Sexual Objectification Toward Hannah Baker and Her Responses in Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

SEXUAL OBJECTIFICATION TOWARD HANNAH BAKER AND HER RESPONSES IN JAY ASHER’S THIRTEEN REASONS WHY

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

By NARYNDA TIRTA KUSUMANINGRUM Student Number: 164214020

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA YOGYAKARTA 2020

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

SEXUAL OBJECTIFICATION TOWARD HANNAH BAKER AND HER RESPONSES IN JAY ASHER’S THIRTEEN REASONS WHY

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

By NARYNDA TIRTA KUSUMANINGRUM Student Number: 164214020

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA YOGYAKARTA 2020

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

There is no force more powerful than

a woman determined to rise.

-Bosa Sebele

vii

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

For my mom, who empowers me to be a strong, independent woman my dad, who always ready to gives all he has for me and for my annoying brother, my forever frenemy.

viii

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am genuinely grateful to finish my study in the English Letters

Department of Sanata Dharma University. Greatest thanks to the Almighty One, I know I am not alone in doing this. It is impossible I can accomplish my undergraduate thesis on my own. Hence, I would like to thank several people who have helped and supported me all this time.

First, I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor, Sri Mulyani,

Ph.D., for being very patient and effective in helping me write my undergraduate thesis and also my co-advisor, Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum., whose inputs I truly appreciate. Next, I would like to thank my parents, Sunarto and Sri

Wahyuni. Thank you for being the greatest parents on the planet earth, for all the love and supports, and thank you for always being there for me. My brother,

Rigel, you are my support system, my reminder that I have to be successful so you can rely on me.

My gratitude also goes to my beloved friends, Tata and Tasia, who always supported and accompanied me in writing this research. For Mbak Widya, my foodie in crime, thank you for being a big sister to me. Lastly, to all my friends whom I could not mention one by one, thank you for the joyful moments we shared. I will not forget it.

Narynda Tirta Kusumaningrum

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ...... ii APPROVAL PAGE ...... iii ACCEPTANCE PAGE ...... iv STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ...... v LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH .. vi MOTTO PAGE ...... vii DEDICATION PAGE ...... viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... x ABSTRACT ...... xii ABSTRAK ...... xiii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ...... 1 A. Background of the Study ...... 1 B. Problem Formulation ...... 3 C. Objectives of the Study ...... 3 D. Definition of Term ...... 3

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...... 4 A. Review of Related Studies ...... 4 B. Review of Related Theories ...... 8 1. Theory of Objectification ...... 9 2. Feminist Theory: Sisterhood and Solidarity...... 11 3. Radical Feminism ...... 13 C. Theoretical Framework ...... 16

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ...... 18 A. Object of the Study ...... 18 B. Approach of the Study ...... 19

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

C. Method of the Study ...... 21

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ...... 23 A. The Sexual Objectification toward Hannah Baker ...... 23 1. Instrumentality ...... 24 2. Reduction to Body ...... 27 3. Denial of Subjectivity ...... 29 B. Hannah Baker’s Responses toward Sexual Objectification She Received 31 1. Apathetic ...... 31 2. Resistance ...... 33 3. No rejection ...... 36

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ...... 39 REFERENCES ...... 41 APPENDIX ...... 43 Appendix 1: Summary of Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why ...... 43

xi PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ABSTRACT

KUSUMANINGRUM, NARYNDA TIRTA. (2020). Sexual Objectification toward Hannah Baker and Her Responses in Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Sanata Dharma. In the patriarchal society, a man places higher than a woman, and it creates gender inequality. Thus, gender inequality leads a woman to the issue of objectification. Objectification and feminism become the research object for the researcher to examine the sexual objectification received by Hannah Baker and her responses in the novel Thirteen Reasons Why (2007), a story written by Jay Asher. This novel depicted Hannah as a victim of male power. There are two objectives in this research. The first examines kinds of sexual objectification toward the female character Hannah Baker portrayed in the novel. The second discovers the responses of Hannah Baker toward the sexual objectification she received. There are several steps to achieve the objectives above. The approach used is the feminist approach. The theories used are objectification theory, feminist theory: sisterhood and solidarity, and radical feminism theory. First, close reading is applied for the primary sources, while sexual objectification toward Hannah is examined with the objectification theory. The second step analyzes Hannah’s responses in relation to the feminist theory: sisterhood and solidarity and radical feminism. The novel displays the example of traditional patriarchal gender and power relation. Hannah Baker’s relation with her male peers fulfill instrumentality, reduction to body, and denial of subjectivity. She shows three different responses to sexual objectification: apathetic, resistance, and no rejection. The lack of awareness toward sexual objectification makes her undertake an apathetic response. The realization that her value is reduced to a mere body makes her undertakes the resistance response. Lastly, the feeling of despair makes her undertakes the no rejection response. Moreover, the absence of sisterhood possibly becomes one of the reasons she gives up to provides resistance.

Keywords: sexual objectification, radical feminism, Thirteen Reasons Why

xii

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ABSTRAK

KUSUMANINGRUM, NARYNDA TIRTA. (2020). Sexual Objectification toward Hannah Baker and Her Responses in Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma. Dalam masyarakat patriarki, laki-laki ditempatkan lebih tinggi disbanding perempuan dan hal itu menimbulkan ketidaksetaraan gender. Dengan demikian, ketidaksetaraan gender membawa perempuan pada persoalan objektifikasi. Objektifikasi dan feminisme adalah objek peneliti untuk mengkaji objektifikasi seksual yang diterima oleh Hannah Baker dan responnya di dalam novel Thirteen Reasons Why (2007), sebuah cerita yang ditulis oleh Jay Asher. Novel ini menggambarkan Hana sebagai korban kekuasaan laki-laki. Penelitian ini memiliki dua tujuan. Tujuan pertama untuk menganalisis jenis obyektifikasi seksual terhadap karakter perempuan Hannah Baker. Tujuan yang kedua untuk mengetahui respon Hannah Baker terhadap objektifikasi seksual yang diterimanya. Terdapat beberapa langkah untuk mencapai tujuan tersebut. Pendekatan yang diterapkan adalah pendekatan feminis. Teori utama yang digunakan adalah teori objektifikasi, teori feminis: persaudarian dan solidaritas, dan teori feminism radikal. Pertama, close reading diterapkan untuk sumber utama penelitian saat obyektifikasi seksual terhadap Hana dikaji dengan teori obyektifikasi. Langkah kedua menganalisis tanggapan Hannah dalam kaitannya dengan teori feminis: persaudarian dan solidaritas dan feminis meradikal. Novel ini menampilkan contoh relasi gender patriarki dan relasi kekuasaan. Hubungan Hannah Baker dengan teman laki-lakinya merupakan bentuk dari instrumentalitas, pengurangan pada tubuh, dan penolakan sujektivitas. Hannah menunjukkan tiga respon berbeda terhadap objektifikasi seksual yang diterimanya, yaitu apatis, adanya perlawanan, dan ketiadaan penolakan. Minimnya kesadaran akan obyektifikasi seksual membuatnya memberikan respon apatis. Kesadaran bahwa dirinya hanya dinilai berdasarkan tubuhnya membuatnya memberikan respon perlawanan. Terakhir, perasaan putus asa membuat dia memberikan respon ketidakadaan penolakan. Absennya keterikatan persaudarian mungkin menjadi salah satu alasan dia menyerah untuk memberikan perlawanan.

