Malaysian Revisionary Folktale: Portrayal Of Adjectives For Female And Male Characters

Malaysian Revisionary Folktale: Portrayal of Adjectives for Female and Male Characters

*¹Sri Fitriaty Mohd Kenali., ²Rasyiqah Batrisya Md Zolkapli., ³Muhamad Izzat Rahim., ⁴Mohd Kenali Basiron

^1,2,3Centre of Foundation Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Selangor, Kampus Dengkil, Selangor, Malaysia

⁴National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM), Kem Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.909000534

Received: 10 September 2025; Accepted: 16 September 2025; Published: 17 October 2025

ABSTRACT

This paper identifies the adjectives used to depict male and female characters in female and male-centric Malaysian revisionary folktales to determine whether the characters are subjected to linguistic sexism. A content analysis of the corpus was conducted to identify the linguistic portrayal of characters in two revisionary Malaysian folktales from Daphne Lee’s Malaysian Tales Retold and Remixed. The adjectives were analysed using Turner-Bowker’s linguistic portrayal of gender and were further evaluated using Abdul Hamid’s Types of Adjectives in gender representation to elucidate whether linguistic sexism is perpetuated in describing the characters. The findings revealed that the female-centric folktale’s protagonist is a liberated and emancipated female character that portrays revisionary feminine identities, emphasising women’s assertion of their autonomy and the expansion of the female subject position in non-traditional domains. In contrast, in the male-centric folktale, the protagonist is subjected to patriarchal values, as all the secondary male characters overpower the protagonist due to the patriarchal society’s male-dominated power structure. Despite the changes in how females are depicted in folktales, gender stereotyping still exists in male-centric revisionary folktales.  Hence, this study contributes to society by creating a liberating journey of understanding, tolerating, and appreciating new genres, regardless of gender or issues presented, that can move our nation to become more modern and progressive.

Keywords— Malaysian Revisionary Folktales, Adjectives Portrayal, Linguistic Sexism, Patriarchal, Matriarchal

INTRODUCTION

Folktales represent people’s culture and heritage of a society. According to Wilhelmsson (2015) and Osman (2022), tales initially serve a didactic purpose. It also brings a community together by highlighting the awareness of societal issues. Pham (2016) posited that folktales sugar-coat the hard lessons of life to give listeners or readers guidance about how they should behave, which transcends values and beliefs, traditions, and culture across generations. This highlights the influence of folktales on shaping society, as what people read in the tales is a construction of the community’s cultural and social norms that they have to adhere to (Osman, 2024). Folktales are also prevalent in shaping children’s worldviews. The stories stimulate their imaginations about the world, allowing them to (i) visualise the world outside their homes, (ii) help them understand right and wrong, (iii) determine behaviour that is expected and accepted, (iv) identify what is disapproved of and (v) discover consequences that may follow (Pham, 2016; Wilhelmsson, 2015). Consequently, fairytales and folktales have been used to educate children and adults and warn them of the consequences that will await them if they cross social boundaries. An example of what society has constructed through folktales is the idea that a good woman behaves submissively and waits for her prince to rescue her, while a liberated woman is considered evil (Nortajudin, 2020). Until today, folktales continue to play a crucial role in preserving cultural heritage, shaping values and beliefs and influencing the social structure of a society.

Several studies have been conducted on the construction of maleness and femaleness through their gender roles and activities, as well as to explore the stereotyping of the characters in terms of their behavioural traits (Nair, 2008; Lee, 2016; Paynter, 2016; Nafiseh & Akbar, 2016). These studies have posited that male characters are more involved in adventurous and outdoor activities, while female characters are given more domestic-related chores such as food preparation and childbearing tasks. This signifies the need for the representation of gender in Malaysian folktales to be revised, as according to Wan Ahmad et al. (2016), folktales in Malaysia are used to educate and expose children to moral education. This means that through these stories, children would also be exposed to how a specific gender should behave and the role each gender holds in our society. Moreover, a dividing line between male and female is also perpetuated in language and literature, contributing to gender issues and discrimination. For instance, Uzma et al. (2019) agreed that the unequal representation of gender roles and ideology in literature is a critical issue that greatly influences gender role development and socialisation. Therefore, when analysing these two elements in reading materials, Abdullah (2015) suggested looking at the use of descriptive words or adjectives. As illustrated in Nikolajeva (2002), Sveen (2005) and Abdullah (2015), these studies observed the use of adjectives description as a means of characterisation, and each highlighted that there exist strong gendered narrative patterns in literary texts. Thus, there is a call for a re-evaluation of the portrayal of gender roles in Malaysian folktales.

