Performing gender equality: Internalising Bugis-Makassar cultural values (3S) as a theological strategy for transforming patriarchal structures

Abstract

Gender inequality is a global problem and causes various acts of violence and suffering for women, especially in the third world, including Indonesia. This article offers a cultural strategy supported by Judith Butler’s gender performativity theory to challenge patriarchal culture and build a more just and equal life. Using Judith Butler’s gender performativity framework, this qualitative research in Soppeng Regency, South Sulawesi, involved in-depth interviews with married couples, female school principals, ordained female pastors, church officials and agricultural cooperative leaders, along with participatory observations in family, church and community settings. This strategy brings together two distinct cultural contexts: Eastern culture, namely the Bugis-Makassar 3S culture (Sipakatau, Sipakainge, and Sipakalebbi) and performativity theory from the West. Internalising the cultural values of the 3S through performativity theory is an effective way to achieve gender equality not only in the Soppeng community where the research took place but also to empower women as a whole and present the image of humans as imago Dei in togetherness with other God’s creations.
Contribution: This research integrates Western gender performativity theory with Indonesian local cultural values (3S Bugis-Makassar) as a decolonisation agent for the transformation of patriarchal gender structures. This study advances gender theory and theological discourse through a culturally based gender justice approach in the Indonesian Christian community.