Kata kunci: sexual objectification, radical feminism, Thirteen Reasons Why

xiii

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Society tends to treat men and women differently because society still holds on to a patriarchal system. The system believes that men are superior to women, where men have authority over women in all aspects of society. The situation where the man is placed higher than the woman creates gender inequality. Hence, gender inequality leads women to the issue of objectification; a woman rather than a human is just seen as an object without regarding her personality or dignity. The objectification mostly happens in the sexual context, so-called sexual objectification. Women’s sexual objectification occurs when someone treats a woman as an object in a sexual context (Langton, 2009, p. 314).

Under the patriarchal system, sexual objectification can happen anywhere and anytime. A common situation in daily life like gazing or leering at women’s bodies and whistling or honking the car horn at female passers-by considered as sexual objectification (Calogero, 2012, p. 574). Therefore, many people still assume that those actions are “a normal thing to do.” Furthermore, different people would react differently to the other when they received the same sexual objectification.

There is a lack of sexual objectification awareness in this society. Thus, in this research, the researcher wants to analyze Thirteen Reasons Why because the novel portrays the sexual objectification which happened in characters’ life, especially the main character Hannah Baker. The researcher is interested in

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

exploring the responses of Hannah Baker towards the sexual objectification she received and the possible factors that influence her responses using a feminist perspective.

Thirteen Reason Why is a debut novel by Jay Asher and was firstly published in 2007. The book gains popularity because of the exciting topic it carries.

It tells the story of Hannah Baker, a high school student who died because of committing suicide. In the story, Hannah makes seven tapes where she tells a story about her life, specifically how her life ended. Inside the tapes, there will be several names called, those who receive a package of tapes is one of the reasons why she killed herself, and after each person has completed listening to the tapes, they must pass the box on to the next person. During her high school lifetime, Hannah becomes a victim of sexual harassment by some men. She is being slut-shamed, and even raped by one of her school friends.

In Thirteen Reasons Why, Hannah is portrayed as a powerless girl and treated as an object. The researcher uses the theory of objectification to analyze the sexual objectification in Hannah Baker, specifically the seven notions that are involved in the idea of objectification by Nussbaum and the other three additions by Langton. The theory of sisterhood and solidarity is used to see the possible reasons behind Hannah’s responses to sexual objectification. Since this research discusses women’s issue and the sexual objectification which occurs in women, the appropriate approach to analyze this research is the feminist literary criticism approach.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

B. Problem Formulation

Based on the background of the study, two questions are formulated, as follows:

1. What kind of sexual objectification does Hannah Baker experience in Thirteen

Reasons Why?

2. How does Hannah Baker respond to the sexual objectification she received in

Thirteen Reasons Why?

C. Objectives of the Study

This research has two objectives of the study. The first objective is to identify the kinds of sexual objectification towards Hannah Baker. This research’s second objective is to observe Hannah Baker’s responses to the sexual objectification she received.

D. Definition of Term

Sexual objectification occurs whenever a woman’s body, body parts, or sexual functions are separated from her person, reduce to the status of mere instruments, or regarded as if they were capable of representing her (Bartky as cited in Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997, p.175). In the same perspective as Fredrickson and

Roberts, Nussbaum sees sexual objectification as, “In each case, a human being is being regarded and/or treated as an object, in the context of sexual relationship”

(1995, p. 216).

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A. Review of Related Studies

The topic of sexual objectification has already been studied several times by other researchers, and this research will present three studies. These studies are

“Entertainment to Exploitation: A Psyco-Analysis of Sexual Objectification of

Women in Films/Cinema” by Shaumaila Ahmed and Juliana Abdul Wahab (2016),

“Responding to Sexual Objectification: The Role of Emotions in Influencing

Willingness to Undertake Different Types of Action” by Lee Shepherd (2018), and

“Toxic Masculinity and Mental Health in Yong Women: An Analysis of 13

Reasons Why” by Angelique Jenney and Deinera Exner-Cortens (2018).

The first review is a journal article entitled “Entertainment to Exploitation:

A Psyco-Analysis of Sexual Objectification of Women in Films/Cinema” by

Shaumaila Ahmed and Juliana Abdul Wahab (2016). Ahmed and Wahab focus on

Bollywood films. They analyzed the sexual objectification in the popular movies

Jism 2 (2012) and Dirty Picture (2011) through the indicators of characterization, costume and body movements, and the male gaze. The analysis and findings by

Ahmed and Wahab are based on the objectification theory, male gaze theory, and

Feminist theory. The study reveals that women have just been shown as sexual objects in those films; they never took for their achievements in their lives except for the achievements they get through the pleasure they offer to the male gaze from the objectification of their body.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Dirty Picture is a story of a young girl named Silk, who wants to be a movie actress. She is not very beautiful and attractive in her looks but she uses her body as a mean to attract the producers for getting some roles in the films. At the same time, she plays sexually erotic roles to get popularity and success in her career as an actress. At last, she finds out that people just see the women body as an object for their sexual satisfaction (Ahmed & Wahab, 2016, p. 8).

The film emphasizes that women can succeed in their lives by providing their bodies as objects for men’s sexual satisfaction. Ahmed and Wahab found that while women characters are pictured as sex objects, men characters, on the other hand, are presented as an intelligent and independent human being. This kind of portrayal shows the sexual objectification of women for the sake of the male gaze and delivers men’s patriarchal control over women.

The second review is an article entitled “Responding to Sexual

Objectification: The Role of Emotions in Influencing Willingness to Undertake

Different Types of Action” by Lee Shepherd (2018). The study aims to disclose the role of expected emotions in promoting and deterring different anticipated responses to women’s sexual objectification. Shepherd found that the expected feeling of anger led women to undertake active responses. The expected emotion of disgust is negatively associated with the belief to undertake benign responses.

An expected feeling of shame increased the belief to undertake self-blame action, and the expected emotion of pride was positively associated with the anticipation to undertake the benign responses.

The last review is a journal article written by Angelique Jenney and Deinera

Exner-Cortens entitled “Toxic Masculinity and Mental Health in Yong Women: An

Analysis of 13 Reasons Why”. The article discusses the toxic masculinity that

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

becomes the root cause of Hannah Baker’s suicide. Even though several commentators have discussed that 13 Reasons Why does not describe the mental illness experienced by the protagonist and thus does not adequately present the

“psychology of suicide” and “why . . . the particular cruelties of high school hit her

[Hannah] with such irreparable force” (Silman, 2017), Jenney and Exner-Cortens argue that from a feminist social work perspective, this series does highlight the root explanation for mental state problems, which is the sexual violence and that this discussion of violence is sadly absent in the commentary on the novel and therefore the series.

Hannah Baker takes her own life as a result of her continuous exposure to toxic masculinity and her subsequent experiences of sexual violence. For this article, we define toxic masculinity as “the most extreme versions of hyper-masculine communities of practice . . . characterized by homophobia and the domination and subjugation of weaker men and women” (Jenney & Exner-Cortens, 2018, p. 441).

This article focused on three main themes; (1) the overwhelming presence of toxic masculinity, (2) slut-shaming as a form of devaluing the female body and female sexual expression, and (3) the failure of the adult system to adequately respond to youth. Consequences of toxic masculinity are on display throughout the series. In every episode of the series, the viewers are always shown examples of how toxic masculinity destroy Hannah’s well-being, mainly through how this type of masculinity leads to acts of sexual violence committed by Hannah’s peers. Toxic masculinity is used to show men’s power, and it is harmful to all genders.

Furthermore, Jenney and Exner-Cortens find that masculinity is presented as defending the female honor in the series.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

As discussed by Cowburn and Dominelli (2001), “men’s role as protector is a key feature of hegemonic masculinity and crucial to men’s identity as men in their relationships with others, especially women and children” (p. 17) (Jenney & Exner-Cortens, 2018, p. 412).

