The Sexy Self-Representation of Indonesian Internet Influencer on Social Media

Main Article Content

Yusuf Kurniawan
Diah Kristina
Fitria Akhmerti Primasita
Karunia Purna Kusciati
Dike Kusuma Wardani

Abstract

This research aims to examine the self-representation of sensuous female influencers in Indonesia, specifically a 20-year-old female Javanese influencer who lives in Surakarta, on Instagram, and how the influencer publicly presents herself in front of the audience. Relying on Goffman’s Dramaturgical approach, this study provides thorough insights into the frontstage and backstage behavior of the sensuous female influencer and the representation of the influencer on the frontstage. Employing Charles Sanders Peirce’s semiotic triadic model (1931), the data obtained from Instagram were analyzed by understanding the representamen, the interpretant, and the object of the data. Then, to gain a more detailed understanding, the data collected from in-depth interviews were also scrutinized. This study shows that there is an act of rebellion of being against society's norms of modesty as the influencer constantly acts in a sexualized manner in public and daily activity. While previous studies mostly examine the phenomenon of the sexualized manner of women in hyper-sexualized cultures/Western cultures, this study provides an understanding of the sexualized manner of a sensuous Javanese female influencer in the area where people do not find self-sexualization behavior as common or prevalent.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

Section

Articles

Author Biography

Yusuf Kurniawan, Universitas Sebelas Maret Surakarta

I am a teaching staff at English Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences

How to Cite

The Sexy Self-Representation of Indonesian Internet Influencer on Social Media. (2024). Humanus, 23(2), 161-170. https://doi.org/10.24036/humanus.v23i2.126083

References

Barnett, M., Maciel, I., & Gerner, M. (2018). Enjoyment of Sexualization and Feminism: Relationships with Sexual Self-Schema and Psychosexual Health. Sexuality and Culture, 22(3), 669–684. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-018-9515-5

Bigler, R. S., Tomasetto, C., & McKenney, S. (2019). Sexualization and youth: Concepts, theories, and models. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 43(6), 530–540. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025419870611

Bussy-Socrate, H., & Sokolova, K. (2023). Sociomaterial influence on social media: exploring sexualised practices of influencers on Instagram. Information Technology and People. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-03-2022-0215

Chandler, D. (2007). Semiotics the Basics, Second Edition - 69249454-chandler-semiotics.pdf. 29–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-2166(02)00176-5

Choi, D., & DeLong, M. (2019). Defining Female Self Sexualization for the Twenty-First Century. Sexuality and Culture, 23(4), 1350–1371. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-019-09617-3

Chopra, A., Avhad, V., & Jaju, and S. (2021). Influencer Marketing: An Exploratory Study to Identify Antecedents of Consumer Behavior of Millennial. Business Perspectives and Research, 9(1), 77–91. https://doi.org/10.1177/2278533720923486

Drenten, J., Gurrieri, L., & Tyler, M. (2020). Sexualized labour in digital culture: Instagram influencers, porn chic and the monetization of attention. Gender, Work and Organization, 27(1), 41–66. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12354

Fardouly, J., Willburger, B. K., & Vartanian, L. R. (2018). Instagram use and young women’s body image concerns and self-objectification: Testing mediational pathways. New Media and Society, 20(4), 1380–1395. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444817694499

Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. A. (1997). Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21(2), 173–206. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x

Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. Garden City.

Johnson, K. K. P., & Yu, U. J. (2023). A Narrative Critical Review of Research on Self-Sexualization. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 41(2), 139–153. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887302X211004294

Lee, E., Lee, J. A., Moon, J. H., & Sung, Y. (2015). Pictures Speak Louder than Words: Motivations for Using Instagram. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 18(9), 552–556. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2015.0157

Papageorgiou, A., Fisher, C., & Crossa, D. (2023). “It just Sends the Message that you’re Nothing but your body†a Qualitative Exploration of Adolescent Girls’ Perceptions of Sexualized Images on Social Media. Sexuality and Culture, 27(2), 462–481. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-022-10022-6

Ramsey, L. R., & Horan, A. L. (2018). Picture this: Women’s self-sexualization in photos on social media. Personality and Individual Differences, 133, 85–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.06.022

Rettberg, J. W. (2017). Self % Representation / in / Social / Media /. 1–30.

Ruckel, L., & Hill, M. (2017). Look @ Me 2.0: Self-Sexualization in Facebook Photographs, Body Surveillance and Body Image. Sexuality and Culture, 21(1), 15–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-016-9376-8

Szmrecsanyi, B. (2006). Morphosyntactic Persistence in Spoken English (W. Bisang, H. H. Hock, & W. Winter (eds.)). Mouton de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110197808

Tiggemann, M., & Anderberg, I. (2020). Social media is not real: The effect of ‘Instagram vs reality’ images on women’s social comparison and body image. New Media and Society, 22(12), 2183–2199. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444819888720

Vrontis, D., Makrides, A., Christofi, M., & Thrassou, A. (2021). Social media influencer marketing: A systematic review, integrative framework and future research agenda. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 45(4), 617–644. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12647

Ward, L. M., Seabrook, R. C., Manago, A., & Reed, L. (2016). Contributions of Diverse Media to Self-Sexualization among Undergraduate Women and Men. Sex Roles, 74(1–2), 12–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-015-0548-z

Ye, G., Hudders, L., De Jans, S., & De Veirman, M. (2021). The Value of Influencer Marketing for Business: A Bibliometric Analysis and Managerial Implications. Journal of Advertising, 50(2), 160–178. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2020.1857888

Similar Articles

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)