Page 105 - CONFERENCE BOOK OF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GENDER, CULTURE AND SOCIETY (ICGCS) 2021

CONFERENCE PROGRAM AND ICGCS 2021

ABSTRACT BOOK

Gender and Family

Gender Construction in Child Care among Farm

Laborer’s Families

Anita Febiyanti, Vina Adriany, Yeni rachmawati

Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia

There have been many studies discussing gender construction in parenting, but the majority of existing

research focuses on upper middle-class families (Ashikari, 2003; Boterman & Bridge, 2015; Neary, 2003).
2019). This study aims to obtain a descriptive picture related to how gender is constructed in farm workers'
families. So far, gender studies regarding parenting of marginalized groups are still rare, except for studies

that have been conducted on families of migrant workers (Wulan et al., 2018), families of fishermen and
farm laborers (Kusumo et al., 2014; Puspitawati et al., 2019 ). In this study, what is meant by gender

construction is something that is inherent in a man and a woman that is formed culturally in the
community. In contrast to sex whose meaning is fixed, the definition of gender is not only limited to a

person's biology but refers to the nature and role of a man and a woman in the context of socio-cultural
values (Marhumah, 2012). Societal views regarding the nature and roles of men and women may change

from time to time. For example, there is an assumption that men only have masculine traits and women
only have feminine traits. However, now, many people understand that masculine and feminine traits can
be shared by both men and women, such as the number of men who can protect and nurture and

women who can become leaders. In the realm of parenting, often the father is only seen as a masculine
figure, so that parenting is more closely related to the mother figure which is closely related to feminine

traits such as tenderness and patience. However, if we look deeper, there is actually a gender complexity in
parenting. This research was conducted in one of the villages located in West Bandung Regency. The

researcher used a qualitative approach by choosing a case study method to describe the gender
construction that is built in the care of farm workers' families. The research subjects were two mothers and

one father who worked as farm laborers and had young children. Data and information about the research
were collected through interviews using open and semi-structured questions so that the researchers had
guidelines so that the discussion was more focused and organized. The researcher used postcolonial

feminism lenses in analyzing the data obtained. In the public sector, as farm laborers they do not
recognize the division of labor based on gender. This is no different from what happens in domestic affairs.

There is no division of roles between father and mother in household matters. They work hand in hand in
taking care

of the house and raising children. This happens because they are in a limited economic situation, so the
research subjects and their partners are looking for side jobs to fulfill their daily needs. If the father is doing

additional work, the child is taken care of by the mother, and vice versa if the mother is doing a side job,
the father is taking care of the house and children. Often we see that gender-related issues are issues that
are taken from the west so that they are new in society. However, it turns out, the gender issue is actually

something that already exists and is practiced in the community's traditions even though they are not
aware of the terminology of gender equality itself.

Keywords: Parenting, gender, farm workers

Short Biography:

Anita Febiyanti is a Postgraduate Student at Department of Early Childhood

Education Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia

Vina Adriany, M.Ed.,Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at Department of Early

Childhood Education Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia

Yeni Rachmawati, M.Pd., Ph.D is a Lecturer at Department of Early Childhood

Education Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia

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