Media Representation of Female Politician Candidates in Social-Historian Context

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24002/jik.v22i2.12457

Keywords:

affirmative action policies, campaign advertising, female politicians, news coverage, representation

Abstract

The 2024 direct elections in Indonesia failed to implement the affirmative action policy of 30 percent female representation in politics. This study examines how women are portrayed in campaign advertisements and media coverage. The aim is to identify the representation of female politicians within a socio-historical context. This research uses Ruth Wodak's critical discourse analysis method. Analysis of the 2024 election campaign shows that female politicians are not portrayed as competent figures in politics. This occurs due to several factors that hinder women from being elected as political leaders, including patriarchal culture, religious dogma, and gender bias.

Author Biography

Rani Ann Balaraman, Universiti Sains Malaysia

Rani Ann Balaraman is a lecturer in social sciences at the School of Communication, Universiti Sains Malaysia. He completed her doctoral studies in journalism at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and currently become more focus on being a researcher and lecturer in journalism studies, mass media, Malaysian new media, and print media.

References

Adcock, C. (2010). The politician, the wife, the citizen, and her newspaper. Feminist Media Studies, 10(2), 135–159. <https://doi.org/10.1080/14680771003672254>

Ahlstrand, J. (2022). Women, media, and power in Indonesia. New York, NY: Routledge.

Beauvais, E. (2019). Discursive inequity and the internal exclusion of women speakers. Political Research Quarterly, 74(1), 103-116. <https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912919870605>

Berkovich, I., & Benoliel, P. (2024). Critical discourse analysis: Language, ideology, and power. In Meghan Stacey, & Nicole Mockler (eds), Analyzing education policy (pp. 28-43). London, UK: Routledge.

Braden, M. (2014). Women politicians and the media. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky

Bünte, M., & Thompson, M. R. (eds.). (2023). Presidentialism and democracy in East and Southeast Asia. New York, NY: Routledge.

Bystrom, D. G., Robertson, T. A., & Banwart, M. C. (2001). Framing the Fight: An analysis of media coverage of female and male candidates in primary races for governor and senate in 2000. American Behavioral Scientist, 44(12), 1999-2013. <https://doi.org/10.1177/00027640121958456>

Denton, R. E., Voth, B., Trent, J. S., & Friedenberg, R. V. (2023). Political campaign communication: Principles and practices. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Devitt, J. (2002). Framing gender on the campaign trail: Female gubernatorial candidates and the press. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 79(2), 445 – 463. <https://doi.org/10.1177/107769900207900212>

Hasanah, R., & Aprianti, A. (2019). Pemanfaatan media massa dalam komunikasi politik pemilihan calon presiden (Konstruksi realitas pemilih pemula dalam Pemilihan Presiden 2014). Paper presented at Konferensi Nasional & Kompetisi Riset Komunikasi "Membaca Gaya Kepemimpinan Kita", Pusat Studi Komunikasi dan Bisnis (PUSKOMBIS), Surabaya, Indonesia.

Heriyanto, H. (2023). Patriarchal culture, theology and state hegemony in issues of gender equality in Indonesian politics. Proceedings of the International Conference Social-Humanities in Maritime and Border Area (SHIMBA 2023), 11-15. <https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-150-0_3>

Lira, C. L. (2022). The never-ending challenge of understanding how media discourse portrays women in politics. Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 17(3), 220-224. <https://doi.org/10.1080/17447143.2022.2155657>

Mariyanti, E., Sari, P. E., & Putri, S. L. (2024). Analisis persepsi pemilih terhadap penampilan calon dan dampaknya terhadap pemilihan calon perempuan dalam pemilu 2024. Jurnal Ekonomi dan Bisnis Dharma Andalas, 26(1), 216-234. <https://doi.org/10.47233/jebd.v26i1.1317>

Nimrah, S., & Sakaria, S. (2015). Perempuan dan budaya patriarki dalam politik: Studi kasus kegagalan caleg perempuan dalam pemilu legislatif 2014. Jurnal Administrasi dan Kebijakan Kesehatan Indonesia, 1(2), 173-181.

