JEELS
(Journal of English Education and Linguistics Studie.
P-ISSN: 2407-2575 E-ISSN: 2503-2194 https://jurnalfaktarbiyah.
id/index.
php/jeels REPRESENTATIONS OF GENDER IN ENGLISH TEXTBOOK
SUPER MINDS: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
Khairunnisa Fitri Nasution1.
*Eddy Setia2.
Rahmadsyah Rangkuti3 1,2,3Author Department of English.
Faculty of Cultural Science.
Universitas Sumatera Utara.
Indonesia nisnic20@gmail.
*eddy12457@yahoo.
syahkuti@gmail.
(*) Corresponding Author Abstract: Gender stereotypes that are developed in the society influence peopleAos thoughts and behavior.
Schools contribute the socialization of gender through textbooks or interaction between teachers and students.
Textbooks are extremely important in forming students' values, ideologies, and social They are also acknowledged for having a major impact on how students' gender roles develop, especially in elementary school.
Language use and social lives of pupils may be impacted by gender The textbook material they study accounts for half of the influence.
Children have access to a wealth of knowledge regarding behavior, characteristics, and social roles that are proper for each gender that are portrayed in textbooks.
This research was aimed to see how gender represented according to the three social context parameters such Citation in APA style:
Nasution.
Setia.
, & Rangkuti.
Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
JEELS, 12.
, 475-499.
DOI: 10.
30762/jeels.
Submission: August 2024.
Revision: November 2024.
Publication: May 2025 Nasution.
Setia.
, & Rangkuti.
Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
JEELS, 12.
, 475-499.
as family, occupation, and leisure activities were used to perform Examining the gender portrayals of male and female characters in the Super Minds 6 English textbook.
This research used qualitative and quantitative research methods and employed Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) theory as the method of analysis.
In conjunction with CDA.
Giaschi's Visual Grammar theory is also used as an analytical tool to explain the depiction of gender representation in the textbook.
Based on the findings, there are more male pictures than female Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA).
Super Minds, gender representation, textbook analysis INTRODUCTION Gender identity consists of many building blocks which are self-perception, other-perception and biological and social Warner .
asserts that gender identity emerges from a complex interaction of internal self-understanding, external social perceptions, biological elements, and sociocultural influences, supporting the notion that it comprises multiple foundational While everyone originates from a shared biological foundation, gender identity is not solely defined by awareness of oneAos genitals.
Instead, children begin to form their sense of self by interpreting the facial expressions, gestures, and tone of voice of people around them.
As part of the social environment, society plays a significant role in shaping oneAos gender identity.
Schools, being a major component of that environment, have a strong influence (Kelley, 2.
Therefore, ensuring gender representation in all aspects of life, including education, is essential.
It usually appears in the textbook as the material for learning and teaching activity.
Textbooks are a type of instructional aid that consist of a series of written and visual materials designed to accomplish particular learning objectives, impart knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors (Gebregeorgis, 2016.
Setyono & Widodo, 2019.
Sulistiyo et al.
, 2021.
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Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
JEELS, 12.
, 475-499.
Santika, 2.
According to Cunningsworth .
, textbooks are vital since they are thought to be a source for achieving particular aims and objectives in relation to the needs of the students.
They are an educational tool created to enhance students' comprehension and abilities through teaching and learning.
It is commonly known that textbooks significantly impact students' sociocultural norms, beliefs, and ideologies in addition to serving as a conduit for the transmission of knowledge (Goyal & Rose, 2020.
Lee, 2014.
Widodo & Elyas, 2.
School textbooks serve as "an instructional guide that helps learners engage with these value-laden texts" in order to expect pupils to learn the correct ways of thinking, acting, doing, valuing, and being in the world as explained by Widodo .
It suggests the importance of textbooks in gender construction and socialization, which educators and learners regard as authoritative and hence accept without question (Lee & Chin, 2019.