Multiple occasions where Hannah is held to a different sexual standard than her male peers and how she is implicated in her victimization for her assumed past behavior was shown within the series. Due to the false rumors of her sexual promiscuity, her friend Marcus sexually assaulted her on their first date just to confirm the rumor that she is ‘easy.’ Things get worse when Hannah’s poems about her relationship with her sexuality published in the school newspaper without her consent, causing even more slut-shaming and humiliation for Hannah. Jenney and

Exner-Cortens argue that throughout the series, female sexuality and desire are continually used as a tool to harm Hannah, and her narrative about the impacts of

Hannah’s slut-shaming experiences is clearly connected to her choice to commits suicide.

The three studies above have an essential role in doing this research because those studies brought the topic of sexual objectification that occurred in the literary works, which is a similar topic shown throughout the novel Thirteen Reasons Why.

Despite having a correlated topic, this research has a different object and approach from the three related studies. The first study, “Entertainment to Exploitation: A

Psyco-Analysis of Sexual Objectification of Women in Films/Cinema” by

Shaumaila Ahmed and Juliana Abdul Wahab (2016), helps the researcher understanding the sexual objectification to a female character from male gaze theory. Meanwhile, the second related study which is written by Lee Shepherd

(2018), “Responding to Sexual Objectification: The Role of Emotions in

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Influencing Willingness to Undertake Different Types of Action,” informs the researcher of the possible responses which women will undertake if they are sexually objectified while considering their emotions, the study involving actual participants that will open insight to analyzing Hannah Baker’s responses in this research. Lastly, Angelique Jenney and Deinera Exner-Cortens “Toxic Masculinity and Mental Health in Yong Women: An Analysis of 13 Reasons Why” (2018) gives the researcher analysis of how toxic masculinity opens a way to sexual objectification and becomes the foundation of Hannah Baker’s broken well-being in the 13 Reasons Why series version. Comparing this research with previous related studies, this research also highlights the same topic: sexual objectification received by female characters. Even though the three related studies have the same topic as the researcher, the researcher classifies the sexual objectification towards Hannah

Baker and analyses this research from radical feminism’s perspective and focuses on a different object of the study, namely the novel Thirteen Reasons Why. This research criticizes the failure of the book to show the female power and the never- ending oppression of women until the end of the story. The three related studies help the researcher in understanding the topic of sexual objectification more deeply.

B. Review of Related Theories

In order to answer the problem questions, some theories are used.

Therefore, in this section, the researcher explains the theories, including the theory of objectification, feminist theory: sisterhood and solidarity, and radical feminism.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

1. Theory of Objectification

Objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) provides a framework for understanding the experience of being female in a sociocultural context that sexually objectifies the female body. Women are not seen as a human being but an object which brings pleasure to men.

The sexual objectification makes a person seen as just an instrument; when one is treating as an object, where, in fact, a human being. Nussbaum (1995, p. 257) believes that instrumentality is not the only indicator of sexual objectification. She explains that seven notions are involved in the idea of objectification: a. Instrumentality

The first notion of objectification is instrumentality. It is a treatment of a person as a tool for the objectifier’s purpose. The purposes are various; it could be to shows power in a sexual relationship or for objectifier’s satisfactions. b. Denial of Autonomy

The second notion of objectification is the denial of autonomy. Denial of autonomy is when the objectifier treats a person as lacking in autonomy and self- determination. That person is lost control over his/her life, which means that he/she gives his/her life to be controlled by other persons.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

c. Inertness

Next is inertness, where the objectifier treats a person as lacking in agency, and perhaps also in an activity. When objectification occurs in inertness, someone is considered weak and passive, or in other words, someone is made to be passive. d. Fungibility

Fungibility is the treatment of a person as interchangeable with other objects of the same type and/or with objects of different types, which means regarding someone as the one who can be replaced. e. Violability

The treatment of a person as lacking in boundary integrity, as something that it is permissible to break up, smash, break into. It means that when someone is objectified, she/he is viewed as ‘violable.’ f. Ownership

The treatment of a person as something that is owned by another (can be bought or sold). g. Denial of Subjectivity

The treatment of a person as something whose experiences and feelings (if any) need not be taken into account means that their feeling is ignored.

Langton (2009, pp. 228-229) has added three more notions to Nussbaum’s list:

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

h. Reduction to Body

The treatment of a person as identified with their body, or body parts, means the objectifier values and grade another person based on their body or body parts. i. Reduction to Appearance

The treatment of a person primarily in terms of how they look, or how they appear to the senses; j. Silencing

The treatment of a person as if they are silent, lacking the capacity to speak, means the objectifier does not allow someone to speak on their own behalf; it cuts off speech freedom.

2. Feminist Theory: Sisterhood and Solidarity

In this society, sexism often expresses in the form of male domination, which leads to discrimination, exploitation, or oppression. It is women who are most victimized by sexist oppression. Thus, to end the sexist oppression, women must unite, take the initiative, and show the power of solidarity and sisterhood, that solidarity strengthens the resistance struggle. Camus (as cited in Bartlett, 2004) emphasizes the importance of home, friendship, community to provide inspiration and sustenance for the struggle (p. 119).

Sisterhood used to be a movement where women shared common oppression. Hooks explains the idea of sisterhood from white women liberationist’s perspective, which argues that women can unite because they are victims of the same oppression,

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

The vision of sisterhood evoked by women’s liberationists was based on the idea of common oppression. Needless to say, it was primarily bourgeois white women, both liberal and radical in perspective, who professed belief in the notion of common oppression (Hooks, 1984, pp. 43-44).

However, that idea of sisterhood cannot be used because it portrays women as a victim. Therefore, Hooks refuted that interpretation. She argued that the common oppression could not be used as a reference for establishing sisterhood.

Making common oppression the primary key of a sisterhood means ignoring cultural diversity and social life complexities.

The idea of “common oppression” was false and corrupt platform disguising and mystifying the true nature of woman’s varied and complex social reality. The shifted away from emphasis on sisterhood has occurred because many women, angered by the instance on “common oppression”, shared identity, sameness, criticized or dismissed feminist movement altogether. The emphasis on sisterhood was often seen as the emotional appeal masking the opportunism of manipulative bourgeois white women, it was seen as a cover-up hiding the fact that many women exploit and oppress other women (Hooks, 1984, p. 44).

The concept of bonding, which comes from ‘common oppression,’ also means that the basis of bonding is shared victimization; it is a sexist ideology where to be female is to be a victim. Therefore, sisterhood based on the concept of

‘common oppression’ is misrepresented. According to Hooks, the type of bonding that sisterhood essence in feminist theory is the bond between women based on shared strengths and resources (1984, p. 45).

In fact, sisterhood sees no race, no class, and no boundary. To establish sisterhood, women do not need to bend themselves based on their similarities, strengthen their ties by excluding and devaluing women outside their group.

Women without any boundary must fight together, bond on the basis of political

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

commitment to a feminist movement that aims to end sexist oppression (Hooks,

1984, p. 47). It should be underlined that sexist oppression does not only concern between women and men; there is also sexism between women where male supremacist values are expressed through suspicious, defensive, competitive behavior. Between women, male supremacist values are expressed through suspicious, defensive, competitive behavior. It is sexism that leads women to feel threatened by one another without a cause (Hooks, 1984, p. 47).

