Browsing by Author "Difa Mahya Zahara"

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    Coping with Objectification : Female English Literature Students’ Physical Identity Development as Emerging Adults
    (Language Center of Universitas Teuku Umar, 2023-05-23) Difa Mahya Zahara
    Emerging adulthood is a stage where identity exploration is one of its developmental tasks. As most modern-age emerging adults participate in higher education, educational context becomes decisive in understanding their identity development, including the physical identity (body image) of female college students, especially considering the increasing participation of women in higher education which reflects the necessity to attend to their educational and developmental needs. This study draws qualitative data through a phenomenological study of four female college students of an Islamic university in an urban area of Indonesia, specifically the English Literature students. By applying the feminist theory of objectification and the concept of emerging adulthood, this study aims to understand how female college students experience objectification specific to their educational context and how it impacts their physical identity development as emerging adults. This study finds that objectification is experienced by female college students through the curriculum; learning contents, media, dress codes, and students-lecturers, students-peers, as well as students-staff relationships. The experiences indicate negative views of their physique during the college years reflected in negative subjective experiences (shame, anxiety, disrupted peak motivational states, and diminished awareness of internal bodily states), as well as eating disorder risks. However, an overall positive body image is observed in the current time once graduating which rather reveals a non-appearance-focused physical identity—physical health, comfort, and safety—achieved through contextual and reflective thinking. Thus, this study suggests the implication of college or higher education as a facilitator of emerging adults’ physical identity exploration.
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    Gender, female principalship, and student's achievements : a case study of a female principal leading an Islamic school
    (Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia, 2023) Difa Mahya Zahara; Didin Syafruddin; Nina Nurmila
    The hegemonic masculinity that perpetuates the larger educational leadership culture persists to this day, making it important to understand the kind of gender construction that is working for existing female leaders, especially in the context of Islamic schools. However, these constructs also need to be understood for their implications on educational practices, such as on students' achievements. Indeed, there have been few studies that highlight these three elements of the gender of the principal, leadership, and students' achievements despite their interrelatedness. Therefore, this study seeks to explore how gender construction facilitates female principalship in an Islamic school and the implication for students' achievements. The study applies the post-structuralist feminist theory of Gendered Educational Leadership as will become clear how an Indonesian private Islamic school discursively presents the gender of the female principal. This study employs a qualitative case study of the leadership of a female principal at Al-Wahid Islamic Elementary School (pseudonym) in light of feminist perspectives. In collecting the data, observation, interviews, and analysis of documents were conducted for triangulation. Meanwhile, the data analysis is done through thematic analysis. The findings show that (1) gender concept in the Islamic school indicates binary construction of the ikhwan and akhwat categories reflected through school facilities, regulation, and social interaction. (2) Within this context, the acceptable ideal female principal is someone who performs both masculine and feminine leadership styles. In practice, the female principal also accordingly performs masculine and feminine styles. However, the overall evaluation by school members seems to stabilize it to be exclusively feminine. This masking is revealed as rooted in the essentialist view of gender and feminization of the elementary school level and its leadership position. (3) Finally, the implication is found to be central to how the principal and school members approach students' achievement issues; how the principal approaches students' achievements with a socioemotional emphasis, how the school members downplay the female principal's role in promoting students' achievements, and how there are discernible gender differences in students' achievements. Therefore, this study indicates the need to be more critical and aware of possible bias in evaluating the performance of female leaders. Further research is recommended to explore more than just one case of a female principal in this issue or on a different level of education, such as in secondary or higher education. Finally, incorporating more of the perspective of students as those who benefit from the issues of achievement is also encouraged. Keywords: Gender, leadership, female principal. gendered educational leadership, students' achievements. Therefore, this study indicates the need to be more critical and aware of possible bias in evaluating the performance of female leaders. Further research is recommended to explore more than just one case of a female principal in this issue or on a different level of education, such as in secondary or higher education. Finally, incorporating more of the perspective of students as those who benefit from the issues of achievement is also encouraged.
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    The Objectification of the Covered : Understanding Muslim Female Students’ Passivity in Physical Activities
    (Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia Press, 2023-07-13) Difa Mahya Zahara
    Patriarchal culture in Indonesia affects vast aspects of social life, including in schools where students acquire an understanding of gender. One of the prominent gender issues in social encounters within a patriarchal culture is the uniquely female experiences of objectification at school. This article draws on data from a qualitative study on Muslim female students in an Indonesian Islamic Middle School to understand female students’ experience of objectification by applying a psychosocial feminist objectification theory (Fredrickson and Robert, 1997). The study finds that non-sexual objectifying treatment from male peers is manifested in male gazes and comments on women’s general physical appearance, and specifically on Islamic apparel—the veil and modest Muslim style clothing. More direct sexual objectification occurs in the form of male gazes and sexual comments on certain body parts, such as the chest and hips. These experiences are understood by female students’ male-centered understanding of the Islamic feminine ideal which contributes to their withdrawal from physical activities at school as in Physical Education and art performance courses. This research argues for separate PE classes as a temporary alternative for the sake of female students’ participation.