Lee & Mahmoudi-Gahrouie, 2.
The various components that comprise gender identity are perceptions of oneself and others, as well as biological and social Though this source is shared by all, it is not seen as the ultimate or fundamental identity of the genitalia.
Through the interpretation of the movements, facial emotions, and voice tones of others around them, children gain insight into their inner selves.
One's gender development is greatly influenced by society, and schools play a significant role in the community.
Thus, it is essential to ensure gender representation across all aspects.
Various measures have been implemented to address the disparities between males and females.
Consequently, when developing a textbook, particularly for English as a Second Language, it is important to consider multiple factors such as race, age, class, mental ability, gender, and purpose (Al Qatawneh & Al Rawashdeh, 2019.
Fan et , 2.
Therefore, textbooks for children play a vital role in preventing the formation of negative stereotypes about the opposite gender.
This study employs CDA to examine gender representation.
CDA is essential for this purpose, as it is a key approach within discourse Nasution.
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Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
JEELS, 12.
, 475-499.
analysis that emerged in the early 1990s.
(Wodak & Mayer, 2008.
Muzdalifah et al.
, 2.
It concentrated on the linguistic features of discourse and its structures, examining their connections to social systems and cognitive processes to address social issues like inequality, injustice, racism, ideology, hegemony, and the abuse of (Kayed et al.
, 2020.
Shume, 2020: Orfan, 2.
Data found that especially women are subject to sexism in school textbooks, for instance, in the form of stereotypical gender roles .
omen are portrayed as housewives or nurse.
or they are portrayed as the weaker gender.
Females were underrepresented whether measured in lines of text, proportion of named characters .
uman or anima.
, mentions in titles, and so forth.
Also, men and women were shown in highly gender-stereotyped ways in the household and in the occupational division of labor, and the actions, attitudes and traits portrayed.
For example, women were accommodating, nurturing drudges at home, girls were passive conformists, while boys and men did almost all the impressive, noble, exciting things but none of the nurturing "feminine" things.
However, a disparity exists because the gender representation in the book does not align with the concept of equality (Sengul, 2.
Consequently, this study aims to examine the frequency of gender representation between males and females in the textbook and to assess how gender is portrayed according to the three social context parameters such as family, occupation, and leisure activities were used to perform a discursive analysis of the male and female characters in Super Minds 6 English textbook with an emphasis on the characters' visibility.
METHOD
Design of Study This research conducted using both quantitative and qualitative approaches utilizing Fairclough's three-dimensional framework for CDA was employed.
Data collected from the entire content of the Super Minds 6 textbook for elementary school.
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Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
JEELS, 12.
, 475-499.
The Data and Source of Data The researcher managed to get the quantitative and qualitative data by using the EFL English textbook Super Minds 6 published by Cambridge Press in 2013.
This research had no participants, although it looked into pictorial or images used in the The data were gathered by identifying and tallying all images representing both male and female genders in the textbook.
Data Collection In this study, the researcher carefully and thoroughly examined the data sources, including images, text, and symbols in the Super Minds textbook.
The researcher then collects these data sources and classifies them.
The final step involves a detailed analysis using the CDA method.
After gathering the data, the researchers estimate the extent of gender representation to determine its frequency across three social contexts: Three social parameters family, occupation, and leisure activities activities were used to perform a discursive analysis of the male and female characters in Super Minds 6 with an emphasis on the characters' visibility.
Combined with Giaschi's .
framework for a critical image evaluation of gender stereotypes in Super Minds 6.
The data of the research was from the English textbook Cambridge Super Minds 6.
This textbook has 127 pages with nine Own content variations such as speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
Data Analysis This study was analyzed by using Fairclough's threedimensional framework.
Fairclough's approach involves three stages of CDA: .
describing the text, .
interpreting the connection between the text and its interaction, and .
explaining how the interaction relates to the broader social context.