Women must learn to accept responsibility for fighting oppressions that may not directly affect them as individuals. The foundation of solidarity is when women understand each other differences to change misguided and distorted perspectives.

To experience solidarity, women must have a community of interests, shared beliefs, and goals to unite and build sisterhood. As Hooks said,

Women do not need to eradicate differences to feel solidarity. We do not need to share common oppression to fight equally to end oppression. We do not need anti-male sentiments to bond us together, so great is the wealth of experience, culture, and ideas we share to another. We can be sisters united by shared interests and beliefs, united in our appreciation, united in political solidarity. (Hooks, 1984, p. 65)

3. Radical Feminism

Radical feminism is one of the feminist branches that root the idea of conflict between sexes as a fundamental conflict and oppression toward women as a straight implication from patriarchal. There are three basic concepts of radical feminism; patriarchy, power, and oppression. Patriarchy needs power, causing repression and maintaining a control system, which without it, will lose a purpose.

At the same time, patriarchy within its system and rules allows physical contact and

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

another kind of social violence to whoever breaks the conceptual norms and rules of conduct. French emphasizes the importance of power within the patriarchy; the concept of power lies in the center of radical feminism analysis as the patriarchy essence and the central idea of abstract enemies that feminism has to face. French also explains furthermore about how the power works in the patriarchy,

The power is the process of the dynamic interaction. To have the power, in fact, means having access to the network of relations in which an individual can influence, threaten, or persuade others to do what he wants or what he needs. Although no other syntax is available, in fact it is wrong to talk about the ‘ownership’ of power. The individual has no power. It is awarded by a large number of other people to the one that dominates and such allocation is irrevocable (1985, p. 509).

Women receive oppression in all aspects of society, such as economic, political, social, and cultural rights. In that case, radical feminism focuses on the oppression of women through their sexuality. As Madsen explained,

The control of feminine sexuality is achieved through strategies such as the ideology of ‘compulsory heterosexuality’, restrictions upon the right to contraception and abortion, control of reproductive technologies including sterilization, and male sexual violence; all of which ensure masculine control of feminine sexuality. Other powerful strategies include the objectification of women; the creation of cultural artefact from women’s bodies; and the representation of dominance or male authority as sexual arousing (2000, p. 155).

Oppression is all about power relations; when a person feels like they have power, they will feel entitled to control others. That concept is in line with Tong’s opinion about the key to radical feminism, that the insistence that men’s control of women’s sexual and reproductive lives and their self-identity, self-respect, and self- esteem constituted the most fundamental of all oppression (2018, p. 42). To elaborate more, in the society in which the system is based on the power struggle

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

between sexes, women are inferior compared to men. That kind of system considered as a cause of the oppression, inequality, and injustice. The actions that become the repression against women, including the obligatory motherhood, means that become a mother is every women’s call; the limitation of reproductive freedom; the social construction of femininity and female sexuality through the creation and presentation of specific images; violence against women; and the institution that favor dominance of men over women such as the traditional family models where women must stay at home. As Ferguson and Folbre wrote,

Sexual freedom is important because women need to define themselves as sexual subject, not sexual object. We have to find ways to combat the commoditization of sexuality which oppresses women (e.g. the fight against pornography which associates sexual pleasure with violence against women) without falling into a puritanism which discredits the right to sexual pleasure as an end in itself (Ferguson & Folbre as cited in Eisenstein, 193, p.143).

Thus, in order to stop women oppression, radical feminism refuses the traditional gender roles and the way it presented or constructed in language, media, and also in the private life; anti-patriarchal construction of women’s sexuality with forbidding pornography and refusal to the traditional relationship between two sexes, that relationship between the same gender is possible and allowed; demand on the reproductive freedom.

Radical feminism offers an individual ‘awareness’ as the solution, a really fundamental change in society, in which the oppressed one begins to make decisions based on their feelings and thoughts. Only with that an individual could develop an awareness and make it possible to change the nature of social relations which inveterate in the patriarchal system. The only way to broke the patriarchal

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

system is the ‘revolution of ideas,’ where there will be a replacement of one model of thinking with others so that society could establish a system based on the human relations among people, which will not be defined by subordination or repression.

In this way, radical feminists believe that women and men whose self-assertion would no longer depend on the degree of other groups’ inferiority.

C. Theoretical Framework

This research title is “Sexual Objectification toward Hannah Baker and

Her Responses in Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why” This research aims to observe the kinds of sexual objectification received by Hannah Baker and her responses by relating it with the feminist approach. Therefore, two problem questions need to be answered to analyze this research.

The first problem question is to analyze the sexual objectification toward

Hannah Baker. Therefore, the theory of objectification is used because the theory could classify the sexual objectification received by Hannah Baker. The seven notions by Nussbaum and the three other notions by Langton help to identify the kinds of sexual objectification toward Hannah Baker.

The second problem question is to analyze Hannah Baker’s responses to sexual objectification she receives. The question was answered with a feminist perspective with the use of the theory of sisterhood and solidarity and radical feminism theory. The theories help the researcher analyze the possible reasons behind Hannah Baker’s undertaken responses and provide criticism.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Finally, by completing the analysis, this research expects to have temporary results that are insightful and critical. Thus, this research hopefully brings awareness of sexual objectification towards women.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter consists of three parts. The first part is the review of related studies, which states that the researcher conducted something new. The second part is the review of related theories, which contains the theory applied by the researcher to analyze the problem questions. The last part is the theoretical framework, which explains the contribution of the theories and reviews in solving the problems of the study.

A. Object of the Study

In this research, the object of the study is a novel by award-winning author,

Jay Asher, entitled Thirteen Reasons Why. This research analyses the main character named Hannah Baker. The book is a young adult novel with 288 pages in total, firstly published in 2007 by RazorBill and immediately became a bestseller after its release. However, for this research, the researcher uses Thirteen Reasons

Why’s 2017 edition published by Penguin Books. In 2008, the novel got several awards, including the California Book Award silver medal – Young Adult, Quick

Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers YALSA, Best Books for Young Adult

YALSA, and more awards in the following years such as South Carolina Young

Adult Book Award winner (2010) and Abraham Lincoln Award winner (2013), the book even became the #1 New York Times and International bestseller in July 2011.

Recently in 2017, Netflix adapted the novel to become a tv series with the same title.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

The novel tells the story of a high school student named Hannah Baker, the new girl in the town. Hannah, with her parents, move to the town months before her first year in high school. In the beginning, Hannah sees her move to the new town and new school as a good sign, as a second chance to live where she is the controller of how people see her. However, things do not go as well as she hopes to be. Being a new girl is not easy for Hannah Baker as she gets that reputation any girl never wants, a bad reputation based on fake rumors. She gets bullied, sexually harassed, and even raped by her male friend; those incidents led her into depression, and then she decided to take a pill to end her life. In her death, she leaves seven tapes to contain thirteen reasons why she commits suicide, where she mentions several names to take the blame for her death.

B. Approach of the Study

The approach used in this research is a feminist approach. The feminist approach is chosen because this research dealt with male power in a patriarchal society which oppressed women, as the approach is concerned with the ways in which literature (and other cultural productions) reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women (Tyson, 2006, p. 83). The feminist approach criticizes the false treatment toward women,

Feminists criticize the social disparities between the sexes that not only exclude women from personhood as that has been defined, that not only distort woman’s body and mind inseparably but also define personhood in ways that repugnant to us (MacKinnon, 1987, p. 2).

