The spectre of Communist women, sexual violence and citizenship in Indonesia

Bibliographic Data

ID18972792
AuthorsAnnie Pohlman (0000-0002-9637-7683, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Australia, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume20
Issue1-2
Pages196-211
Publication date2017-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSexualities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1363-4607 • E-ISSN: 1461-7382
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1363460716645789
OpenAlexW2501733911
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited18

In this article, the author examines sexual violence against women during a period of mass social conflict and reflects on how this violence continues to affect sexual and political citizenship in modern Indonesia. The demonization and destruction of a particular group of Communist women, known as ‘Gerwani’, during the mass killings of 1965–1966 created an on-going, pathological discourse about politically active women as gendered and sexual ‘others’ in Indonesia. The reconfiguration of bodies through sexual violence during that period continues to shape gender ideology and sexual politics in Indonesia, particularly through the prescription of more traditional, heteronormative roles for women’s political participation. This negative association with sexuality and sexual violence affects the possibilities for women’s active citizenship in post-New Order Indonesia, and renders it difficult for women to claim sexual autonomy or sexual citizenship

Citizenship · Communism · Criminology · Human sexuality · Ideology · Political science · Politics · Sexual violence · Sociology · Asian Studies and History · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender Studies · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Law