Power Behind Powerlessness: The Myth of Konco Wingking in Javanese Culture through Damar Kurung Painting

The concept of konco wingking in Javanese culture, meaning ‘friend behind’, is associated with the traditional role of Javanese women as wives and mothers based on the ideology of patriarchy and feudalism. This myth is believed to reinforce the subordinate status of Javanese women. By analysing Damar Kurung and using visual ethnography, this study examines the impact of the konco wingking myth on gender relations in Javanese society. This traditional artwork has existed since the 16th century on the northern coast of East Java, Indonesia, and was passed down through an old female painter named Masmundari. She interpreted the myths circulating in Javanese society through artistic practices. This study collected visual data from museums and galleries, and verbal data from interviews and observations. By combining verbal and visual data using Lévi-Strauss’s structuralist theory of mythology and Foucault’s concept of power, this study shows how Javanese women, despite their primarily domestic roles, play important roles in the family, society, and state. These women adopt distinct approaches to achieving empowerment and equality with men, utilizing their feminine characteristics, calmness, and resilience in adversity

Bittersweet, Unwrapped: Shirley V. Guevarra’s The Pabalat (Wrapper) Designs of San Miguel de Mayumo’s Pastillas de Leche

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Flexible Work and Work Life Balance in the Embroidery Business in Lumban, Philippines

This study documents and examines flexible work arrangements (FWAs) and its implications in the work-life balance of independent workers in the embroidery business in Lumban, Laguna. It considers the nature and history of FWAs and how it evolved into the current work practice in theembroidery business. The study also dwells on the experiences of both embroidery shop owners and embroiderers to realize their exchange relationships in attaining a more or less suitable balance in the demands of work and family through varying work arrangements. Drawing on the social exchange theory (SET), it puts forward that trust, loyalty, commitment and mutual benefits affect their exchange relationships. The study explains how the factors affecting FWAs are perceived to achieve work-life balance among the embroiderers and create valuable utilization of available labor supply