Nugrahajati, S. D., Hendariningrum, R., & Soeprapto, A. (2025). Quo vadis political representation of women: Studies in political communication perspective. Jurnal Ilmu Komunikasi, 23(1), 20-42. <https://doi.org/10.31315/jik.v23i1.14745>

Pande, R., & Ford, D. (2012). Gender quotas and female leadership. World Development Report 2012, Gender Equality and Development. <https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/1d4402bd-40ce-58d6-a79a-b8f71704f44e/content>

Parwati, T., & Istiningdiah, K. (2020). Partisipasi dan komunikasi politik perempuan di legislatif menurut kacamata politisi perempuan di Indonesia. Interaksi: Jurnal Ilmu Komunikasi, 9(2), 119-129. <https://doi.org/10.14710/interaksi.9.2.119-129>

Pertiwi, A. A. D. I., Budiartha, I. N. P., & Sudibya, D. G. (2022). Implikasi kebijakan affirmative action dalam penentuan quota wanita sebagai calon anggota dewan perwakilan rakyat dalam perwujudan kesetaraan gender di Indonesia. Jurnal Konstruksi Hukum, 3(3), 493-498. <https://doi.org/10.22225/jkh.3.3.5313.493-498>

Rahmah, S. (2021). Pendidikan politik bagi perempuan. Saree: Research in Gender Studies, 3(1), 79-100. <https://doi.org/10.47766/saree.v3i1.633>

Sarihati, T., Luthfie, H. M., & Kurniadi, B. (2022). Komunikasi politik, media massa dan opini publik. Yogyakarta, Indonesia: PT. Raja Grafindo Persada (Rajawali Pers).

Schwindt‐Bayer, L. A. (2009). Making quotas work: The effect of gender quota laws on the election of women. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 34(1), 5-28.

Soza, A. (2014). Girls will be girls: Discourse, poststructuralist feminism, and media presentations of women. Thesis. Boise State University, Idaho, USA.

Syiam, D. A. (2023). Lobi dan negosiasi dalam proses komunikasi politik. <https://www.scribd.com/document/811224288/Lobi-dan-Negosiasi-dalam-Proses-Komunikasi-Politik>

Tripp, A. M., & Kang, A. (2008). The global impact of quotas: On the fast track to increased female legislative representation. Comparative Political Studies, 41(3), 338-361. <https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414006297342>

Uluk, E., & Nurhadi, N. (2023). Menganalisis kritis diskursus kontemporer menggunakan model Ruth Wodak: Kajian kasus dalam isu sosial-politik terkini. Knowledge: Jurnal Inovasi Hasil Penelitian dan Pengembangan, 3(1), 63-68. <https://doi.org/10.51878/knowledge.v3i1.2194>

Van der Pas, D. J., & Aaldering, L. (2020). Gender differences in political media coverage: A meta-analysis. Journal of Communication, 70(1), 114-143. <https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqz046>

van Dijk, T. A. (2014). Discourse and knowledge: A sociocognitive approach. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Widiyaningrum, W. Y. (2020). Partisipasi politik kader perempuan dalam bidang politik: Sebuah kajian teoritis. JISIPOL: Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, 4(2), 126-142.

Wodak, R. (2015a). Critical discourse analysis, discourse-historical approach. In K. Tracy, C. Ilie, & T. Sandel (Eds.), The international encyclopedia of language and social interaction (pp. 1-14). John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118611463/wbielsi116.

Wodak, R. (2015b). Critical discourse analysis, discourse-historical approach. The international encyclopedia of language and social interaction, 3, 1-14.

Wodak, R., & Meyer, M. (2015). Methods of Critical Discourse Studies (3rd ed.). London, UK: SAGE.

Wodak, R. (2001). The discourse-historical approach. Methods of critical discourse analysis, 1, 63-94.

Wulandari, L., Rahmawati, R., & Rosdiana, H. (2023). Hambatan keterwakilan politik perempuan di Indonesia. PARAPOLITIKA: Journal of Politics and Democracy Studies (JPDS), 4(2), 168-186. <https://doi.org/10.33822/jpds.v4i2.6039>

Zamfirache, I. (2010). Women and politics–the glass ceiling. Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology, 1(1), 175-185.

Downloads

Published

2025-12-27

How to Cite

Wulandari, T. D., & Ann Balaraman, R. (2025). Media Representation of Female Politician Candidates in Social-Historian Context. Jurnal ILMU KOMUNIKASI, 22(2). https://doi.org/10.24002/jik.v22i2.12457

Issue

Section

Research-based Article