Alpha Female Representation as Ideal Women in Henry Manampiring's the Alpha Girls Guide

This research started from the hardship that women experience. Currently women are still being discriminated and face obstacles for life in a lot of sectors. One of the solution provided comes from Henry Manampiring who introduced the concept of Alpha Female in his book named The Alpha Girls Guide: Menjadi Cewek Smart, Independen, dan Anti-Galau. This research aimed to understand how Alpha Female Representation written in Henry Manampiring's book work as a form of empowerment to women. Analysis done using Roland Barthes' semiotic models and Naomi Wolf's Power Feminism Theory. The analysis is targeted to the chapters in Alpha Girls' Guide The research concludes that most of this book support women to be empowered by providing women with choices, supporting women in career and education sector, defending woman to be respected, and inviting wmen to inspire other woman to move forward. However, in certain parts Manampiring is still trapped in patriarchal concept that still chained women and failed to defend women's choice that has differences with the concept that he suggest. The example is the ban on woman to initiate relationship first, the impression that shown woman as the only responsible actor in nurturing and educating children, and push to woman to beautify themselves even if its only done for their own self and not for others. More than that, Manampiring tends to use masculine language that may be hard to accept for some woman. Ultimately, Alpha Female representation as an ideal women lead to empowerment that still has some issues and can't be applied to all women

Construction of Female Sexuality in Sexting Activity

Development of ways of communicating direct the community about what is being communicated. The ease of communication that can now be done quickly and not only sending the text has been made public, especially young people to communicate different messages such as sexting activity. Where in the activities that typically occur sexually suggestive pictures of exchange between men and women. This study aims to determine the construction of female sexuality in sexting activity. Through a phenomenological approach, this study refers to the interpretive paradigm. This study uses the theory foundation of Self-Objectification and Social Exchange Theory. The results of this study indicate that the activity of sexting is usually done by a partner in a dating relationship. Men in sexting activity known to always be the initiator of doing sexting. Usually men ask sexually suggestive images of women to masturbate because it was unable to meet with their partner. But it did not happen in women, women in the study known to never ask sexually suggestive images to masturbate. Sexting behavior is often accompanied by behavioral spreading the sexually suggestive pictures, men in this study are known to be the only party that did the spread of it. While women have always delete the sexually suggestive pictures she has received for fear if the image was known by others, and then consider them as a woman who behaves badly. The study also revealed that praise in sexting activity plays an important role. Men known to always praise sexually suggestive images being sent by a woman. Women on the other hand feel happy if the pictures they send praise, it also encourages them to send the picture again. Women in a patriarchal culture has internalized the value of the subject itself or in other words, has made itself the object which therefore requires an appreciation (praise). The study also revealed that there are differences regarding sexually suggestive pictures sent in by a woman and sent by men. When asked to send a sexually suggestive images it sends an image that shows the entire body, but when men send pictures it sends images showing genitals only. In this study, women never send a picture before his partner (male) asked him to do so. Although women were aware of the risk of the spread of the images, they still gave it because they feel responsible to satisfy the desires of their partner (male)

Pemaknaan Perempuan terhadap Konstruksi Mitos Kecantikan dalam Media Online Femaledaily.com

Penelitian ini membahas mengenai bagaimana konstruksi-konstruksi mitos kecantikan yang ditampilkan di dalam media online Femaledaily.com mempengaruhi persepsi perempuan tentang gambaran-gambaran kecantikan dan tubuh ideal bagi perempuan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat bagaimana Femaledaily.com mengkonstruksi citra-citra kecantikan ideal dan bagaimana pemaknaan perempuan terhadap citra-citra kecantikan ideal tersebut. Analisis dilakukan dengan paradigma kritis dan menggunakan metode analisis resepsi milik Ien Ang. Beauty Myth Theory Naomi Wolf dan Disciplining Body Theory Michael Foucault digunakan sebagai teori yang menjelaskan bagaimana mitos-mitos kecantikan berkembang dalam media baru saat ini dan ritual-ritual kecantikan apa saja yang dilakukan oleh perempuan untuk memenuhi citra-citra kecantikan ideal yang dikonstruksi oleh media. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan pemaknaan terhadap setiap elemen kecantikan yang dilakukan oleh keseluruhan subjek penelitian memiliki keberagaman yang dipengaruhi oleh latar belakang masing-masing subjek penelitian, antara lain usia dan jenis pekerjaan. Pada elemen kecantikan pembentukan tubuh keseluruhan subjek penelitian memiliki pemaknaan yang serupa dengan makna dominan dalam teks, bahwa tubuh langsing dengan Perut rata serta lengan dan paha yang kencang seperti yang ditampilkan di dalam teks memang merupakan bentuk tubuh ideal yang diidamkan oleh setiap perempuan. Pada elemen kecantikan kulit wajah keseluruhan subjek penelitian memiliki pemaknaan yang berlawanan dengan makna dominan dalam teks yang merepresentasikan perempuan cantik sebagai perempuan yang memiliki kulit wajah yang cerah dan awet muda, sementara keseluruhan subjek penelitian memaknai perempuan cantik tidak selalu harus yang berkulit cerah dan awet muda karena pada Kenyataannya banyak perempuan yang berkulit coklat atau gelap atau yang sudah tua pun tetap dapat terlihat cantik asalkan kulit wajah mereka tetap bersih dan terawat