There is a dearth of research on the study of revisionary folktales that looks into the characters of literary texts such as textbooks, children’s picture books, and novels (Osman et al., 2017; Osman, 2018). Several studies had revealed that there are improvements in promoting gender equality in school textbooks and children’s literature (Qing et al., 2022; Hamilton et al., 2006). For example, Hamilton et al. (2006) highlighted that the frequency of female characters is fairly represented as male characters, however, the portrayal of female characters is not assertive and aggressive compared to male characters in children’s picture books. Osman (2019) concurred that female characters are often associated with feminine qualities as their portrayal in stories is heavily influenced by an inherently patriarchal ideology (Pham, 2016; Osman et al., 2017; Osman, 2018).  Despite this apparent balance in representation, gender stereotyping and gender biases remain prevalent in children’s books, particularly in children’s literature in Malaysia (Abdul Hamid et al., 2008; Mohamad Subakir et al., 2012; Abdullah, 2015; Lee, 2016; Mohd Shamsudddin & Abdul Hamid, 2017; Qing et al., 2022). Given that Malaysian folktales play a crucial role in shaping the minds of young children, it is pivotal to delve deeper into how these female and male characters are portrayed in these narratives.

Gender stereotyping and linguistic sexism are commonly observed in relation to the teaching and reading materials in Malaysia (Abdul Hamid et al., 2008; Abdullah, 2015; Guri et al., 2022; Lee, 2016; Mohamad  Subakir et al., 2012; Mohd Shamsudddin & Abdul Hamid, 2017; Nair, 2008; Nair & Talif, 2010;). While past studies had primarily examined gender representation through characters’ roles, activities and occupations, this paper examines how the characters are described and perpetuated in the stories with the aim to analyse linguistic sexism through the adjectives used to describe the characters in Malaysian revisionary folktales.

It is noteworthy to re-evaluate the descriptive language used in Malaysian folktales, as these narratives are not only a source of entertainment but also serve as a medium for imparting cultural values and moral lessons. The way female and male characters are portrayed linguistically reflects the worldview and historical values of the Malaysian society, often reflecting and perpetuating patriarchal and feudalistic values in their heavily didactic underpinnings (Qing et al., 2022; Osman 2024). Such portrayal not only influences perceptions of gender roles but also contributes to the socialisation process, shaping the beliefs and behaviours of future generations. Therefore, the present study will provide insightful findings on gender representation in Malaysia’s revisionary folktales from the modern era, where stories are retold with contemporary narratives. By focusing on revisionary narratives, these folktales can offer fresh perspectives on gender representation and move away from stereotypes and generalisation of women and men. With the added attention given to these Malaysian revisionary folktales, gender awareness can be enhanced, which can foster a more gender-equitable society in Malaysia.

Thus, this study aims to analyse female and male-centric Malaysian revisionary folktales by identifying linguistic sexism through the adjectives used to describe the characters. To achieve this, two research questions were formulated:

1. How are the characters portrayed in Malaysian revisionary folktales through the categorisation of adjectives’ connotations?
2. What types of adjectives are used to describe the characters in Malaysian revisionary folktales?

To address the research questions, the present study adopted a conceptual framework from Abdullah (2015) which utilised Turner-Bowker’s Linguistic Portrayal of Gender (1996) and Abdul Hamid’s Types of Adjectives (2003) as shown in Figure 1.0.