This approach aims to discuss the novel from the feminist perspective, which resists sexism in literature and provides a critique of the patriarchy. The feminist approach is used to discover the mistreatment of the character Hannah

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Baker as a woman and as a human. Moreover, it is used to disclose the broken society where Hannah Baker lives.

Furthermore, since this research focuses on the criticisms of women’s

‘image’ in society and the sexualization of women, this research specifically applies one of the feminism’s branches, namely the radical feminism, according to Echols,

Radical feminists articulated the earliest and most provocative critiques of the family, marriage, love, normative heterosexuality, and rape. They fought for safe, effective, accessible contraception; the repeal of all abortion laws; the creation of high-quality, community-controlled child-care centers; and an end to the media’s objectification of women (1989, p. 4).

Radical feminism allows women to experience sexual and reproductive freedom, destroying traditional morality. It demands equal consideration for women’s sexual pleasure and emotional needs, women’s right to pursue a sexual relationship as men always do with highly considerate women’s right to refuse sex.

The main goal of radical feminism can be successfully achieved when eradicating the sexual division on which our society is based. It needs both women and men to fight for it. According to Kreps, “there shall be no characteristics, behavior, or roles ascribed to any human being on the basis of sex” (In other words, we must fight the myth of the so-called “female” character (men should fight the myth of the “male”)

(Koedt, Levine, & Rapone, 1973, p. 239). Society still holds in the perception which domination is masculine and, therefore erotic in men; passivity is feminine, therefore erotic in women (Madsen, 2000, p. 154). Therefore, it needs to change, destroy the class sex system. By doing so, the two sexes are seen as equal, and there will be no superior or inferior sex when they realize that ‘male character’ and

‘female character’ are just a myth.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

In this research, radical feminism is applied to see how the character Hannah

Baker portrayed not as a subject but as an object in the entire story, and how all of her male peers become her ‘enemy.’ Therefore, radical feminism is suitable to re- examine the oppression of women in Thirteen Reasons Why.

C. Method of the Study

The study employs a library research method. According to Zed “Library research is a research used library sources to obtain research data” (2004, p. 1), meaning that the sources are taken from some printed and electronic sources, a process of collecting data by reading books, articles, or essays. The primary source which the researcher used is the novel Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. As the secondary sources, the researcher used several books, journals, and articles related to objectification theory, sisterhood theory, radical feminist criticism. Some essential sources in this research are A Handbook of Critical Approaches to

Literature by Guerin, Philosophy and Public Affairs by Nussbaum, Objectification

Theory: Toward Understanding Women’s Lived Experiences and Mental Health

Risks by Fredrickson and Roberts.

There are several steps involved in completing this research. At the start of the analysis, the researcher read the whole novel to closely examine the story, plot, characters, and setting of the book. In the second step, the researcher continued to analyze the sexual objectification that Hannah Baker received using the theory of objectification, precisely seven notions by Nussbaum and three additions by

Langton. Afterward, the researcher analyzed the responses of Hannah Baker to sexual objectification she received and the possible factors that influence her

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

responses by applying the theory of sisterhood and solidarity and connecting it with the radical feminist criticism. In the last step, the researcher took the conclusion based on the analysis.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

This chapter presents an analysis of the problem questions. First, the researcher discusses the kind of sexual objectification toward Hannah Baker. Next is the way Hannah Baker responds to sexual objectification. All of these discussions are conducted through the radical feminist perspective.

A. The Sexual Objectification toward Hannah Baker

Radical feminism claims that men have control over women’s bodies and sexuality in this patriarchal society, and women are oppressed through their sexuality. Those situations perpetuate the objectification of women. In the story,

Hannah Baker becomes the victim of ‘man’s power,’ which makes her a sexual object.

The kind of objectification experienced by Hannah Baker is conducted through several steps. In Nussbaum and Langton’s theory of objectification, it is mentioned that there are ten notions to indicate the kind of objectification, namely instrumentality, denial of autonomy, inertness, fungibility, violability, ownership, denial of subjectivity, reduction to body, reduction to appearance, and silencing.

After applying those notions in analyzing the objectification toward the character, the results of the kinds of objectification are instrumentality, denial of subjectivity, and reduction to body.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

1. Instrumentality

Instrumentality is when a person regarding another person as a tool for his or her purpose. In the story, Justin uses Hannah as a tool to show his manliness, an achievement of him. It happens in cassette 1: side A, Justin Foley asks Hannah

Baker to meet him at the park. As Hannah has a crush on him, she agrees to go there. At that night, Justin kisses Hannah, and she is granting her consent, “I simply wanted a kiss. I was a freshman girl who had never been kissed. Never. But I liked a boy, he liked me, and I was going to kiss him” (Asher, 2017, pp. 23-24).

However, after that night, so many stories pop up. Justin starts bragging about what he ‘did’ with Hannah Baker to his friends, and the ‘story’ about that night spreading around the school, the ‘story’ as Clay Jensen states, “Hannah took off her shirt and let Justin put his hands up her bra. That’s it. That’s what I heard happened in the park that night” (Asher, 2017, p. 25).

The imagination of Justin Foley toward Hannah Baker fulfills instrumentality. Foley sees Baker as a tool to shows his male power, where he could conquer women easily. The kiss is the only thing that actually happened, “You didn’t shove your tongue down my throat. You didn’t grab my butt. We just held our lips together . . . and kissed. And that’s it” (Asher, 2017, p. 29).

The kiss is not enough for Justin to show his power; thus, he brags about the

‘more than a kiss’ and starts the rumor about him and Hannah to his buddies. Justin and Hannah do not view their date in the same way; Hannah sees it romantically, on the other hand, Justin sees it as an opportunity to make an intimate move toward

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Hannah. In the eyes of their peers, Foley manages to get the attention of the new girl, and with the rumor he disseminates, he makes the new girl his trophy.

Secondly, Alex Standall sexually harassed Hannah and the other girls to fulfill his purpose. In cassette 1: side B, Alex Standall makes a list of

WHO’S/WHO’S NOT FRESHMAN (Asher, 2017, p. 39), specifically it’s a list of girls who have the best ass and who are not. Alex writes Hannah’s name at the top of the list as the girl with the best ass, and he puts Jessica Davis, who is his ex, as the worst one. He sexually harassed Hannah, Jessica, and the other girls on the list to get what he wants, which is a ravage to Jessica Davis, as Hannah states, “I don’t think my ass—as you call it—was the deciding factor. I think the deciding factor

… was revenge” (Asher, 2017, p. 40).

Hannah and Jessica were friends first, and when Alex met them at the

Monet’s Garden Café & Caffee House, he joined the friendship. However, things did not work out, and they slowly drifted apart. The truth is Alex and Jessica had a romantic relationship behind Hannah’s back. They broke up, though, and then happened the ‘list’ incident where Alex uses Hannah’s name to put down Jessica,

You needed name to put down opposite Jessica’s. and since everyone at school already had a perverted image of me after Justin’s little number, I was the perfect choice, wasn’t I? (Asher, 2017, p. 41).

Alex takes advantage of Hannah’s ‘image’ created by Justin. The other reason why Alex chooses Hannah is that the three of them—Hannah, Jessica, and

Alex—were friends at first. There is some bonding where using Hannah is more hurtful for Jessica compared to anyone else. Therefore, the action of Alex is an instrumentality.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Last but not least, Marcus asks Hannah to go on a date and touches her to fulfill his curiosity. In cassette 3: side B, Marcus asks Hannah to go out with him for an ice cream date; however, it is not a regular date. Marcus comes with a purpose. It looks obvious when he starts to come closer and touches Hannah out of sudden. A person with manner will not make an intimate touch in the first date, moreover they even barely know each other, “I couldn’t look away as your fingertips caressed my knee…and starting moving up…your hand was touching my leg. My upper thigh.” (Asher, 2017, p. 143). Then Hanna finds out that Marcus does not come on his own,

I looked over the back of the booth to the other booths, to the counter, trying to catch someone’s eye. And a few people glanced over, but they all turned away (Asher, 2017, p. 142).