In order to analyze the data, the visibility of men and women in Super Minds 6 textbook was compared, and every image in each unit was manually counted.
Three social parameters family.
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Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
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, 475-499.
occupation, and leisure activities were used to perform a discursive analysis of the male and female characters in AuSuper Minds 6Ay which will focus on their visibility, using Giaschi's .
framework for critically evaluating gender stereotypes.
The methods employed will be thoroughly described to allow readers to assess the validity of the research methodology.
The study should specify the participants, subjects, population, and sample involved.
It should also explain what instruments were used, how they were applied, and to whom.
Additionally, the process of data analysis in the study should be FINDINGS The results of the analysis explored gender frequency in textbook, male and female represented according to three social contexts, and gender differences.
Gender Frequency in Super Minds 6 The initial outcome of the data analysis involves quantifying the visibility of female and male characters in Super Minds.
This general assessment of gender representation was carried out by counting the number of images featuring male and female characters in the textbooks.
Unit 1 found that male characters are more dominant in Super Minds 6 textbook than females.
As shown in Table 1, for all 18 images depicting humans in Super Minds 6, 10 images .
depict males and 2 images .
11%) depict females only.
In other words, male characters dominate in the first unit of the textbook.
Meanwhile, in Unit 2 the findings were also found that males showed 8 images .
1%) in a total of 14 images in Unit 1 dominated by males and 1 image .
1%) depicted female and both genders 14 images .
9%).
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Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
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, 475-499.
Tabel 1.
The Content of Super Minds 6 and Images with gendered Unit (Topi.
Male Female Mixed-Sex Total Images The Treasure (Pirate.
II.
Future Transport (Trave.
Ancient Egypt (In Egyp.
IV.
Olympic Sports (Sport.
In London (Shop.
VI.
Crazy Inventions (Tool.
VII.
This is Houston (Moo.
Vi.
A Cold Place (Arcti.
IX.
The Jurassic Age (Natur.
Total 73 .
Unit 3 the difference in the number of representations is also seen in table 1 where males 7 images .
3%) and females have the least number which is only 2 images .
7%).
Although female representation was also seen in unit 4 where only 1 image .
7%) is seen and dominated by males 8 .
5%).
The findings were also found in unit 5 male 6 images .
4%), followed by female presentation 2 images .
2%).
In unit 6 males are less than females which is only 2 images .
2%) in this new unit shows a difference where the number of females is more, females 4 images .
6%).
The next finding in unit 7 female and male frequency also found a very significant difference where it is still dominated by male 13 images .
2%) and female 3 images .
7%).
in table 1 can also be seen the number of images in male there are 4 images .
%) and female images only 2 images .
%).
In the last unit in the Super Minds book is also still dominated by male images which is 15 images .
4%) and the gender that has the least number presentation by female is only 1 image .
8%).
Although female representation is present in all units of the AuSuper Minds 6Ay textbook, there is an overall imbalance in gender The book exhibits a clear male dominance, as males are represented more frequently compared to females.
In contrast.
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Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
JEELS, 12.
, 475-499.
mixed-gender images, where both genders appear in a single picture, account for a total of 37 images .
2%) as shown in Table 1.
Overall, the analysis revealed that male characters are more prevalent than female characters in the AuSuper Minds 6Ay textbook.
According to Table 1, out of 128 images featuring people in the textbook, 73 images .
4%) show only males, while 18 images .
3%) show only females.
In other words, male characters are depicted significantly more frequently than female characters.
Male and Female Representation across Three Social Context Parameters Gender Depictions in Family Settings Social responsibilities are inherently linked to gender, which is the primary reason for the traditional division of labor between men and women.
The expectations of how people should behave and behave based on their assigned sex in various sociocultural contexts are known as gender roles, and they frequently play to preconceived notions about gender.
Gender stereotypes are often present in the socio-cultural context of the household.
Regarding this subject, the following finding relates to how men and women are represented in a family setting (Fithriani, 2.
