use
word ‘Indonesia’ on their title. They may use such word to differentiate and to assert that they
are the Indonesian version of similar title. After all, after the fall of the New Order, more media
have circulated throughout Indonesia and, as shown by Sen and Hill’s study, magazines draw
heavily on originals in other languages (2000: 13).
From the three magazines I have mentioned above, they all do not present themselves
exclusively as followers of ‘new man’ or ‘new lad’. Instead, they comprise some values from ‘new
lad’ and ‘new man’. In the Men’s Health magazine, I find that they display men as caring for their
career, their fashion style, body appearance and sexual life. If new man culture is strongly
associated with designer clothing and beauty product as an embodiment of seeing life seriously,
this magazine not only provide articles about them but also fashion style for leisure time and all
other occasion including branded casual and sporting styles which represent the freedom of ‘new
lad’. These articles advise readers how to fashion themselves correctly suited to the environment
or event:
You can be proud with the perfect body shape you have, but if you do not
complement it with suitable appearance, then it will mean nothing. But you are not
alone because most men are commonly having trouble with fashioning
themselves.....In this edition we have prepared special assistance for you. You will
find the right clothing style for every occasion, including style for going to the
office and casual style for your leisure time with relatives and peers. We also
provide various tips on wearing complementary accessories, perfect grooming, and
things you need and do not need to do. (Men’s Health Indonesia, April 2011)
From above editorial quote, it shows that men are now required to pay attention to their
appearance. Body and fashion are among concerns that men should care. Men should equip
themselves with commodities that can help them to have perfect appearance such as, perfect
clothing style, perfect gadget (camera, handycam, notebook tablet), perfect accessories (watch,
hat, bag) and perfect beauty product (fragrance, face whitener, face moisturizer, and hair cream),
depending on the occasion. Body then is constructed as a site of masculinities. Men are required
to build their body to confirm their masculinity.
Other two magazines also present masculinities centering on body and appearance. In
fact, they have their own separate sections for fashion and grooming. Esquire Indonesia and
Cosmopolitan Men Indonesia provide articles about the new collection of suits and casual styles from
the leading brands in fashion. They also give suggestion on how to combine each piece of
clothes to give a perfect style on their readers. For grooming, Esquire Indonesia advises readers to
use certain products of facial treatment to make face looks more handsome and fresh.
Cosmopolitan Men Indonesia focuses on more thorough body treatment such as, head skin
treatment, hair treatment to prevent baldness, skin treatment to keep it moist and beard and
moustache style to give different style. Consuming masculinities focusing on body and
appearance also means that men should consume certain commodities or products to display and
confirm themselves that they are masculine. They should subscribe themselves into norms or
directions regulating such representations of masculinities.
The three magazines I examine also show their locality. They present the local image of
masculinity, which is a steadily worker and at the same time a breadwinner for the family. In
articles on career, these magazines suggest Indonesian men to pursue career and salary as high as
they can. But they also advise that in doing so, men should not let themselves losing their job at
the same time. Men are suggested to survive and win with their job. They have to survive and
deal with boring routine and find solution about it in order to achieve their goals, which are
higher position and salary. These magazines present the readers with tips to achieve such goals.
It suggests that by having higher salary and career position and steady work, men will be able to
be a good family leader which will guarantee the life of their recent or future family. Success in
career will also bring them a success within society. It will ensure the prestige and the status of
self and family within society.
If previously ‘new lad’ and ‘new man’ are stated to have contradictory attitude towards
women in Western men’s lifestyle magazines then Esquire Indonesia, Cosmopolitan Men Indonesia,
and Men’s Health Indonesia combine attitude from those two representations. At the surface,
articles about woman in these three magazines seem to suggest that men should be sensitive and
respectful toward women, which refers to ‘new man’ masculinities. However, they mostly speak
on how to have beautiful sex with women or to satisfy women when having sex. It implies that
these magazines suggest men to apply some sort of negotiation in order to have sex with women
they want as partner. Men should understand and be sensitive towards women’s feelings so that
they can have sex with them. These magazines then represent masculine as being able to conquer
women’s feeling and women to have sex.
Conclusion
From the discussion presented above, this paper has shown what masculinities are
represented in Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines. Although they are originated from Western
world, these magazines are able to combine global values and local values of masculinities. The
representations of masculinities shown in Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines have also
demonstrated that Indonesia has its own modern version of masculinities. These masculinities
can also be said to signify the changes of masculine identity construction among men in
Indonesia. Masculinities in Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines may be influential since it may
also become a reference for Indonesian men.
References
Benwell, Bethan (2003) ‘Introduction: Masculinity and Men’s Lifestyle Magazines’ in Bethan
Benwell (ed) Masculinity and Men’s Lifestyle Magazines. Oxford: Blackwell, pp 6-29
Boellstorff, Tom. (2004). The Emergence of Political Homophobia in Indonesia: Masculinity and
National Belonging. Ethnos, 69, 4, pp. 465–486
Clark, Marshall (2010). Maskulinitas: Culture, Gender and Politics in Indonesia, Caulfield: Monash
University Press
Cosmopolitan Men Indonesia, 1, 2011
Edwards, Tim (2003) ‘Sex, Booses and Fags: Masculinity, Style and Men’s Magazines’ in Bethan
Benwell (ed) Masculinity and Men’s Lifestyle Magazines. Oxford: Blackwell, pp 132-146
Esquire Indonesia, April 2011
Gill, Rosalind (2003) ‘Power and the Production of Subjects: a Genealogy of the New Man and
the New Lad’ in Bethan Benwell (ed) Masculinity and Men’s Lifestyle Magazines. Oxford:
Blackwell, pp 34-56
Holmes, Mary (2009) Gender and Everyday life, London, New York: Routledge
Heryanto, Ariel and Stanley Yoseph Adi (2002) ‘Industrialized Media in Democratizing
Indonesia’ in Heng, Russel Hiang-Khng (ed) Media fortunes, changing times: ASEAN states
in transition. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, pp 47-82
Men’s Health Indonesia, 04/XI, April 2011
Mulder, J.A. Niels (1997) ‘Images of Javanese Gender’ in Hitchcock, in M. And Victor T. King
(eds) Images of Malay-Indonesian Identity. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, pp 138147
Nilan, Pam (2009). Contemporary Masculinities and Young Men in Indonesia. Indonesia and the
Malay World, 37, 109, pp. 327–344
Scholte, Jan Aart (1997) ‘Identifying Indonesia’ in Hitchcock, M. And Victor T. King (eds) Images
of Malay-Indonesian Identity. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, pp.21-44
Rutherford, Jonathan (2003) ‘Preface’ in Bethan Benwell (ed) Masculinity and Men’s Lifestyle
Magazines. Oxford: Blackwell, pp 1-5
Sen, Krishna and David T. Hill (2000) Media, Culture and Politics in Indonesia, Oxford: Oxford
University Press
Song, Geng and Tracy K. Lee (2010) Consumption, Class formation and Sexuality: Reading
Men’s Lifestyle Magazines in China, The China Journal, 64, July, pp 159-177
Stevenson, Nick et al. (2003) ‘Reading Men’s Lifestyle Magazines: Cultural Power and the
Information Society’ in Bethan Benwell (ed) Masculinity and Men’s Lifestyle Magazines.
Oxford: Blackwell, pp 112-131