Hannah recognizes one of Marcus’ friends, Zach, and that is the moment everything becomes more apparent. They are here because they want to know the rumors, and Marcus is the hook. They want to get a ‘verification’ of Hannah’s reputation.

By employing Nussbaum and Langton’s theory of objectification in analyzing Hannah Baker’s relation with her male peers in term of instrumentality notion from all the aforementioned questions and discussion, the novel displays some examples of power relation where a person could treat another person as an object by exploiting them for their own sake. The first example is how Justin Foley views his date with Hannah Baker as a merely typical sexual practice of ‘initiation’ toward Hannah as a ‘new girl.’ Meanwhile, Hannah Baker views it as a romantic date and not a sexual one to start a new relationship with a new friend, as illustrated

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

in ‘lip kissing’; it is a romantic initiation for a first-year student. On the contrary,

Justin Foley’s perspective of sexual objectification in instrumentality notion can clearly be seen in the way he brags about taking control of Hannah Baker’s body to his peers as proof of ‘victory’ in becoming the first one who gains access to the body of the new girl. Similarly, Alex Standall’s view of objectifying Hannah Baker can also be seen in the way he sexually harassed her in order to get ravage. Both

Justin and Alex’s intention is to gain power as a male. Thus, showing that women can be exploited and utilized in the way his male peers such as Marcus and Zach would also like to ‘check out’ Hannah’s body to confirm the rumors.

2. Reduction to Body

Reduction to body is the treatment of a person as identified with their body or body parts. In the list of WHO’S/WHO’S NOT FRESHMAN, Alex Standall generally objectified all of his female peers in that list. In the previous analysis,

Alex’s action fulfills instrumentality because he exploits Hannah to show his male power. However, instrumentality is not the only notion that could categorize his wrongdoing; the list also fulfills reduction to body. Alex values all the girls in

WHO’S/WHO’S NOT FRESHMAN list based on their body part, and Hannah

Baker is on that list as the best one. Furthermore, the incident of the ‘list’ leads to another one. “It gives people—some people—the go ahead to treat you like you’re nothing but that specific body part” (Asher, 2017, p. 44).

The impact of the ‘list’ brings Hannah to the other sexual harassment and objectification. When Hannah in the Blue Spot Minimarket, Willy—the cashier— stares at her ass as he knows about the list. “Wally’s eyes were focused down, just

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

beyond the edge of the counter, near my waist, and I knew what was coming”

(Asher, 2017, p. 47). What happened next is even worse; a stranger boy suddenly smacked Hannah’s ass in front of Willy and simply declares that he is just joking, like Hannah’s ass is his play-toy. “A cupped hand smacked my ass. Best Ass in the

Freshman Class, Wally. Standing right here in your store!” (Asher, 2017, pp. 47-

48).

The ‘image’ of Hannah and the ‘list’ justifies people to touch her as if she were just a mere object, treat her like she is nothing but that specific body part. The thing is, when a person is once being objectified, she will lose her personhood.

That’s what happened to Hannah. There will be other objectifiers who will objectify her. Her identity is no longer ‘a girl named Hannah Baker’ but ‘a girl with the best ass’; she is reduced to a body to be looked at, evaluated, and exploited by others.

By employing Nussbaum and Langton’s theory of objectification in analyzing Hannah Baker’s relation with her male peers in term of reduction to body notion, the novel displays some examples of power relation where a person could make another person as an object by viewing them not as a whole human being but as a body part. The first example, Alex Standall’s view of objectifying his female peers, can also be seen in the way he rates and grades the value of his female peers’ bodies. The second example, women’s values and assets are their bodies that can be ravished by men in the way the stranger boy ‘testing’ Hannah’s ass as if he is confirming the validity of the list.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

3. Denial of Subjectivity

Denial of subjectivity is when a person treats another person whose feeling does not need to be considered. Therefore, his or her feeling is being ignored.

Marcus’s action in their ice cream date not only fulfill instrumentality but also the denial of subjectivity when he refuses to stop his intimate move toward Hannah even though she already begging him to stop, not only once but twice, “Stop it…Stop it” (Asher, 2017, p. 143). However, what Marcus does is telling her to stop being worried instead of pulling his hand away. That is an action of neglecting

Hannah’s right over her own body.

Denial of subjectivity also happens to Hannah when Bryce Walker forces her to have sex with him. In cassette 6: side B, Hannah shares a story at the night when she walks down through the neighborhood after a party thrown by Courtney, which only two houses far from hers—she does not attend the party—. When

Hannah reaches Courtney’s home, someone calls her name; it is Bryce on the side of Courtney’s house. He asks Hannah to join them—Bryce and Courtney—in the hot tub, and she does so.

The nightmare starts when Bryce is slowly approaching and touching

Hannah, “And Bryce slid over . . . slowly . . . across the underwater bench. And his shoulder rested against mine … your fingertips touched the outside of my thigh”

(Asher, 2017, p. 263). When then happens, Courtney decides to leave Bryce and

Hannah on their own, “Courtney was walking away” (Asher, 2017, p. 264).

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Even though Hannah Baker does not say ‘no’ out loud, her reactions do not show any approval to Bryce Walker’s action when he starts touching her, and there is no excitement from Hannah.

Bryce, you had to see my jaw clench. You had to see my tears. Does that kind of shit turn you on? … I did not say no or push his hand away. All I did was turn my head, clench my teeth, and fight back tears. And he saw that. He even told me to relax (Asher, 2017, pp. 264-265).

Still, there is no excuse for what he does to Hannah. Her reactions show the refusal, and Bryce ignores it. He does not care about her consent nor her responses.

Bryce is not considering her feeling is essential. When a person treats another person as a human, they will be considering that other person’s feelings about his or her behavior. Even when Bryce sees Hannah’s tears, he tells Baker to relax rather than discontinue what he is doing. Bryce does that because he just sees Hannah as a feelingless object.

By employing Nussbaum and Langton’s theory of objectification in analyzing Hannah Baker’s relation with her male peers in terms of denial of subjectivity notion, the novel displays some examples of power relations where a person could make another person as an object by taking over the ownership of one’s body. Both Marcus and Bryce’s view of objectifying women can be seen in the way they neglect Hannah’s ownership over her own body; they colonize

Hannah’s body.

B. Hannah Baker’s Responses Toward Sexual Objectification She Received

The researcher has read the book Thirteen Reasons Why several times to understand and examine closely the kind of sexual objectification received by

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Hannah Baker. In this analysis, the study focused on how Hannah Baker reacted to sexual objectification and examined her responses from a radical feminist perspective. The goal of radical feminism is sexual freedom for women, and it means that woman is a sexual subject and the absolute owner of her own body.

This part reveals the three steps of Hannah’s responses. She is apathetic at first, and at some points, she starts to show some refusals until she decides to give up.

1. Apathetic

Hannah Baker ignores all of the ‘rumors’ spread by Justin and chooses to keep silent. She does not give any clarifications to anyone. The same response also happened when she is being objectified in the hot freshman list as a girl who has the best ass, she does not take it seriously, and she does not even care about it. “I didn’t care why I was on the list. At the time, I don’t think I even cared which side of the list I was on” (Asher, 2017, p. 39).