Figure 1.0: Conceptual Framework

Figure 1.0 illustrates how Turner-Bowker’s Linguistic Portrayal of Gender (1996) is applied to address the first research question, which is to categorise the characters portrayed in Malaysian revisionary folktales through adjectives’ connotations. Initially, this model was suggested by Turner-Bowker’s (1996) to describe characters in prize-winning children’s books from 1984 to 1994 by emphasising the same linguistic nuances of adjectives’ connotations. She noted that adjectives that describe male characters often convey qualities that are more masculine, active, and potent. In contrast, adjectives used to describe female characters are generally evaluated more positively, but only when these characters fulfil their traditional or stereotypical roles. For instance, a woman is considered a ‘good’ wife when she obeys her husband’s demand and a ‘perfect’ woman to marry if she is beautiful and soft-spoken. Similarly, England et al. (2011) argued that female characters often embody the traditional role of a house matron and express feminine qualities through their appearance. Both England et al. (2011) and Do Rozario (2004) noted that Snow White is portrayed as less powerful than the prince, despite him being a minor character. She earns the dwarf’s rescue by taking on household chores such as cleaning and cooking. In Sleeping Beauty, the three magical fairies relinquished their powers and chose to perform house chores as the only way to safeguard Princess Aurora. In Cinderella, her domestic tasks are seen as acts of submission and attempts to win affection from her stepmother and stepsisters. This is further evidenced by Knyazyan (2017), who analysed fifteen fairytales (e.g., Oliver, Dwarfs, Hunchback, Pinocchio). In these stories, a woman’s value is often assessed more on her physical appearance rather than her intellect. This highlights the continued emphasis on traditional and stereotypical roles, where female characters are primarily valued for their adherence to conventional standards of beauty, irrespective of their central role in the narrative. The overview shows how traditional gender roles and stereotypes are deeply rooted in children’s books, which promotes conventional views where women are valued for their submissive roles and appearance.

Turner-Bowker’s analysis also highlights the adjectives used to characterise emotions in female characters, notably pointing out the frequent use of the word ‘frightened’ to describe any female character. This suggests a portrayal of vulnerability and passivity which reinforces traditional gender stereotypes that depict women as less capable of handling challenging or threatening situations compared to their male counterparts. She further illustrated this point by showing that females are often characterised as frightened, beautiful, or good, while males are more frequently described with adjectives such as big, hungry, or horrible. However, Paynter (2011) presented contrasting findings, indicating that boys were significantly more likely to exhibit fear than girls, as the adjective ‘frightened’ was repeatedly used to describe the male character in storybooks, suggesting a shift away from the traditional notion that portrays girls as fearful and boys as brave. Nevertheless, she described male characters using positive connotations to show that male characters had softer sides and nurturing personalities. To illustrate, the commonly used words to describe the male characters in the storybooks were ‘sad’, ‘nurturing’, ‘loving’ and ‘caring’. However, Paynter also stated that these findings were more relevant to the American culture, which is more accepting of the idea of vulnerability, fear, and general emotions among boys. Hence, while American culture may be more accepting of portraying male characters with softer and more nurturing qualities, it is essential to address this distinction in the Malaysian context as it is important to understand the representation of both positive and negative connotations of the female and male characters to promote a more balanced and inclusive portrayal of gender in literature.

Abdullah (2015) employed a similar framework from Turner-Bowker (1996) and Alsagoff (2009) through an analysis of the portrayal of male and female characters in children’s picture books using adjectives. The findings highlighted that Khailash, the male-centric picture book, had the highest number of adjectives projecting positive connotations compared to the female-centric picture book, Puteri Tioman the Green Turtle. In Khailash, the male character was described with positive adjectives such as ‘proud’, ‘strong’ and ‘hard’, positing the gender stereotype of the traditional male character and reinforcing the traditional gender stereotype that men are expected to be powerful and confident. However, another story with a male-centric character was not described with any adjectives and Abdullah (2015) failed to address the implication of not having any adjectives in describing the male character. Nevertheless, she managed to introduce a new, neutral connotation by drawing from Turner-Bowker’s (1996) framework, which originally comprised only positive and negative connotations. According to Abdullah (2015), some of the adjectives used in picture books are categorised as neutral connotations, as they do not convey positive or negative implications when analysed within the context of the story. For example, adjectives such as ‘little’ or ‘young’ are said to have neutral connotations as it does not evoke strong emotional responses. This approach allows for a more nuanced portrayal of characters, avoiding the reinforcement of traditional stereotypes. Thus, it is pertinent to analyse the adjectives used to describe characters to understand how they contribute to character portrayal and potentially reinforce or challenge traditional gender stereotypes. Therefore, using Turner-Bowker’s Linguistic Portrayal of Gender (1996), the present study adopts the categorisation of adjectives into positive and negative connotations and adapted Abdullah’s (2015) category for neutral connotations.

