ABSTRACT
This is a book about gender, but such a seemingly specific proposal is problematic; gender is never just about ‘gender.’ Gender incorporates other aspects of life so that what is presented as gender is invariably embedded within issues of status, ethnicity, occupation, culture, desires, and bodies, to name just a few. In recognition of the complexity of gender, I follow Epple (1998) in employing deep cultural contextualization to present nuanced understandings of everyday experiences of gender and of gendered subject positions. In framing the book, the primary aim of this chapter is to explore Indonesian meanings of gender, integrating ethnographic material with theoretical concepts to give a robust analysis. In achieving this aim, the chapter is divided into five sections. After charting an outline of key theoretical approaches to gender, the chapter explores meanings of sexed bodies, aspects of desire, performances of gender, and finally engages notions of spirituality and gender.