She is more concerned about how the list makes a drastic change in her friendship with Jessica Davis. At that time, their company has already strained.

However, the list makes it worse. Jessica thinks that there is a ‘thing’ between

Hannah and Alex, that Hannah is backstabbing her, and both of them are mocking her through the list. She is obviously angry,

As expected, Jessica Davis looked pissed. Why? Because right next to my name, but in the other column, was hers. Her pencil tapped against her notebook at Morse code–speed and her face was burning red (Asher, 2017, p. 40).

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

The foundation of Jessica’s thinking is again coming from Hannah’s reputation made by Justin; she said, “Hannah, you said. I know the rumors” (Asher,

2017, p. 65) as if the rumors are absolute proof that Hannah is an easy girl. In this stage, Hannah is not aware yet that the list will change people’s views of her.

Hannah’s passive response toward the sexual objectification, especially toward the list incident, is because, for her, the list is just a ravage tool by Alex to put down Jessica. Hannah disregards the sexual objectification of the list; she only focuses on the assumption that the list is just Alex’s way of getting revenge against

Jessica. Her focus on his relationship with Jessica made her unaware that apart from

Alex, who values people based on their body part, Alex’s behavior in using her as a ‘fishing rod’ is also an objectification. She does not realize that Alex’s action is more than just an act of revenge. It is a patriarchal practice where women can be exploited and judged at will.

By being apathetic, she gives more room and space for the oppressive practice of patriarchal gender relations. Her decision to be passive is ineffective in stopping sexual objectification; the absence of resistance exacerbates objectification. Emphasize again the belief grown in a patriarchal society that it is natural for women to be ‘passive’ and men to be ‘active.’ Thus, exploitation and evaluation of women are normal, and men are the holders of power. Therefore, it is the total opposite of radical feminist belief.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

2. Resistance

The analysis above shows that Hannah Baker undertakes the apathetic response and even does not care about the sexual objectification she received.

However, shortly after that, she begins to realize that the rumors spread by Justin and Alex’s list make people’s view of her is no longer a human as a whole but reduce into just an easy girl with the best ass. It is the moment when Hannah decides to show some resistance. Using her action, Hannah has asked the objectifier to stop.

She fights back at the boy in Blue Spot who smacked her ass, “I knocked his hand away with a quick backhand swipe that every girl should master” (Asher, 2017, p.

48).

The second resistance is when she is on a date with Marcus Cooley. She shows some different rejections to him. At first, she tries to take off Marcus’ fingers in her thigh slowly with begging eyes, to show that it is uncomfortable to her,

Below the table, my fingers were fighting to pry your fingers off. To loosen your grip. To push you away. And I didn’t want to yell—it wasn’t to that level yet—but my eyes were begging for help. But everyone turned away. No one asked if there was a problem (Asher, 2017, p. 143).

However, no one seems to care, and Marcus still won’t stop. Hannah tries to speak up her mind, begging him to stop, whispering to him, not only once but twice, “Stop it…Stop it” (Asher, 2017, p. 143). However, what Marcus does is telling her to stop being worried instead of pulling his hand away. That is when

Hannah feels she needs to take action; she pushes him until he falls to the floor. “Your hand immediately slid up from my thigh. All the way up. So, I rammed both of my hands into your side, throwing you to the floor” (Asher, 2017, p. 143).

And it works; Marcus then leaves her immediately.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Hannah’s resistance to objectification she received does not only take the form of physical resistance. Her decision to accept Marcus’s date offer can actually be said to be resistance. She honestly does not believe him because he is one of

Alex’s group. After the ‘list’ incident, she loses her trust in the people like Justin and Alex, “I was like little wary of Marcus. A little suspicious. But not of him so much as the people he hangs out with” (Asher, 2017, p. 135). However, for Hannah, this moment is precisely for her to little by little open herself, so that people would know the real her, to let people know that the rumors are just rumors,

Because that’s exactly what I wanted for me. I wanted people to trust me, despite anything they’d heard. And more than that I want them to know me. Not the stuff they thought they knew about me…I wanted them to get past the rumors (Asher, 2017, p. 135).

Her action in trying to open up herself is a form of resistance because it means she is ready to stand for herself by disproving what people think of her; she tries to build a fortress by disproving the assumptions about her. People see Hannah

Baker as an object which can be touch as they please. She no longer ignores the sexual objectification toward herself when the sexual objectification involves physical contact. Because of the sexual objectification, she is sexually harassed.

Physical refusal does not guarantee a complete stop to objectification. Still, at least it will stop the objectifier’s actions right away, like Marcus’s case on their date, which immediately left when Hannah pushed him. However, explicit rejection like this could cause a risk, making the objectifier angry, as happened in the stranger boy’s case. As Hannah states,

I had the door in sight, ready to leave, when he grabbed my wrist and spun me around. He said my name, and when I looked into his eyes the joking was gone. I yanked my arm, but his grip was tight (Asher, 2017, p. 50).

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

This reaction is caused by the objectifier who feels his masculinity is disturbed; the patriarchy places him, the man, as the power holder, and when a woman breakthrough this power, it hurts his pride. Thus, when Hannah knocks down the stranger boy, he feels like he is being belittled by Hannah and can’t take such resistance instead of feeling guilty.

Hannah’s refusal proves she still has power over herself and tries to claim her own body. A woman is placed in an awry position; when she tries to fight back over the harasser, she could experience the violence, but when she chooses to be passive, objectification will get worse.

Radical feminists point out that in order to stop sexual objectification, the role of women who exert their power to fight back is not enough. Men must also realize that no sex is superior to others. Thus, no one feels they have the power to demean the other sex.

3. No Rejection

The resistance she shows does not last long because when Bryce Walker rapes and makes her an object with no feeling to consider, she stops stand for herself.

Until Bryce. So congratulations, Bryce. You’re the one. I let my reputation catch up with me—I let my reputation become me— with you. How does it feel? You were touching me . . . but I was using you. I needed you, so I could let go of me, completely (Asher, 2017, pp. 264-265).

Hannah’s decision to be passive when Bryce touches her is based on despair.

She makes Bryce’s rape the finish line for her life, using Bryce to end it all. Hannah is fed up with all the rumors circulating about her, and when she feels like she is at

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

the dead-end and there is no future for her, Hannah turns the rumors about her into reality and makes it her closure.

The snowball effect continues to roll; Hannah Baker’s physical contact, the sexual harassment she received because of sexual objectification toward her become more extreme. As everyone has a limit on something, this accident is the limit of Hannah Baker. She chooses to stop showing resistance because she already gives up. She is a perseverant girl, and she tried to stay alive to get out of her depression until the end. However, she is also a fragile girl; that character plays a role in her decision to give up. Hannah gives up to fight back to be seen as human.

Radical feminists refuse man’s control of women’s sexuality and reproductive life, self-identity, self-respect, and self-esteem. However, the novel depicted the opposite of it. Justin takes over Hannah’s self-identity with the rumors he spread, her self-respect crushed by Alex with his list, makes people lose respect for her and her body. It is her male peers who take control of her self-identity, self-respect, and self-esteem.

To examine the possible factor behind why she undertakes a ‘no rejection’ response, let us take a look at her background. Hannah is the only child in her family. Both of her parents are working; they run a small store. However, things are difficult lately when a supermarket was open near their town. It makes their attention split up and not give enough attention to Hannah. As she states,

My parents love me. I know they do. But things have not been easy recently. Not for about a year. Not since you-know-what opened outside of town… when that happened, my parents become distant. There was suddenly a lot of them to think about. A lot of pressure to make ends meet. I mean, they talked to me, but not like before (Asher, 2017, p. 169).