Figure 1.0 also illustrates how Abdul Hamid’s (2003) types of adjectives are applied to address the second research question, which is to analyse the types of adjectives used to describe female and male characters in Malaysian revisionary folktales. Abdul Hamid’s categorisation of adjectives was derived from various studies. This includes addressing linguistic sexism, which pertains to the unequal treatment and representation of genders through language (Abdul Hamid, 2002, 2003). It also involves addressing sex-role stereotyping, which is defined as the oversimplified opinions, affective attitudes, or critical judgments about a person’s role solely based on their gender. For example, Abdul Hamid et al. (2008) found that in personal spheres, such as within the family, females are often described in relation to their roles as nurturers, supporting males who are depicted as the breadwinners. In the public sphere, females are portrayed in service-oriented roles, such as nurses, reinforcing the notion that they are confined to a secondary status. Abdul Hamid (2009) further noted that female characters are often defined by their physical attributes, age, marital status, relationships to others, and gender-divided professional or occupational roles while men are typically characterised by their accomplishments, power, character, and occupation. This indicates a persistent pattern of gender stereotyping in both personal and public spheres within Malaysian contexts.

In reality, the disparity in gender portrayal could be mitigated as other countries have showcased gender-equitable society in their education materials. For instance, Mohd Yasin et al. (2012) reported contradictory findings, indicating that females are more visible and dominant than males in Qatari-published textbooks. This suggests that a country such as Qatar has been able to enforce a positive shift in creating more gender-balanced educational materials for the Qatari. This positive shift may be influenced by the Islamic view practised by the Qatari that all Muslims are considered brothers and sisters, which removes any gender biases. This suggests that Malaysia could adopt a similar approach by integrating cultural values to ensure a balanced representation of both genders in their educational materials. However, there also exists Asian countries that have a similar conservative and traditional culture such as Japan that still exhibits gender disparity in their educational materials. This is due to the influence of strong traditional cultural norms, which continue to shape societal expectations and the portrayal of gender in educational content. For example, Lee (2016) observed a strong tendency for gender stereotyping in adjective usage in Japanese textbooks, with men being associated with reputation, physical strength, and body size, and women associated with emotions, weakness, and attractiveness. He further asserted that female characters tended to be described in terms of their age and appearance (e.g., elderly, little, old, young) as well as emotions (e.g., angry, afraid, annoyed, happy, irritated, surprised). In contrast, male characters were portrayed by textbook authors with a broader range of adjectives, enhancing their appeal and complexity for the readers to read. Besides depicting their emotions (e.g., angry, disappointed, embarrassed), the authors frequently associated males with physical and mental strength (e.g., tall, big, heavy, strong, brave), as well as success and wealth (e.g., important, rich, poor). This disparity in descriptive words suggests a more multifaceted and engaging portrayal of male characters compared to female characters. Practically, addressing this issue is not as straightforward as one might think due to the complexity and variability in gender representation across different cultural contexts. Therefore, it is essential to examine Malaysian folktales, as they play a significant role in shaping societal norms and cultural values.

