Cyberfeminism: An Analysis of Michel Foucault’s Thought in Gender Issues in The New Media Era

Abstract

The many cases of violence against women and children, as evidenced by the results of data surveys on violence in various countries, encourage feminists to move to empower women. Advances in information and communication technology have brought feminists into a new media era, which can be called cyberspace. Social media as one of the most widely used platforms in cyberspace by people from various parts of the world, has become a new public space to empower women from various kinds of subordination to them, which is embodied in cyberfeminism. Indonesia as a country with a majority Muslim population has presented Muslim feminist figures such as R.A Kartini, Qasim Amin, Hussein Muhammad, and others. However, in reality, there are still many gender-related cases that are happening today. The public view of the women's empowerment movement is still interpreted as resistance to men, even for most religious people consider it contrary to religious ideology. This study uses the performativity theory to analyze gender issues in the new media era and Husein Muhammad's gender thinking as a counter to religious ideology. Therefore, the research brings together cyberfeminism, gender issues, and religion in a theoretical study that can be implemented pragmatically.