The Representation of Gender Discrimination in Mackenzi Lee's The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy

Abstract

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy is a novel of historical fiction set in 18th Century Europe that shows gender roles as important in society. This research analyzes the issue of gender related to the representation of gender discrimination This research uses the theory of representation written by Stuart Hall and the Constructionist approach, particularly the discursive model by Michel Foucault. The representation theory is used to find the discourse of gender discrimination in the text by seeing narrative signs in the novel. This research is categorized as qualitative research. There are two kinds of data in this research. The first is primary data from dialogues and narratives in The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy. Then, the secondary data are the data that are taken from books, journals, the web, interviews, and other sources that are related to the topic of this research. Using the theory of representation by Stuart Hall and the discursive approach by Michel Foucault, this research dismantled the discourse of gender discrimination in the novel. The classifications of gender discrimination were based on The Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) proposed by the United Nations Organization (UN). The results of this research showed four forms of gender discrimination; in education, before the law, marriage and family based on issues that occur in the novel. This research aims to determine how gender discrimination is presented in the novel