In developing the framework of the study, the focus is narrowed to two subject matters: (1) the use of language in portraying the characters of different genders, and (2) gender representations through types of adjectives, with reference to numerous studies conducted. In analysing the female and male characters in Malaysian revisionary folktales, the data was collected through the adjectives used in describing the female and male characters. By focusing on the evaluative adjectives used to describe the characters in the texts, the researchers examined the ways in which lexical choices craft female and male characters in the texts to provide deeper insights into their portrayal. These adjectives were analysed using Turner-Bowker’s (1996) linguistic portrayal of gender. The analysis of adjectives aimed at investigating the relationship between gender stereotypes and descriptors (adjectives) used for males and females by looking into descriptors connoting gender evaluation. The adjectives were categorised into three aspects: positive, negative and neutral. In order to further analyse the descriptors, the adjectives were further evaluated to elucidate whether there any linguistic sexism was perpetuated in describing the characters by looking into their physical attributes, age, status, relationship to the ‘other’, accomplishments, power, and occupation (Abdul Hamid, 2009). In summary, this study aims to reveal how adjectives in Malaysian revisionary folktales contribute to gender representation by highlighting potential linguistic sexism through a detailed analysis of types of descriptors categorised by positivity, negativity, and neutrality.

METHOD

The instrument involved in the study was from Daphne Lee’s Malaysian Tales: Retold and Remixed (2011). This book was selected as the corpus because it offers contemporary retellings of Malaysian folktales using the “revisioning” technique, which provides a valuable resource for analysing shifting gender portrayals in a modern context. According to Hashim (2012), this book contains examples of folktales made anew. This collection was considered suitable as it specifically engages with Malaysian cultural narratives, unlike other anthologies that focus more broadly on Southeast Asian or global folklore. The ‘revisioning’ technique found in this corpus is a terminology popularised by Rich (1995) that refers to the act of revisiting and re-examining an old text from a new critical perspective that enables one to understand the underlying assumptions that have shaped our perceptions.

The two stories selected from the book were Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah and The Boy Who Saved Singapura.  Out of the various folktales in the collection, these two were purposively selected to ensure balance in gender representation: one centred on a female protagonist (Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah) and the other on a male protagonist (The Boy Who Saved Singapura). The selection was also based on the stories’ prominence and recognisability in Malaysian culture, which enhances their relevance for a gender-focused analysis. These two stories were retold in a new revisionary concept of the traditional Malaysian folktale from the points of view of the main character (i.e., Merah from Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah) and from a third-person point of view (i.e., The narrator from The Boy Who Saved Singapura).

Moreover, the research compared how female and male characters were described as the main characters in each folktale. This justifies the choice of Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah, as it is a female-centric folktale, whereby the main character in the folktale is a female, and The Boy Who Saved Singapura as it is a male-centric folktale where the main character is a male.

In the analysis, the focus was on the language used to portray the characters of the female-centric and male-centric revisionary folktales. The analysis consisted of three steps: (i) identifying the main and secondary characters and their genders, (ii) locating the adjectives in the texts, and (iii) analysing the adjectives found in the texts. The data were analysed according to Turner-Bowker’s (1996) linguistic portrayal of gender and Abdul Hamid’s (2009) types of adjectives in gender representation.

The researcher identified the central character in the story that highlights the development of the character along with the plot of the revisionary folktales. Apart from that, the researcher identified the secondary characters that helped the story develop. These characters were then categorised in a table according to their gender. The adjectives were retrieved manually from the texts and were analysed through the positive, negative, or neutral connotations based on Turner-Bowker (1996) and types of adjectives from Abdul Hamid (2009). Turner-Bowker’s (1996) framework was selected as it provides an organised approach to classifying adjectives based on their connotations (i.e., positive, negative, or neutral). This categorisation helps reveal the evaluative attitudes embedded in the portrayal of male and female characters. In parallel, Abdul Hamid’s (2009) framework was applied because it offers a typology of adjectives used in gender representation. This complements Turner-Bowker’s focus by highlighting the structural and functional aspects of descriptive language. Using the two frameworks together allows for a richer interpretation: one emphasises the value judgment implied by the adjectives, while the other examines how those adjectives are constructed and applied. Although these models were not initially designed for Malaysian folktales, they were adapted to the cultural and linguistic context of the present study, with the awareness that certain limitations may arise from applying them across different sociocultural settings.

