The Portrayal of Chinese-Indonesian Female Character Who Deals with Racism in Multicultural Society in a Short Story Entitled "The Precious" Seen through Multicultural Feminism Theory

Abstract

“Bhineka Tunggal Ika” is a well-chosen slogan for Indonesia to promote that even though there is a diversity due to races, ethnicities, beliefs, cultures, or religions, Indonesia will always be one. As a country that involves various kinds of race and ethnicity, therefore Indonesia grows with the multicultural society inside. However, amongst the multicultural society, some groups of people with particular cultural backgrounds recurrently feel more superior from others and come up with racial hatred or racial discrimination which can be defined as racism. The Precious is a creative work based on a fact that racism becomes a serious problem up to this time. Revealing the highest blast of anti-Chinese sentiment in May 1998 as an inception of the story, The Precious portrays how Chinese-Indonesian female character named Pelangi should deal with racism in her land of birth, Indonesia, and will be supported by other characters from several ethnicities. Related with the idea of “multicultural,” this story also applies Multicultural Feminism as the theory which believes that women’s oppression is not only due to the patriarchal system, but also linked with the issue of race, ethnicity, and so forth. Thus, The Precious urges the readers to raise the awareness to stop racism, which is a very harmful matter for women, even all human beings.