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

The absence of her parents’ attention toward her can also be seen in the way her mother does not realize the changing of Hannah’s appearance when she cuts her hair. “When I cut my hair, my mom didn’t even notice” (Asher, 2017, p. 169).

Being an only child and losing parents’ role, making ‘friendship’ the only thing left for Hannah to rely on. Weil regarded friendship above all other human relations, characterized it as a relationship in which both parties allow each other autonomy, with no desire to dominate or wish to please, each respecting the distinctness of each other (as cited in Bartlett, 2004, pp.120-121). However, Hannah

Baker even barely has a friend. We can see from her conversation with her counseling teacher, Mr.Potter,

—What about your friends? You’re going to have to define “friends” if you want an answer to that question. —Don’t tell me you don’t have friends, Hannah. I see you in the halls. Seriously, I need a definition. How do you know what a friend is? —Someone you can turn to when . . . Then I don’t have any. That’s why I’m here, isn’t it? I’m turning to you (Asher, 2017, p. 271).

Sisterhood is a place for feminism to defeat sexist oppression, wherein, in

Hannah’s case, she is being exploited by male domination. In sisterhood, women do not have to share victimization to bond. They just need to be united despite all differences to fight sexist oppression. However, Jessica, who was previously her friend, is being suspicious, defensive, competitive toward Hannah. Those attitudes are caused by the sexist oppression of fellow women, where it is sexism that makes women feel threatened by each other for no reason.

The absence of sisterhood possibly influenced Baker’s change of response from resistance to non-resistance. People are so empowered by the love and

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

affirmation they receive and give gain strength to continue day after day to work for justice. In feminist, sisterhood becomes an essential aspect of women’s survival because, in sisterhood, they share strengths and solidarity. Thus, solidarity strengthens resistance struggle.

She has no chance to build a sisterhood bonding when she even barely has a friend. That condition makes her struggle on her own. She has no place to go, a place for her to feel safe, where she can share her struggles and gain her strength.

Hannah is all alone in this world; she even has no place to tell her stories.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

The study focused on the woman’s main character, named Hannah

Baker. In this research, there were two problem questions. The first problem analyzed and classified the sexual objectification toward Hannah. The second problem analyzed the responses of Hannah Baker. In this chapter, the researcher concludes the findings of the two problem questions.

Hannah Baker was depicted as an object in the Thirteen Reasons Why. The novel displays some examples of traditional patriarchal gender and power relation from the aforementioned questions and discussions. She experienced sexual objectification and sexual harassment (which is often comprised of sexually objectifying behaviors). The researcher found three out of ten notions that could classify the sexual objectification towards Hannah Baker; they are instrumentality where Hannah is exploited and utilized by his male peers, reduction to body where

Hannah’s values and assets, are her bodies that can be ravished by men, and denial of subjectivity where men neglect Hannah’s ownership over her own body.

The sexual objectification received by Hannah Baker started from the one small kind of objectification and then led to more and more extreme kind of sexual objectification. As many women also experience more extreme forms of sexual objectification via actual sexual victimization (i.e., rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment; Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997).

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Hannah Baker showed some responses to the sexual objectification she received. She used to ignore the objectifier and then started to resist it. However, the refusal did not last long because, in the end, Hannah gave up when Bryce raped her, and it was the peak of her sexual objectification. The absence of sisterhood possibly influencing Hannah Baker’s responses toward sexual objectification she received. Friendship and sisterhood can’t promise to solve all of the problems which face feminism. However, it would still make drastic changes.

It can be said that Hannah could not stand for herself in the end, so the book does not stand for women. The book depicted how cruel the patriarchal world for women is, and it is men who have control over women’s bodies and dignity, which is the enemy of radical feminism. Hannah should have rejected being labeled as an object until the end. The book gives nothing of the feminist view; women are still treated as objects until the end of the story.

This research has uncovered the patriarchal ideologies in the novel Thirteen

Reasons Why through the portrayal of Hannah Baker’s life. The researcher would also like to invite other researchers to explore gender relations in Thirteen Reasons

Why to further enrichment of gander power relation studies.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

REFERENCES

Ahmed, S., & Wahab, J. A. (2016). Entertainment to Exploitation: A Psycho- Analysis of Sexual Objectification of Women in Films/Cinema. International Journal of Management and Applied Science, 5-8. Retrieved from http://www.iraj.in/journal/journal_file/journal_pdf/14-272- 14695108535-8.pdf Asher, J. (2017). Thirteen Reasons Why. London: Penguin Books Ltd. Bartlett, E. A. (2004). Rebellious Feminism: Camus’s Ethic of Rebellion and Feminist Thought. New York: Palgrave Macmillan™. Calogero, R. (2012). Objectification Theory, Self-Objectification, and Body Image. In T. F. Cash, Encyclopedia of Body Image and Human Appearance, Vol.2 (pp. 574-580). San Diego: Academic Press. Echols, A. (1989). Daring to Be Bad: Radical Feminism in America, 1967-75. London: University of Minnesota Press. Eisenstein, H. (1983). Contemporary Feminist Thouht. Boston: G. K Hall & Co. Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T.-A. (1997). Objectification Theory: Toward Understanding Women’s Lived Experiences and Mental Heath Risks. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. French, M. (1985). Beyond Power: On Women, Men and Morals. New York: Ballantine Books. Hooks, B. (1984). Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. Boston: South End Press. Jenney, A., & Exner-Cortens, D. (2018). Toxic Masculinity and Mental Health in Young Women: An Analysis of 13 Reasons Why. Journal of Women and Social, 410-417. doi:10.1177/0886109918762492 Koedt, A., Levine, E., & Rapone, A. (1973). Radical Feminism. New York: Times Book. Langton, R. (2009). Sexual Solipsism: Philosophical Essay on Pornography and Objectification. Oxford: Oxford University Press. MacKinnon, C. A. (1987). Feminist Unmodified: Discourse of Life and Law. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Madsen, D. L. (2000). Feminist Theory and Literary Practice. London: Pluto Press. Nussbaum, M. C. (1995). Objectification. In Philosophy and Public Affairs (Vol. 24, pp. 249-291). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Shepherd, L. (2018). Responding to Sexual Objectification: The Role of Emotions in Influencing Willingness to Undertake Different Types of Action. Sex Roles, 25-40. doi:10.1007/s11199-018-0912-x Tong, R. (2018). Feminist Thought: A More Comprehensive Introduction 5th Edition. New York: Routledge. Tyson, L. (2006). Critical Theory Today: A User Friendly Guide, 2nd Edition. New York: Routledge. Zed, M. (2004). Metodologi Penelitian Kepustakaan . Jakarta: Yayasan Pustaka Obor Indonesia.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

APPENDIX

Appendix 1: Summary of Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why tells the story of a high school student named

Hannah Baker, the new girl in the town. Hannah, with her parents, move to the town months before her freshman year begin. In the beginning, Hannah sees her move to the new town and new school as a good sign, as a second chance to live where she is the controller of how people see her. However, things do not go as well as she hopes to be. Being a new girl is not easy for Hannah Baker as she gets that reputation any girl never wants, a bad reputation based on fake rumors. She gets bullied, sexually harassed, and even raped by her male friend; those incidents led her into depression, and then she decided to take a pill to end her life. In her death, she leaves seven tapes to contain thirteen reasons why she commits suicide, where she mentions several names to take the blame for her death.