Apart from that, while the analysis is limited to two stories, this purposive selection allows for an in-depth comparison of gender portrayals in male-centric and female-centric narratives. Nevertheless, future studies could expand the corpus to include a broader range of folktales, thereby enhancing the generalisability of the findings.

FINDINGS

This section begins by identifying the characters of the Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah and The Boy Who Saved Singapura. Next, this section answers the first research question by categorising the adjectives’ connotations used to describe the characters portrayed in Malaysian revisionary folktales. Based on Turner-Bowker’s (1996), the characters were categorised into positive, negative, or neutral connotations. Finally, this section answers the second research question by analysing the types of adjectives used to describe the characters in Malaysian revisionary folktales based on Abdul Hamid (2009). The types of adjectives were analysed through physical attributes, status, character, age, occupation, emotions, power, relationship with ‘others’, and marital status.

Identifying the Characters of the Revisionary Folktales

Table 1 shows that in Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah, the characters are I (Merah), Kakak (Puteh), bonda satu, mother, and ayahanda, while in The Boy Who Saved Singapura, the characters are Hang Nadim, Tok Guru, Tun Dendang, Sultan, The Bendahara, Sang Bupala, Tun Perpatih Segalar and Rapeah.

Table 1: Characters in Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah and The Boy Who Saved Singapura

The Descriptors for Main Characters

Merah in Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah

Figure 2 shows that when describing Merah, there are five (5) adjectives presenting positive connotation, two (2) adjectives presenting negative connotation, and one (1) presenting neutral connotation.

Figure 2 – The frequency of connotations associated with the main character in Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah

Table 2 highlights the types of adjectives and the connotations used to describe the main character in Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah. These adjectives were categorised into physical attributes (2), status (1), character (3), age (1), and occupation (1). The highest number of adjectives found are categorised under positive connotations such as ‘Best vacant’, ‘not…so sinful‘, ‘not…so weak‘, ‘free’ and ‘apprentice’. This signifies that there is a change in portraying the main female character as they are being portrayed positively.

Table 2 – The descriptors for the main character in Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah

Hang Nadim in The Boy Who Saved Singapura

Figure 3 shows that thirteen (13) adjectives were identified in the text when describing Hang Nadim. There are three (3) adjectives presenting positive connotation, one (1) adjective presenting neutral connotation, and nine (9) adjectives presenting negative connotation.

Figure 3 – The frequency of connotations associated with the main character in The Boy Who Saved Singapura

Table 3 shows the types of adjectives and the connotations used to describe the main character in The Boy Who Saved Singapura. These adjectives were categorised into character (11), age (1), and emotion (1). The highest number of adjectives found were categorised under negative connotation such as ‘hungry cobra’, ‘noble sacrifice’, ‘tiger cub’, ‘cunning’, ‘uncanny’, ‘nothing’, ‘foolish’, ‘too clever’, ‘stupid’. This reflects a change in portraying the main male character as they are being negatively portrayed.

Table 3 – The descriptors for the main character in The Boy Who Saved Singapura

The Descriptors for Female Secondary Characters

Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah

Figure 4 shows 27 adjectives linked to the female secondary characters in Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah. Seventeen (17) adjectives presented negative connotations, and 10 adjectives presented positive connotations.

Figure 4 – The frequency of connotations associated with the female secondary characters in Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah

Table 4 shows the types of adjectives and the connotations used to describe the female secondary characters in Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah. These adjectives were categorised into physical attributes (13), status (1), character (6), emotions (3), relationship to the ‘other’ (1), and power (2). The highest number of adjectives were categorised under negative connotation. The examples of the adjectives are ‘fat cow‘, ‘anxious‘, ‘heartless‘, ‘greedy‘, ‘afraid‘, ‘poor‘, and ‘upset‘. In portraying negative connotations, most words indicated the literal meaning of the negative connotations. This indicates that secondary female characters were still being portrayed negatively.

