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Beautiful Body and Femininity in
Five British and Indonesian Chick Lit
Jenny Mochtar
PetraChristianUniversity
Abstract
In 2003, several British chick lit were translated into Indonesian and since then, some titles like Bridget Jones’s Diary and Shopaholic have been reprinted several times. The success of British chick lit among the Indonesian readers, inspires some female Indonesian writers to also write in this genre. Alberthiene Endah and Icha Rahmanti are two writers who specifically label their popular novels as Indonesian chick lit and each of them have written five and two chick lit in the span of two years. In this paper I will compare Bridget Jones’s Diary and Confessions of aShopaholic to Jodoh Monica (Monica’s Soul Mate), Cewek Matre (Materialistic Girl) and Cintapuccino (Love and Cappuccino) to read how beauty and femininity are constructed in the female body in the context of consumer culture. The female body that I mean is not a biological body but a social one, which is “invested with cultural meanings . . . imagined and experienced through the eyes and minds of our culture, and hence inseparable from the meanings and values with which it is endowed” (Crisp, 2000, p. 48). I will explore the ways the body are treated in the five chick lit using a feminist perspective in reading the gender ideology that operates in the construction of beautiful body and femininity. I will show that the female body is a site of ideological contestations that reflect social and cultural values shaping the British and Indonesian chick lit. Even though the Indonesian writers profess to write in the same genre, they are engaged in the dissimilar gender ideology compared to those of their British counterpart and thus the question whether these Indonesian “chick lit” can also be called chick lit.
Chick literature or chick lit is a popular “literary genre that features books written by women and focusing on young, quirky, female protagonists” (Wordspy.com) that gained its popularity in 1997 with the publication of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary. In Indonesia, the popularity of chick lit starts with the translated version of British chick lit for the Indonesian readers. The accessibility of these translated versions and the price of the novels which are relatively within the buying power of the readers, allow a wider range of circulation. The positive response of the market on the potential readership of chick lit encourages Indonesian female writers to write Indonesian chick lit, using a similar formula, but substitutes the settings and characters with the local colors. Alberthiene Endah and Icha Rahmanti are two writers who specifically label their popular novels as Indonesian chick lit and each of them have written five and two chick lit in the span of two years. Their early novels, Jodoh Monica (Monica’s Soul Mate), Cewek Matre (Materialistic Girl) and Cintapuccino (Love and Cappuccino), published in 2004, are commonly considered to be the first Indonesian chick lit. Both writers acknowledge that it is the popularity of the British chick lit that causes them to write their version and interpretation of what constitutes an Indonesian chick lit and explicitly admit the influence of Bridget Jones’s Diary and Confessions of aShopaholicas the model of their writings. One significant aspect of chick lit is its celebration of the consumer culture by the main female character who is a cosmopolitan single in her late twenties or beginning thirties. She is fashion conscious and fully participates in the kind of lifestyles defined by the contemporary consumer culture. Her financial independence and singleness make it possible for her to spend all her money and time in the celebration of consumer culture.
This portrayal of chick lit woman has drawnsome criticism as she is considered to be superficial “instantly forgettable . . . helpless girls, drunken, worrying about their weight and so on” (Ezard, 2001). Stacy Gillis, a lecturer in gender studies from ExeterUniversity criticizes that “chick lit is not feminist, but backlash. It serves to reinforce traditional categories of sex and gender divisions while appearing to do the opposite” (quoted in Thomas, 2002). But Imelda Whelehan (2004), a prominent feminist writer, argues that chick lit is the product of third wave feminism that distance itself from the values of the second wave. In line with Whelehan’s defense of chick lit, Norah Vincent (quoted in Marsh 2004) considers Bridget as the product of feminism because she grows up in the spirit of feminism that believes every woman should “have it all”[1]. The contradictory views on chick lit reflect the different stand points taken by most feminist regarding which values can be categorized as feminist or not. In the earlier feminist studies, women are seen in their position as passive consumers, as objects who are ‘duped’ by whatever products offered to them by the industry. Recent studies consider women as having active role in choosing from the array of products in the market and this ability to choose show that they have the awareness to construct their agency through what they consume.