Part 1 illustrates in figure 1, where it takes place in a dining table eating food with the family.
The image illustrates a man in a familial role as a father.
In this socio-cultural context, the father appears to be taking the children to a restaurant.
Adult females .
are primarily shown as the main protagonists in depictions of females playing traditionally feminine roles, such as providing care and take care of her family.
Women are also known to do domestic activities, males are known to do hard work outside the house so mostly, cooking are dominated by female.
In Indonesian familial context, when it comes to household maintenance .
epairing things, cars, etc.
), it is also the responsibility of a father to handle such things (Noviandri & Mursidi, 2.
Levant et al.
, .
firmly supported that a father should guarantee the safety and comfort of his family, including the maintenance of the housewares.
Since the concept of fatherhood is linked to Nasution.
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Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
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Therefore, the orientation is associated with masculine stuffs (Ary et al.
, 2020.
Noviandari & Mursidi, 2.
But in the data obtained in Picture 1 showed the opposite, where a father takes his kids to eat at a restaurant.
In picture 1 there seems to be no mother's role such as cooking for her family or doing domestic activities that are usually done by a mother, the opposite happens where the father's role dominates even for things like feeding his kids by taking his children to eat at a restaurant and the role of a mother seems to disappear and it is the father who takes over by taking care of his Gender stereotyping in a familial setting is evident in Super Minds 6 because the unequal visibility and engagement of male and Male and female play roles in activity as depicted in this book quietly uphold the sociocultural placement of women in the family gender stereotypes portray women as embodying "a traditional, passive, maternal image" that is both constructed and (Lee & Chin, 2.
But this data showed the opposite.
It is the father's role that dominates in the familial setting and the mother's role in domestic activities is not shown in any of the pictures in this book.
Figure 1.
Example of super minds 6.
gender potrayals in familial .
, 4, 5, 6, 7, and .
gender potrayals in professional.
gender potrayals in leisure activities.
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Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
JEELS, 12.
, 475-499.
Part 2 .
illustrates that the picture depicted a woman with her kids.
Adult females .
are primarily shown as the main protagonists in depictions of females playing traditionally feminine roles, such as providing care and take care of her family.
But, in this socio-cultural situation, not only the mother seems to take the kids somewhere for a walk but the father of the kids was going with them too.
Part 2 it can be concluded that the role of the father and mother in taking part in taking care of their children is equal, there is no picture at all where only the mother plays a role in the familial setting in Part 2.
Moreover, this data contradicts the previous findings (Berezecka et al.
, 2.
which stated that women traditionally perform household chores and take care of the family and the male characters dominance in activity engagement outside domestic Gender Depictions in the Workplace There is broad consensus that work is socially gendered, and the workplace serves as a significant socio-cultural setting for various forms of gender inequality.
The data indicates that, in addition to domestic roles.
Super Minds 6 depicts both male and female characters, particularly adults, engaged in various professional activities with an uneven distribution.
Men are shown in a wider range of professional roles, from highly skilled positions like inventors, scientists, and directors to less skilled ones such as security guards and pedicab drivers.
In contrast, women are represented in a much narrower range of professions, predominantly as teachers or makeup artists.
This finding indicates that achieving gender equality in educational materials does not automatically result in gender equality overall (Lee, 2018.
, especially in the professional setting.
addition, an interesting phenomenon is also seen in this Super Minds 6 book where women are visualized only as make-up artists and only appear twice.
This does not validate the stereotypical portrayal of elementary school teachers as women's work, similar to what was observed in Lee .
and Yang's .
research, but rather that Nasution.
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Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
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, 475-499.
teaching is done by men too, not only women.
Due to certain characteristics, such as physical strength in men or empathy in women, gender-based traits can either facilitate or obstruct progress in specific professions.
The textbook associate various occupations with either female or male roles.
