An Analysis of Gender Representation in Bilingual Textbook ‘Little Sunshine’
Abstract
This study investigates gender representation within the ‘Little Sunshine Bilingual Textbook’ (Setyaningrum et al., 2018), specifically examining grammatical equivalence in translating Indonesian pronouns and nouns into English. Employing a qualitative methodology with a naturalistic approach, the research utilizes corpus tools to categorize masculine and feminine terminology across three analytical levels. Findings reveal a significant gender disparity and visibility bias within the text, as male-oriented terms predominantly surpass female equivalents. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrates a systematic preference for masculine descriptors when translating the Indonesian gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun. These results underscore the presence of gender discrimination and linguistic asymmetry in bilingual educational materials. The study concludes that such translation choices reflect and reinforce traditional gender hierarchies, necessitating a more balanced approach in pedagogical content.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Adhitya, N., Malia, E., & Rivaldy, G. F. (2022). A critical discourse analysis of gender depiction in efl textbooks as a teaching material for highschool. JELA (Journal of English Language Teaching, Literature and Applied Linguistics), 4(2), 56–68.
Alwi, H. (1998). dkk. 2003. Tata Bahasa Baku Bahasa Indonesia.
Ariyanto, S. (2018). A portrait of gender bias in the prescribed Indonesian ELT textbook for junior high school students. Sexuality & Culture, 22(4), 1054–1076.
Azis, I. (2024). Exploring the Evolution of Gender Identity through Subject Pronouns: A Comparative Study of Gender Equality Communities. Journal Hawalah, 3(3).
Baker, M. (2018). In other words: A coursebook on translation. Routledge.
Baker, P. (2006). Using corpora in discourse analysis. A&C Black.
Baker, P. (2010). Sociolinguistics and corpus linguistics. Edinburgh University Press.
Bondi, D., Robazza, C., & Pietrangelo, T. (2020). The assessment of task-dependent manual laterality in second grade students. Spor Hekimliği Dergisi, 55(3), 239–245.
Bowen, W. M., & Bowen, C.-C. (1999). Typologies, indexing, content analysis, meta-analysis, and scaling as measurement techniques. PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY, 71, 51–86.
Brislin, R. W. (1970). Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1(3), 185–216.
Catford, J. C. (1978). A linguistic theory of translation. Oxford University Press,.
Fairclough, N. (2013). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language. Routledge.
Fatinova, D., Gunawan, W., Risnawati, E., & Mubarok, Y. (2024). Construction of Gender Equality in Arab News Media: A Critical Discourse Analysis. Theory & Practice in Language Studies (TPLS), 14(6).
Gharbavi, A., & Mousavi, S. A. (2012). A content analysis of textbooks: Investigating gender bias as a social prominence in Iranian high school English textbooks. English Linguistics Research, 1(1), 42–49.
Halliday, M. A. K., & Hasan, R. (2014). Cohesion in english. Routledge.
Handayani, V. T., Suganda, D., & Darmayanti, N. (2020). Critical Pragmatic: Maintaining Culture Identity Kampung Traditional Kuta Ciamis. Jurnal Kata, 4(1), 33. https://doi.org/10.22216/kata.v4i1.4760
Herring, S. C. (2000). Gender differences in CMC: Findings and implications. Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility Journal, 18(1), 0.
Himmelmann, N. P. (2005). The Austronesian languages of Asia and Madagascar: typological characteristics. The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar, 110, 110–181.
House, J. (2014). Translation quality assessment: Past and present. Routledge.
Jakobson, R. (1959). On linguistic aspects of translation. On Translation, 3, 30–39.
Karlina, Y., & Puspitasari, D. A. (2024). Gender patterns in Indonesian: a corpus study of personal pronoun references “Ia” and “Dia.” OKARA: Jurnal Bahasa Dan Sastra, 18(1), 98–115.
Kavoshian, S., Ketabi, S., Tavakoli, M., & Mashhadi, F. (2025). A Netnographic Approach to Teacher Professionalism: a Model of EFL Teachers’ Online Professional Development in Focus. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 13(2), 139–166.
Khondker, H. H. (2014). Gender Role and Individual Modernity: An Exploratory Study in Microfinance and Gender Role Transformation. Institute of Microfinance.
Koller, W., & Henjum, K. B. (2020). Einführung in die Übersetzungswissenschaft. utb GmbH.
Krippendorff, K. (2018). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology. Sage publications.
Lakoff, G. (1984). There-Constructions: A Case Study in Grammatical Construction Theory (Vol. 18). Berkeley Cognitive Science Report.