The issue on consumption brings us to the topic of the body. In a consumer culture, the body has an important role, as it is through the body that identity is constructed by what it consumes. In the last two decades, there are prominent interests in the studies on the body. Various studies in social sciences have proven that the body in its social context is not just a biological body untouched by social and cultural construction; as it has become a site of ideological contestation. The success of the modern feminist movement has brought about new interests in the study of the women’s bodies, especially in re-examining and questioning the established theories that isolate the women’s bodies in their biological determination.The traditional theories ignore the cultural aspects that shape the ways we think of the ‘male’ and ‘female’ bodies and regard that masculinity and femininity are inherent in the bodies of men and women because of their different sex. The body is not just “a neutral frame over which we drape the clothes”, but “invested with cultural meanings . . . . The body we are aware of, as human subjects, is ‘an imaginary body’ imagined and experienced through the eyes and minds of our culture, and hence inseparable from the meanings and values with which it is endowed” (Crisp, 2000, p. 48). In this sense, the body also becomes the bearer of cultural practices which Bordo (2003, p. 16) depicts as the “politics of the body”, it is“the material body as a site of political struggle . . . focusing on the “direct grip” that culture has on our bodies, through the practices and bodily habits of everyday life.” This “direct grip” of culture on the body causes the body to immerse in cultural meanings and practices that regulate and limit the body with a series of do’s and don’ts; therefore, “the body has come to be recognized as a contested terrain on which struggles over control and resistance are fought out in contemporary societies” (Hancock et al., 2000, p.1). Synnott (2003) describes how the body is given meaning in religious, social and cultural norms and values that change through times. Different period and area of life have their own ideologies that decide on the way the body is given meaning; therefore, the meaning of the body is never stable.
In the context of consumer culture, the body becomes the site of ideological contestation because various ideologies like consumerism, capitalism, patriarchyand others are in confrontation for domination, negotiation or resistance. The body is proclaimed as “a vehicle of pleasure and self expression. Images of the body beautiful, openly sexual and associated with hedonism, leisure and display, emphasizes the importance of appearance and the ‘look’. . . . [for] more marketable self” (Featherstone, 1982, p. 170-1).A person is valued from her appearance, her ability to reflect the images that are valued in a consumer culture. Turner (1996)describes that one’s status in the society will depend more on her ability to present herself in the society rather than on her breeding.
Self and the presentation of self become dependent on style and fashion rather than on fixed symbols of class or hierarchal status. Urban space becomes a competitive arena for presentational conflicts based on commercialized fashions and lifestyles. There is a sense in which the self becomes a commodity with an appropriate package, because we no longer define ourselves exclusively in terms of blood or breeding (p. 122).
How a person consume the commodities offered by the industry like how she chooses to decorate her body with fashionable clothing and its accessories like branded shoes and bags, are more important compared to her social class. Urban spaces then, become arenas for competition and display where everyone can see and be seen to be appreciated like other commodities that have exchange values. Jagger (2000, p. 51-2) explains that “anyone can be anyone-as long as they have the means to participate in consumption” and they can choose and construct their identities based on what they consume. Slater (1997) explains that consumption in a consumer culture is an insatiable consumption for commodities that bespeak of the social position and identity of the consumer in their exercise of power. We become what we consume because “in consuming we do not – ever simply reproduce our physical existence but also reproduce (sustain, evolve, defend, contest, imagine, reject) culturally specific, meaningful ways of life. . . . we construct social identities and relation out of social resources with which we engage as skilled social agents” (p. 4). Consumption in this sense becomes more than just consuming goods for its function or use-value, because attached to the goods is the cultural value or sign-value. The consumer, then, has the power to construct the identity she wants to assume utilizing the wide range of commodities that are loaded with this sign-value. So, basically what is consumed is more of the sign-value of a commodity rather than its use-value. In the act of consuming, the consumer is not just passive dupe buying whatever is offered in the market, because there is the process of active choosing of goods that is best suited to the consumer. She is also an active agent as she has the power to choose which identity she would like to assume and on how she will construct her identity through her consumption.
