Body Transformation through Transvestism in Raminten Cabaret Show, Yogyakarta

Abstract

This research examines the societal positioning of transvestism and its cultural implications. The study aims to analyse the process of bodily transformation among transvestites performing at the Raminten Cabaret Show in Yogyakarta. The theoretical framework employs Michel Foucault’s concepts of body and power, focusing on the interconnections between social relations, transvestism, and performance space. Foucault’s approach illuminates how bodies become sites of power negotiation and knowledge production, where disciplinary mechanisms shape and regulate gender performance. His genealogical method reveals how seemingly natural categories of gender and sexuality are historically constructed through complex networks of discourse and practice. Through this Foucauldian lens, the research examines how transvestite performance both challenges and reinforces normative gender boundaries within specific cultural contexts. This research employs qualitative analysis utilising a taxonomic approach. The methodology yields results through systematic stages of data reduction, management, and verification. The findings demonstrate that bodily transformation establishes power relations between transvestite performers and their audience. These power dynamics generate knowledge production regarding the construction of masculinity. The masculine perception of feminine ideality extends beyond mere physical attraction, serving as a modality for constructing feminine forms within masculine bodies, thereby revealing the fluid and performative nature of gender identity.