Politik Seksual pada Tokoh Hiroko dalam Novel “Namaku Hiroko” Karya NH. Dini

Sexual Politics of Hiroko in the Novel "My Name is Hiroko" by NH. Dini

Abstract

The novel Namaku Hiroko by N.H. Dini features a female protagonist who moves from the countryside to the city, where she encounters male-dominated power dynamics. Previous studies on this novel have explored pragmatic values, gender injustice, and self-concept. Yet, none have examined sexual power relations through the lens of Kate Millett's theory of sexual politics. This study aims to describe the forms of sexual politics Hiroko experiences and navigates, categorized into biological, ideological, and economic dimensions. Using a qualitative descriptive method and textual analysis, the study draws on 16 excerpts from the novel Namaku Hiroko (Pustaka Jaya, 1977). The data were collected through a literature review and a "read-and-note" technique, then coded using specific indicators for each concept and organized into a coding table. Of the 16 data points, seven pertain to the biological dimension, six to the ideological, and three to the economic. Biologically, Hiroko's body is repeatedly subjected to male control, though her response remains ambivalent—a complex mix of desire, curiosity, and pressure. Ideologically, she initially internalizes norms of propriety before eventually rejecting them. Economically, she faces material control and the commodification of her body through money, even as she strives to break free from such dependency. Sexual politics in this novel does not function as a one-way street of male domination; rather, it encompasses a coexistence of domination, ambivalence, and resistance. These three dimensions reveal the complexity of a woman's experience as she confronts patriarchal structures and seeks to establish autonomy over her own life. This research expands existing scholarship on Namaku Hiroko by applying Kate Millett's radical feminist perspective.