In this paper, I will compare the gender ideologies in the five British (Bridget Jones’s Diary and Shopaholic) and Indonesian (Jodoh Monica, Cewek Matre and Cintapuccino) chick lit by focusing on the construction of beautiful body and femininity. As I have mentioned in the first paragraph, the main female characters in chick lit are modern single career women who spend most of their leisure time in malls, cafes and pubs with their friends. They are very fashionable because they love to shop and are expert in identifying branded and stylish products. They actively consume products that would raise their values through their lifestyles and commodities that might beautify their body to keep up with the demanded values in a consumer culture. The body is seen as the vehicle for self expression, because what is seen, like attitudes, body shapes and everything that decorates the body, will reflect the person’s identity and social status (Featherstone, 1982). InBridget Jones’s Diary, Bridget is portrayed to be deeply concerned with her weight. In Confessions of aShopaholic, Becky is obsessed with shopping and worried about how others might perceive her from her appearance. In the Indonesian chick lit, Monica inJodoh Monica, Lola in Cewek Matre, and Rahmi in Cintapuccinogenerally consider their looks and body shapes as the basis of their pride and confidence. In all, these five female characters are very anxious about their appearance and body demeanor. Tall and thin body together with a youthful image, like those of the cover girls’ and Hollywood film stars’ are considered to be ideal beauties. To achieve this ideal beauty, there is the belief that a woman should always take care of herself meticulously from head to toe; she should go on a diet to shed the unwanted body fat and to cover any wrinkles that bear the sign of her age. Natural processthat comes with age should be hampered or even stopped and covered as they would reflect the qualities of the owner of the body. The condition of the body that does not meet the social standard of beauty would say that the owner has neglected the caring for her body or thatshe has failed in self-discipline.Neglect and failure are considered to be negative aspects, thus, it can be concluded that a body which is not beautiful by the social standard, refer to the qualities of the “person” in the body and has an effect on the person’s image of herself, her social identity and status. A beautiful body, thin and youthful, is regarded as feminine and has a high value; therefore, it is considered that it is this kind of body that every woman should strive for. Even though all the five female characters seem to accept this dictum without questions, as can be seen in their concern for their appearances, it is interesting to read the different or same gender ideologies that operate in the British and Indonesian chick lit.
Bridget Jones’s Diary
Bridget’s obsession to her weight can be seen in her devotion to record her daily weight in the entries of her diary. As a British woman in her early thirties, Bridget’s size 12 and weight are actually below the national average, so she is not as ‘fat’ as she believes herself to be; except by the standard of the fashion industry (Whelehan, 2002 ; Umminger, 2006). Her size and weight are not ideal for a model or Hollywood star, but they are normal for a woman in her age with a healthy eating appetite. Below are some examples in the entries of Bridget’s diary with her comments on her weight and the calories she has consumed.
Tuesday 3 January
9st 4 (terrifying slide into obesity – why? why?), alcohol units 6 (excellent), cigarettes 23 (v.g.), calories 2472 (p. 17).
Wednesday 4 January
9st 5 (state of emergency now as if fat has been stored in capsules form over Christmas and is being slowly released under skin), alcohol units 5 (better), cigarettes 20, calories 700 (v.g.) (p. 19).
Monday 25 December
9st 5 (oh God, have turned into Santa Claus, Christmas pudding or similar), alcohol units 2 (total triumph), cigarettes 3 (ditto), calories 2657 (almost entirely gravy) (p. 300).
At a glance, these entries show her worry that she will experience obesity and her comments demonstrate her desire to reduce her weight together with her alcohol and cigarettes consumption.Her records also show that she falls short in self-discipline. She fails in her diet and exercise to get an ideal body shape, and she also fails to consume healthy food. She has no control over her craving to consume unhealthy food, alcohol and cigarettes which she realizes are not good for her. If we examine her laments over her “failures” deeper, we will find that Bridget’s comments over her weight reveal her guilt over her inability to meet the social expectations that dictate a woman to have self-control and self-discipline as reflected in her beautiful and healthy body. She covers this guilty feeling with a series of self-righteous explanations which she considers might lighten her guilt. She never blames herself as the one who is responsible for the ups and downs of her weight and look for the cause in “the mysterious, unidentifiable forces in the universe” (Marsh, 2004). Marsh explains further that Bridget’s entries are more like religious confessions over her sins rather than her resolutions to transform herself.
Besides her concern over her body, Bridget is also worried that she already has wrinkles in her early thirties, so that she scrutinizes her face daily.
Find self constantly scanning face in mirrors for wrinkles and frantically
reading Hello! Checking out everyone’s ages in desperate search for role models (Jane Seymour is forty-two!) . . . Try to concentrate hard on Joanna Lumley and Susan Saradon (Bridget Jones’s Diary, p. 78).
Feel need to do something to stop ageing process, but what? Cannot afford face-lift . . . Why do I look old? Why? . . . Decided needed to spend more time on appearance like Hollywood stars and have therefore spent ages putting concealer under eyes, blusher on cheeks and defining fading features.
‘Good God,’ said Tom when I arrived.
‘What?’ I said. ‘What?’
‘Your Face. You look like Barbara Cartland.’[2] (ibid., p. 148)
Bridget’s idea of a beautiful face is a face without wrinkles, so it needs to have constant treatment to slow down or stop, if possible, the ageing process. Her references to