Logsdon, M. (1985). Gender roles in primary school texts in Indonesia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii.
McCulloch, G. (2004). Documentary research: In education, history and the social sciences. Routledge.
McEnery, T., & Wilson, A. (2003). Corpus linguistics. The Oxford Handbook of Computational Linguistics, 448–463.
Mills, S. (1992). Negotiating discourses of femininity. Journal of Gender Studies, 1(3), 271–285.
Mills, S. (1993). Discourses of difference: an analysis of women’s travel writing and colonialism. Psychology Press.
Mills, S. (2003). Gender and politeness (Vol. 17). Cambridge University Press.
Mills, S., & Mullany, L. (2011). Language, gender and feminism: Theory, methodology and practice. Taylor & Francis.
Morin, I. (2006). Translating Pronouns and Proper Names: Indonesian versus English. Translation Journal, 10(1).
Mulac, A., Seibold, D. R., & Farris, J. L. (2000). Female and male managers’ and professionals’ criticism giving: Differences in language use and effects. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 19(4), 389–415.
Nakhli, H., & Nakhli, H. (2025). Gender in Translation Discourse : From Subordination to Subversion Gender in Translation Discourse : From Subordination to Subversion.
Newmark, P. (2003). A textbook of translation.
Nida, E. A., & Taber, C. R. (1982). The theory and practice of translation (Vol. 8). Brill Archive.
Noreewec, A., Nababan, R. M., & Djatmika, D. (2024). Gender Bias in Translation: A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Sexist Language from NET Bible into the Tok Pisin Translation of the New Testament. Proceedings of Ina-PrA Pragmatics Conference, 1(1), 31–43.
Panou, D. (2013). Equivalence in translation theories: A critical evaluation. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.3.1.1-6
Panou, D., Venuti, L., Newmark, P., Hikmasari, Miftahurohmah, Wening, S., Rudianto, G., & Oktavia, Y. (2003). A textbook of translation. S2 Thesis, Program Pascasarjana, 2(1), 21–28.
Pym, A. (2023). Exploring translation theories. Routledge.
Russell, S. G., Namatende-Sakwa, L., & Lewinger, S. (2021). Gender representation in East African history textbooks: The cases of Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda. Feminist Formations, 33(2), 233–261.
Scott, M. (2001). Comparing corpora and identifying key words, collocations, and frequency distributions through the WordSmith Tools suite of computer programs. Small Corpus Studies and ELT, 47–67.
Scott, M. (2010). WordSmith tools help. Liverpool: Lexical Analysis Software.
Setyaningrum, R. W., Gusdian, R. I., Naidi WS, K., Nidhommil H, A., Rahmawati, I., & Suhartanti, N. (2018). Little Sunshine Bilingual Book Kumpulan Lagu dan Cerita Anak-Anak Dwibahasa. Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang Press.
Sinclair, J., & Carter, R. (2004). Trust the text: Language, corpus and discourse. Routledge.
Stockdale, D. A. (2006). Gender representation in an EFL textbook. Master’s Thesis, University of Birmingham, UK. Retrieved from Http://Www. Cels. Bham. Ac. Uk/Resources/Essays/ DAStockdale-Sociolinguistics. Pdf.
Su, J., Yang, W., & Zhong, Y. (2023). Influences of gender and socioeconomic status on children’s use of robotics in early childhood education: A systematic review. Early Education and Development, 34(4), 910–926.
Sumalatha, K., & Ramakrishnaiah, D. (2004). Sex bias in secondary school social studies textbooks: A case study in India. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 1(2), 62–63.
Sunderland, J. (2004). Gendered discourses. Springer.
Tahan, A. A. (2015). An investigation of gender representation in EFL textbooks used at public schools in the UAE. The British University in Dubai (BUiD).
Taylor, V. (1989). Social movement continuity: The women’s movement in abeyance. American Sociological Review, 761–775.
Venuti, L. (2018). Rethinking translation: Discourse, subjectivity, ideology (Vol. 2). Routledge.
Vinay, J.-P., & Darbelnet, J. (2000). A methodology for translation. The Translation Studies Reader, 84–93.
Wodak, R., & Fairclough, N. (2013). Critical discourse analysis. Sage London.
Zakka, Z. M., & Zanzali, N. (2015). Gender bias in primary school mathematics textbooks in Nigeria. American Journal of Educational Science, 1(5), 223–228.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31004/jele.v11i2.2212
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2026 Anis Sulalah
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
