Women as Sexual Objects in Eka Kurniawan’s Cantik Itu Luka: A Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis
Keywords:
Women’s Sexual Objectification, Feminist Literary Criticism, Sara Mills, Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis, Cantik itu LukaAbstract
This study examines the representation of women as sexual objects in Eka Kurniawan’s Cantik Itu Luka (Beauty Is a Wound) through feminist literary criticism and Sara Mills’ feminist discourse perspective. The study aims to analyze how linguistic choices, narrative positioning, and power relations construct female characters as sexual objects and position them in relation to male dominance. A descriptive qualitative design was employed using Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis. The primary data were selected narrative excerpts and dialogues from the novel that represent women’s physical appearance, sexuality, objectification, agency, subordination, and gender relations. Data were collected through close and repeated reading, identification, documentation, and categorization of relevant textual excerpts. The analysis focused on subject–object positioning and reader positioning within Sara Mills’ framework. The findings identified five representative excerpts demonstrating consistent patterns of female objectification. Women were constructed through descriptions of beauty, sexuality, and bodily characteristics, while men were positioned as active subjects with authority over women’s bodies. The analysis further revealed that women’s bodies were represented as sexual and economic commodities that could be evaluated, exchanged, purchased, and collectively consumed. Objectification occurred from birth, continued throughout women’s lives, and persisted symbolically after death, indicating the pervasive nature of patriarchal power. The narrative also positioned readers to perceive male control over women’s bodies as normalized or unavoidable. Thus, Cantik Itu Luka simultaneously exposes and reproduces patriarchal gender relations by limiting female agency and privileging male perspectives. The study highlights the importance of feminist discourse analysis for critically examining gender ideology and women’s representation in Indonesian literary texts.
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