Female Puppeteers and Power Relations in Javanese Culture

<p class="ql-align-justify">This study examines the power relations of Javanese culture toward female puppeteers in wayang kulit performances, recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The research focuses on obstacles faced by female puppeteers and the strategies they develop against patriarchal norms regulating symbolic power. This study uses a descriptive qualitative and case study approach involving female puppeteers, male puppeteers, wiyaga (wayang kulit musicians), and sinden (wayang kulit singers). Data were collected through interviews, observations, documentation, audio-visual materials, and scientific publications, then validated through source triangulation. The results show that female puppeteers face cultural, representational, social, structural, and biological obstacles. Using Michel Foucault’s concepts of disciplinary power and biopower, this study argues that inequality arises not only from the limited number of female puppeteers but also from power mechanisms disciplining women’s bodies, symbols, and narratives according to patriarchal norms. Female puppeteers are not merely objects of subordination but actors developing gender-responsive strategies, including symbolic adaptation, cultural compromise, representational innovation, performative negotiation, and collective strategies. Female puppetry becomes an arena of power relations and negotiation while creating opportunities for equality within the Javanese wayang kulit tradition. These findings contribute to global discussions on women’s participation in male-dominated traditional performing arts, comparable to women’s roles in Japanese Noh theater.</p>