Table 4 – The descriptors for female secondary characters in Bawang Merah, Bawang Putih

The Boy Who Saved Singapura

Figure 5 shows four (4) adjectives linked to the female secondary characters in The Boy Who Saved Singapura. All four (4) adjectives present neutral connotations.

Figure 5 – The frequency of connotations for female secondary characters in The Boy Who Saved Singapura according to types of adjectives

Table 5 shows the types of adjectives and the connotations used to describe the female secondary characters in The Boy Who Saved Singapura. These adjectives were categorised into physical appearance (3) and age (1). For illustrations, there were only neutral connotation adjectives present, which were ‘young’, ‘chubby’, ‘protruded’ and ‘tomboyish’. These adjectives are neutral connotations as they do not have any positive or negative implications toward Rapeah. This implies that the female secondary character had not changed much in terms of the female character’s description in a folktale where they were deemed insignificant.

Table 5 – The descriptors for female secondary characters in The Boy Who Saved Singapura

The Descriptors for Male Secondary Characters

Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah

Figure 6 presents 11 adjectives that are linked to the male secondary characters in Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah. Nine (9) adjectives presented negative connotations, and two (2) adjectives presented positive connotations.

Figure 6 – The frequency of connotations associated with male secondary characters in Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah according to types of adjectives

Table 6 shows the types of adjectives and the connotations used to describe male secondary characters in Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah. These adjectives were categorised by character (7), physical attributes (2), marital status (1), and age (1). The highest number of adjectives was categorised under the negative connotation. Examples include ‘typical’, ‘oblivious’, ‘wary’, ‘suspicious’, ‘dirty’, ‘old’, ‘twice-married‘, ‘hard’ and ‘haughty’. This infers that the male secondary characters had been portrayed negatively in the revisionary folktale which is commonly found in traditional folktale in general.

Table 6 – The descriptors for male secondary characters in Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah

The Boy Who Saved Singapura

Figure 7 shows 18 adjectives presenting negative connotations followed by five (5) adjectives presenting positive connotations and three (3) adjectives of neutral connotation.

Figure 7 – The frequency of connotations associated with male secondary characters in The Boy Who Saved Singapura according to types of adjectives

Table 7 shows that when describing the male secondary characters in The Boy Who Saved Singapura, the adjectives used to describe the male secondary characters were categorised into character (4), age (1), emotions (14), physical attributes (5), and power (2). The highest number of adjectives found were categorised as negative connotations such as ‘burdened’, ‘older’, ‘drowsy’, ‘daring’ and ‘portly’. This infers that the male secondary characters were being portrayed negatively.

Table 7 – The descriptors for male secondary characters in The Boy Who Saved Singapura

DISCUSSION

Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah consisted of seven (7) characters including one (1) main character and six (6) secondary characters. As this is a female-centric revisionary folktale, the protagonist of this story is a female. The findings indicate that the main character is described with words that connote positive evaluation with the adjectives that portray an image of optimistic attitude, confidence and independence to the reader. According to Turner-Bowker (1996), females are described more positively when they fulfil stereotyped roles. However, the current study shows contradictory findings as the main character did not conform to the stereotyped role that is often associated with the female gender portrayal in the traditional domain. Further evaluation of the female protagonist found that she was not described by her physical attributes as commonly found in other stories. Rather, the description of the character used words such as ‘free’ and ‘not so weak’. This shifts away from Knyazyan’s (2017) assertion that a woman’s value is often assessed more on her physical appearance than her intellect. This also contradicts Abdul Hamid’s (2009) findings who posited that female characters are often described using adjectives on physical attributes. Hence, the author of Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah attempted to reconstruct the gender stereotype that traditional folktales often present to readers. The author used positive connotations to describe the main character, which depicts their effort to portray a different choice of language. This approach projects the idea that language choice is influenced by an individual’s thoughts and perception which in this study refers to the author. By doing so, readers will be enlightened that females are not supposed to be described or portrayed in the traditional stereotypical way.

