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University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 5-2019 Sastra Buruh Migran Indonesia: Crossing Borders and Proposing a New Concept of Indonesian Domestic Workers Tri Murniati University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the Asian Studies Commons, Comparative Literature Commons, and the South and Southeast Asian Languages and Societies Commons Recommended Citation Murniati, Tri, "Sastra Buruh Migran Indonesia: Crossing Borders and Proposing a New Concept of Indonesian Domestic Workers" (2019). Theses and Dissertations. 3169. https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/3169 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Sastra Buruh Migran Indonesia: Crossing Borders and Proposing a New Concept of Indonesian Domestic Workers A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor Philosophy in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies by Tri Murniati Universitas Diponegoro Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature, 2003 Universitas Diponegoro Master of Arts in English Literature, 2010 May 2019 University of Arkansas This dissertation is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. ______________________________________ Yajaira M. Padilla, Ph.D. Dissertation Director ______________________________________ Mohja Kahf, Ph.D. Committee Member _______________________________________ Sean Teuton, Ph.D. Committee Member Abstract In recent years, Indonesian migrant women who seek employment as domestic workers in foreign countries have caught the Indonesian reading public’s attention with their novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction writings. Creative work by migrant domestic workers was established as a genre when Denok Kanthi Rokhmatika, a domestic worker who works in Hong Kong published her collection of short stories Negeri Elok nan Keras dimana Kami Berjuang (Beautiful and Tough Country where We Struggle) in 2002 (Insani and Raihan iii). The publication marks the birth of a new genre, which has become known as “Sastra Buruh Migran Indonesia” (SBMI: Indonesian migrant worker’s literature). This dissertation explores the portrayal of IDWs’ migratory experiences as manifested in their narratives. In this dissertation, I use the term IDWs’ narratives to refer to SBMI. I argue that IDWs’ narratives, as the creative work of IDWs, challenge the stereotypes that are associated with this community (for example, that IDWs are uneducated, stupid, gaudy, unskilled, and not good for anything besides domestic work) and also overturn the derogatory perceptions of the workers that are produced and reproduced through media outlets. IDWs’ narratives also have the potential to offer a new and fresh lens to address IDWs’ identity and plights in their host countries. Their writings show that these women are not merely laborers who clean and tend to their employers’ needs. IDWs need to adapt to a wide variety of cultural, social, and linguistic tensions and conflicts in the host countries. They have to be not only “doers” but also “thinkers” and deal with a wide range of practical as well as emotional issues in strange and unusual surroundings. By writing their own stories, these migrant women are able to assert and navigate their subjectivities. Articulating their stories by using the first- person perspective, IDWs try to contest stereotypes and propose new definitions of domestic work and those who perform it. Finally, their writing reveals the struggles that IDWs face in asserting their rights as human beings, for in the process of migration, these women are often dehumanized. ©2019 by Tri Murniati All Rights Reserved Acknowledgement My sincere gratitude goes to my committee chair, Prof. Yajaira M. Padilla, who has thoughtfully and patiently read my dissertation and given me critical feedback and valuable suggestion. Without her guidance and persistent support, this dissertation would not have been possible. I further express my gratitude to my committee members, Prof. Mohja Kahf and Prof. Sean Teuton for providing insights and comments. I owe special thanks to my writing group buddies, Hashintha Jayasinghe and Katherine Serio and my first dissertation draft reader, ibu Diane Sorensen-Ungar. I also want to thank the David Mullins Library and the Interlibrary Loan office. I’m equally thankful to the Sridjajamerta family (Mbak Keukeu, Mas Tedy and Yahya), Befrika Murdianti and Yheni Dwiningsih for the wonderful friendship and constant support during my study and stay in Fayetteville. Lastly, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my parents, sisters and brother for their endless support and prayer. Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………… 1 Notes on Translation…………………………………………………………………. 6 Current Scholarship………………………………………………………………….. 6 Domestic Work, Migration and Border Studies……………………………………... 9 Overview of the Dissertation………………………………………………………… 14 Chapter One……………………………………………................................................... 20 Migration, Borders, and Border Crossing……………………………………………. 24 Migrants’ Experiences and the Production of Political Subjectivity………………… 28 Situating IDWs in the Host Country: IDWs’ Narratives and Border Challenges……. 29 Cultural Barrier………………………………………………………………………. 34 IDWs’ Narratives: IDW’s Mundane Experiences and Their Production of Political Subjectivity………………………………………………………………………….... 48 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………. 53 Chapter Two……………………………………………………………………………. 55 Transnational Mother[hood]: Physical Separation and the Strategies to Exercise Mothering from Afar………………………………………………………………… 61 Assuming the Role of “Transnational Motherhood:” IDWs’ Narratives and the Portrayal of Transnational Mothers…………………………………………………. 65 My Children, My Spirit: IDWs’ Narratives and the Notion of Children as the Source of Strength and Power………………………………………………………………... 79 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………. 85 Chapter Three…………………………………………………………………………… 88 The Discourse of Same-Sex Relationships in Indonesia…………………………….. 96 IDWs’ Narratives and the Portrayal of Tombois, Ceweks and Same-Sex Relationships: Reinforcing the National and Religious Discourses on Gender and Heteronormativity……………………………………………………………………. 100 IDWs’ Narratives and Attitudes toward Same-Sex Relationship……………………. 102 Evolved Heteronormativity and the Reinforcement of the Dominant Discourse in IDWs’ Narratives…………………………………………………………………….. 108 Reinforcement of the Religious and Familial Discourse on Gender and Sexuality….. 115 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………. 119 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………. 121 Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………... 126 Appendix………………………………………………………………………………… 134 IRB Approval………………………………………………………………………… 134 Introduction In recent years, Indonesian migrant women who seek employment as domestic workers in foreign countries have caught the Indonesian reading public’s attention with their novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction writings. In Indonesia, not just the popularity but also the fact of migrant domestic workers’ writing is a recent development. Creative work by migrant domestic workers was established as a genre when Denok Kanthi Rokhmatika, a domestic worker who works in Hong Kong published her collection of short stories Negeri Elok nan Keras dimana Kami Berjuang (Beautiful and Tough Country where We Struggle) in 2002 (Insani and Raihan iii). The publication marks the birth of a new genre, which has become known as “Sastra Buruh Migran Indonesia” (SBMI: Indonesian migrant worker’s literature). It is not clear when the term SBMI emerged in reference to Indonesian domestic workers’ (hereafter IDWs) creative writing. However, it is now in common usage among IDW writers and those interested in IDWs’ writing. The media has also popularized the term in both print and online media. Rokhmatika’s book has inspired many other migrant domestic workers to follow her path, writing creatively about their experiences and publishing their works. In the aftermath of Rokhmatika’s publication, a significant number of works in the genre have been published, including non-fiction articles in periodicals, both in Indonesia, and in various host countries like Hong Kong. As a genre, SBMI refers mainly to the creative works written by IDWs in countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore (Retnaningdyah 22). Prior to the emergence of this term, the word “migran” (migrant) was designated to differentiate this subgenre from “Sastra Buruh” (working class literature) in general (interview with Maria Bo Niok, August 2017). “Sastra Buruh” refers to the writing of those who work as “buruh” (laborers in factories). Meanwhile, SBMI largely relates to the writing of Indonesian women who work abroad, commonly identified 1 as “buruh migran” (migrant worker). The thematic concerns in “Sastra Buruh” are primarily unjust treatment experienced by the laborers, whereas the themes in SBMI include IDWs’ migration experiences in their host countries, illustrating these women’s everyday experiences, including navigation of various socioeconomic and cultural differences and, mothering from afar, as well as ill treatments by employers. Maria Bo Niok, a writer and former migrant domestic worker, states that her stories were based on experiences during her employment.

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