GENDER REPRESENTATION IN THE ENGLISH FOR NUSANTARA GRADE VII: A QUALITATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS

Abstract

This study examines gender representation in the English for Nusantara Grade VII textbook under the Merdeka Curriculum. The research was conducted to identify how male and female characters are represented in terms of visibility, roles, and activities, and to determine the dominant patterns of gender representation in the textbook. A descriptive qualitative design with directed qualitative content analysis was applied. The data consisted of textual and visual representations of male and female characters in Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 3 of the textbook. The coding categories were adapted from previous gender representation studies and covered male and female visibility, domestic and public roles, and active and passive activities. The findings show that gender visibility is relatively balanced, with male characters appearing 116 times and female characters 108 times. Domestic roles appear more frequently than public roles, with 39 male and 43 female domestic-role representations, while public roles appear only 1 time for males and 2 times for females. Active activities dominate the textbook, appearing 101 times for males and 98 times for females, while passive activities remain rare. These findings indicate that the textbook presents both progress and limitation: it provides relatively balanced visibility and activity representation, yet public-role representation remains limited.