• The Southeast Asian review
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.119-153
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• 2017

This paper examines the institutionalized images of Indonesian womanhood during the Orde Baru (New Order; 1966-1998). In doing so, it discusses these images as manifested in the Indonesian constitution, governmental organizations such as such as 'Dharma Wanita' and 'Pembinaan Kesejahteraan Keluarga' (PKK), school textbooks and 'Televisi Republik Indonesia' (TVRI) dramas. Under the post-1966 Orde Baru, certain images of womanhood were institutionalized under the influence of the state ideology of womanhood ('ibuism') which emphasizes women's roles in the domestic domain. These institutionalized images were propagated largely by governmental organizations such as 'Dharma Wanita' and 'PKK', and even transmitted through educational text-books and mess media such as TVRI. In conclusion, it also points out that since the mid-1990s, other 'discursive' and 'multi-faceted' contemporary images of womanhood have emerged through the mass media in Indonesian society. Consequently, images of Indonesian womanhood were somehow contested by 2000 and beyond. This paper is expected to develop a detailed discussion on the 'means' and 'contents' of the state ideology of womanhood. Therefore, this paper is expected to add a significant contribution to comprehending the institutionalized images of Indonesian womanhood during the Orde Baru regime.