Redefining Media Consumption of Indonesian Women : A critic to stereotyping and labelling for Women Media Habit (Working and NonWorking Woman)

Abstract

Being a woman, based on word Empu (perempuan) in Sansekerta’s means master for herself, which implicated more "empowered" when compared with the meaning of women (wanita) in Javanese, wanita define as wani di-tata (in-order, on-set, as an object). However, this difference became lost meaning in practice when both perempuan and wanita in Indonesia has still struggling to actualize herself. Today the exploitation of women have moved away from traditional ways, to the sophisticated ways. Based on Indonesian statistics (2010) , there are 78,083,952 women of reproductive age (16-60 years), exactly the same numbers women are vulnerable to become second citizen, subordinated. Mass media acts as women subordinating agents. Through the mass media, women become commodities that are giving discourse 'meaning' creation of illusion and manipulation as a way to dominate people's tastes. In Indonesia, television is still the main ranks of media penetration, where rating deified. On behalf of the ratings, the television programs are produced and reproduced to satisfy the audience. Based on Nielsen Media Research, more than half of top ten rating are tv drama series (sinetron). The high rating of sinetron had been claimed as women favor programme, on version of Nielsen Media Research. The survey results also pointed out that consumption of television women is higher than men's, that are mostly housewives, spend 3-6 hours a day, and the majority of the preferred program is a serial drama (sinetron). Nielsen Audience Measurement Survey covers 10 major cities, ie. Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Semarang, Bandung, Makassar, Yogyakarta, Palembang, Denpasar, Banjarmasin, where the greatest proportion of survey members (58%) were in Jakarta. The problems is that the rating then used as a boomerang to determine the taste of women. There are inherent stereotypes and labeling that women are addicted to sinetron. Tastes beyond that would be considered deviant and unusual, or even non-existent. In a seminar of media ownership (April 2013, in Semarang), one of the panelists was very surprised to find women with a sense of spectacle of Syfy programs (science), National Geografic, Discovery Channel. This is where stereotypes and labeling to be no longer relevant, and rating into question. This study wants to sue the mainstream scientific surveys in Indonesia, with a qualitative study of the pattern of watching women in the top three city regions Nielsen Media Research survey, which is Jakarta, Surabaya and Jogjakarta. The data obtained through focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and observation viewing patterns. The subject are women, (20-35 years old), tv audience and divided on working women or non-working women. Results of this study revise or redefine patterns (and taste) of women in Indonesia, that the tendency of reliance on the sinetron began to decrease drastically, especially on local production, there is saturation of the material spectacle, coupled with their choice of subscription television drama series tend to global. While the taste of the variety shows, talk shows, documentary and news also increased. There are significant differences between mothers working and not working in viewing patterns, in particular also in mothers with children under five (balita). Viewing hours are limited and varied selection makes watching a sinetron spectacle is no longer the first choice of women. Even most of the informants also stated that the choice of media no longer television but they prefer a smartphone.