Musical sexualisation and the gendered habitus in Yogyakarta

Abstract

The budget-tourist kampung of Sosrowijayan in inner-city Yogyakarta is both a traditionalist neighbourhood and a centre of commercial and intercultural exchange. Foreigners contribute to the economic disparities that characterise Sosrowijayan, but their influence on the relative status and autonomy of women there is more difficult to discern. Based on ethnographic research, this article posits an interpretation of gender relations in Sosrowijayan by, firstly, modifying Bourdieu's concept of the habitus, and then seeking to locate this in a comparative analysis of sexualised behaviours at musical events in Yogyakarta's commercial establishments and kampung. The article concludes that Javanist, westernised and quasi-Islamic sensibilities each contribute to the sexualisation of musical performances in these settings, thereby highlighting some of the difficulties of equating specific cultural influences with gender relations and everyday body language in and around Sosrowijayan. Show more