However, the female secondary characters in Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah were mainly described with adjectives that connote negative evaluation. This has the effect of making females appear more gender stereotyped, which contradicts Turner-Bowker (1996) who posit that even though females conform to traditional gender roles, they are still portrayed negatively due to the insignificant portrayal of the female secondary characters, which undermines their importance and reinforces negative stereotypes. For instance, the word ‘little’ distinctly conveys the concept of portraying women as objects or human beings that are extremely small, miniature, diminutive, and particularly as individuals who can never be self-confident or self-sufficient, constantly relying on others for their existence. Furthermore, the words ‘little songbird’ and ‘my pretty’ depict the female secondary character as a person who does not have a mind and personality of her own, but rather is an object of male’s enjoyment and pleasure. These prove the existence of patriarchal values associated with the characters. This conforms with Abdul Hamid et al. (2008) where females are often confined to a secondary status compared to their male counterparts. In contrast, feminist critics argue that the perpetuation of gender stereotyping through the choice of adjectives in depicting secondary female characters is evident, where females are often defined by their physical attributes (Abdul Hamid, 2009). This is different from the male secondary characters, who are portrayed negatively in revisionary folktales compared to traditional folktales, as they are the antagonist in the former and the protagonist in the latter.

On the other hand, The Boy Who Saved Singapura consisted of eight (8) characters, including one main character and seven (7) secondary characters. Since this is a male-centric revisionary folktale, the main character of this story is a male. The main character is depicted using words that connote negative evaluation, deliberately creating dim views and deceptive images of the main character to the reader. Through the portrayal of negative connotations, certain adjectives inherently implied negative meanings literally. However, certain adjectives relied on the context to project the connotation. For example, the word ‘too clever’ usually connotes a positive connotation that is defined as ‘intelligent’, ‘genius’, or ‘skilful’. The adverb ‘too’ modifies the adjective ‘clever’, showing that there is a greater amount or degree of clever than is desirable, necessary, or acceptable. This is because the main male character is a young boy who was considered irrelevant in giving opinions and ideas to adults. Despite being described in negative connotations, the main character was mainly defined by his character e.g. ‘brave’, ‘cunning’, ‘foolish’. Thus, while the main character was depicted with predominantly negative connotations, these descriptors also highlight the main character’s personality by emphasising traits such as bravery, cunning, and foolishness. This shows that male characters in folktales are still perpetuated stereotypically as dominating and as holding the highest position in society.

CONCLUSION

This study provides insightful findings on the gender representation of the characters in the folktales following the modern era, where the folktales are retold with a modern narrative. It highlights an improvement in the portrayal of female characters in revisionary folktales that has moved away from the traditional stereotypical gender portrayal. The female protagonist embodies a liberated and emancipated female character, reflecting revised feminine identities that encompass women asserting their autonomy and broadening their roles in non-traditional realms. In contrast to male-centric folktales, the main male character faces the influence of patriarchal ideology, as the other secondary male characters exert dominance over the protagonist due to the male-dominated power structure in the narrative. This can be seen from the use of adjectives in portraying the characters in the story, which relates to gender stereotyping. Since the adjective portrayal and gender stereotyping could negatively affect children, youths and subsequently nation-building, it is important to raise our awareness and stimulate change in this social issue. If left unchecked, these negative behaviours and attitudes could become institutionalised and eventually become part of our social and cultural norms. Additionally, modern narrative folktales will provide new perspectives on gender representation, avoiding stereotyping and generalising of women and men. If more attention is given to revisionary folktales in portraying equal treatment of the genders, gender awareness may be enhanced, and this, in turn, can contribute to the building of a more gender-equitable society in Malaysia. In line with this, educational material creators could consider incorporating revisionary folktales into curricula as a means of challenging traditional stereotypes and fostering gender awareness from an early stage. Likewise, policymakers may find value in encouraging the inclusion of such inclusive narratives in educational frameworks, thereby supporting the development of more balanced and equitable gender representations in society.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The researchers want to thank the Centre of Foundation Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Selangor, Kampus Dengkil, Selangor for the opportunity to conduct this research.

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