Manchild and the Representation of Masculinity in Political Leadership
Main Article Content
Abstract
The behavior of political leaders in the public sphere influences how society evaluates leadership quality. In recent years, the term manchild has been used to describe adult men who show emotional or defensive responses when facing criticism. This study aims to analyze the phenomenon of manchild in contemporary politics by examining its relation to patriarchy, hegemonic masculinity, and political communication. This research uses a qualitative approach with a literature review method. Data were obtained from relevant books, scientific journals, and articles, then analyzed using the Miles and Huberman model through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings show that the manchild phenomenon in politics is not only related to the personal character of political leaders, but is also influenced by patriarchal structures and hegemonic masculinity that shape expectations of male leadership. The “foreign stooges” narrative in political speeches shows that responses to criticism can function as a political communication strategy as well as an effort to maintain leadership image in the public sphere
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Abhipraya, F. A., Vidayat, N. A., & Pamungkas, W. A. (2020). Mencermati Populisme Pemimpin Lokal Sebagai Upaya Membangun Citra Ditengah Pandemi Covid-19. Gorontalo Journal of Government and Political Studies, 3(2), 040. https://doi.org/10.32662/gjgops.v3i2.1119
Ahmad, N. (2022). Persepsi Publik, Kapasitas Personal dan Kepemimpinan Presiden Joko Widodo dalam Mengatasi Pandemi Covid-19. Jurnal Komunikatif, 11(2), 118–136. https://doi.org/10.33508/jk.v11i2.4278
Asbari, W. T., Suwiknyo, E. S., Saptawan, E. K. S., & Hosen, M. Z. A. H. (2024). Dalam Bayang-bayang Maskulinitas: Studi Kasus Branding Politik Prabowo Subianto. Jurnal Komunikasi Profesional, 7(4), 644–660. https://doi.org/10.25139/jkp.v7i4.7764
Ayuni Indah Syahfitri, & Muh. Mawangir. (2024). Fenomena Toxic Masculinity di Masyarakat dari Persepsi Mahasiswa UIN Raden Fatah Palembang. Indonesian Journal of Behavioral Studies, 4(2), 105–116. https://doi.org/10.19109/ijobs.v4i2.24673
Connell, R. (2005). Masculinities. University of California Press.
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
Deha, D. (2021). Retorika Populisme Dalam Kontestasi Politik Di Indonesia. Jurnal ISIP: Jurnal Ilmu Sosial Dan Ilmu Politik, 18(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.36451/jisip.v18i1.45
Engesser, S., Ernst, N., Esser, F., & Büchel, F. (2017). Populism and social media: how politicians spread a fragmented ideology. Information, Communication & Society, 20(8), 1109 1126. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2016.1207697
Putra, I Gde Eka Sukarma & Soeling, P. D. (2024). Tren Riset Tentang Kepemimpinan pada Jurnal Administrasi di Indonesia: Tinjauan Literatur Sistematis. JURNAL MANAJEMEN PENDIDIKAN DAN ILMU SOSIAL, 5(3), 676–687. https://doi.org/10.38035/jmpis.v5i3.2060
Latuperissa, A. A. A. (2022). Pendekatan Public Relations Politik di Media Sosial dalam Pembentukan Citra Politik. Jurnal Public Relations (J-PR), 3(1), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.31294/jpr.v3i1.1015
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook, 3/E. Sage Publications.
Moffitt, B. (2016). The Global Rise of Populism: Performance, Political Style, and Representation.
Nasution, H., & Hidayat, M. (2024). Patriarki dan Kekuasaan: Analisis Konstruksi Gender dalam Kepemimpinan Politik Kontemporer Indonesia. Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Humaniora, 13(2), 210–225.
Nurhadi, T. (2022). MOTIF WACANA “JANGAN SAMPAI INDONESIA JATUH KE TANGAN PEMBOHONG”: STUDI DARI SEGI ANALISIS WACANA KEBIJAKAN KRITIS. Buana Bastra, 8(2), 50–61.https://doi.org/10.36456/bastra.vol8.no2.a5136
Nugroho, B., & Pratama, D. (2024). Kepemimpinan Digital dan Persepsi Publik di Era Media Sosial: Studi terhadap Pemimpin Politik Indonesia. Jurnal Komunikasi Indonesia, 13(1), 33–48.
Pratiwi, F. N. (2024). PENGGUNAAN BAHASA JAWA DAN SIMBOL IDENTITAS POLITIK GANJAR PRANOWO DI MEDIA SOSIAL. Linguistik Indonesia, 42(1), 157–183. https://doi.org/10.26499/li.v42i1.543
Putri, S. V. (2022). Representasi Makna Maskulinitas Iklan MSGlow For Men: Analisis Multimodal Kress dan Van Leeuwen. Avant Garde, 10(2), 177. https://doi.org/10.36080/ag.v10i2.1930
Roniansyah, R., Nuriqli, P. Q. A., & Hayat, M. A. (2022). Komunikasi Politik Polri dalam Menghadapi Kritik Melalui Bhayangkara Mural Festival 2021. Syntax Literate ; Jurnal Ilmiah Indonesia, 7(1), 70. https://doi.org/10.36418/syntax-literate.v7i1.5658
Ridwan, A., & Safitri, R. (2025). Polarisasi Opini Publik dalam Kepemimpinan Konfrontatif: Analisis Wacana Media Sosial di Indonesia. Jurnal Demokrasi dan HAM, 8(1), 15–30.
Safitri, D. (2020). ANALISIS DEMOKRASI HABERMAS PADA TEKS FORUM DISKUSI ONLINE RUU OMNIBUS LAW. JIKE : Jurnal Ilmu Komunikasi Efek, 4(01), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.32534/jike.v4i01.1099
Sukmana, O., Komalawati, E., & Yuliasari, I. (2024). Gaya Komunikasi Publik Joko Widodo dalam Pemilihan Presiden dan Wakil Presiden. Transparansi : Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu Administrasi, 6(2), 291–304. https://doi.org/10.31334/transparansi.v6i2.3608
Tempo.co. (2026). Antek Asing di Pemerintahan Prabowo. https://www.tempo.co/investigasi/antek-asing-pemerintahan- prabowo-2116694
Walby, S. (1990). 1990 Walby Theorising Patriarchy book Blackwell.