Gender Representation in BIPA Textbooks: A Critical Discourse Analysis

This study examines gender representation in the BIPA textbook Sahabatku Indonesia (2019) published by the Language Development and Book Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture using the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework proposed by Teun A. van Dijk (1980). The research employs a qualitative approach to analyse how gender roles are constructed and represented through language in educational discourse. The data consist of selected texts and dialogues from the textbook that contain descriptions of social roles, daily activities, and family members. Data were collected through textual observation and documentation and analysed through three levels of discourse structure: microstructure, macrostructure, and superstructure. The findings reveal that gender representation in the textbook is constructed through linguistic choices, thematic patterns, and discourse organization. At the microstructure level, lexical choices and descriptive language tend to portray women primarily through domestic roles and physical appearance, while men are more frequently associated with productive activities, personal characteristics, and public roles. At the macrostructure level, the overall themes reflect cultural values that emphasize traditional divisions of roles between men and women in society. Meanwhile, the superstructure of the texts organizes narratives and dialogues in ways that subtly reinforce these gender perspectives. The study concludes that although the textbook aims to introduce Indonesian language and culture to foreign learners, it also implicitly reflects traditional gender ideologies. These findings highlight the importance of developing educational materials that promote more balanced and gender-sensitive representations in language learning contexts.