Part 3 .
revealed that males predominantly occupy activist roles, which are associated with strong passion, exceptional critical thinking skills, and effective networking abilities.
In the data found based on Picture 3 with a school background where there is a teacher and his students are doing teaching and learning activities at school, it appears a male teacher not a female teacher.
This is very inversely proportional to the findings that say that the teacher's job is only done by female, in the Super Minds 6 it was found that male was also a teacher not only female.
According to this research, gender equality is not always easily achieved with equal gender visibility in instructional materials alone (Lee, 2018.
These two pictures are contrast with Lee .
that showed in his research that teacher was only dominated by man, because in this textbook male and female teachers were shown, this data also shows that males are visible in the field of school teaching as we can see from Part 3 and Part 4 .
where both genders are The results of this study were not aligned with the existing Ciftci et al.
found that most female students preferred careers in nursing, physiotherapy, rehabilitation, and child developmentAifields typically viewed as "women's professions.
However, the data from the Super Minds 6 textbook shows that teaching is represented equally for both genders.
The next finding it was found that male portrays jobs that needs some kind of physical strength as we can see in Part 5 .
, from Part 5 we can see a public vehicle as we call AuBecakAy in Indonesia driven by a man who brings a lot of people, in this book there is not found any female who does this kind of job as shown in Part 5.
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Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
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These findings align with earlier research (Berezecka et al.
Clark, 2016.
Lee, 2018a.
Lee & Chin, 2.
, which suggests that there has been minimal progress towards gender equality in Today, women constitute a significant portion of the workforce in Indonesia and are employed across a diverse range of professions, including those requiring advanced skills and education (Lestariyana et al.
, 2.
The association of feminine and masculine traits with specific occupations, which contributed to gendered job divisions, became more pronounced during the nineteenth century.
Men's roles were frequently centered around physical strength, high public positions, and professions involving knowledge and authority, while women's roles were more related to skill-based tasks and educational fields.
Jobs that require physical strength are dominated by males, such as pedicab drivers based on Picture 5 and we can see from Part 6 .
We can see in Part 6 where males are doing job as security guard and in this finding, the researcher did not find any female who work as security guards but rather work that does not require physical strength as an example of makeup artists as seen in the Part 7 .
This finding contrasts with Lestariyana et al.
, showed that women have the potential to achieve professional success and financial independence.
The depiction of women as makeup artists in Picture 6 suggests that the textbook authors may not be aiming to represent both genders equally or to support female empowerment and gender equality (Curaming & Curaming, 2.
Additionally, the textbook may not have sought to promote the idea that women can excel in exceptional careers in response to the push for equal labor opportunities (Aini et al.
, 2.
The portrayal of career women also fails to reflect the involvement of women in traditionally masculine jobs (Meeussen et al.
, 2.
These stereotypes reinforce traditional professions for both genders and do not align with the range of existing opportunities.
Male were depicted as having wider range of roles as shown by their occupations and tasks they performed.
As we can see in the Part 8 .
, from the findings, jobs like inventor and astronaut are Nasution.
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Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
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, 475-499.
only done by male, no females are found doing jobs like being an inventor or an astronaut.
Super Minds 6 demonstrates that the most prestigious careers are predominantly linked to men.
The portrayal of women in fewer and more restricted roles compared to men suggests that "men are superior, stronger, and more powerful than women in society" (Lee, 2018.
Furthermore, this representation reflects both explicit and implicit gender inequality, limiting opportunities for young people to pursue a future of equal social and economic participation.
(Clark, 2.
The representation of women in fewer and more restricted roles compared to men in Super Minds 6 suggests that "men are superior to, stronger, and more powerful than women in society" (Lee, 2018.
Gender Representations in Leisure Activities Among the numerous studies that delve into this subject, results point towards a relationship between the way both genders spend their leisure time.
Males and females are stereotyped to spend different amounts of time engaging in leisure activities.
The results pertaining to this topic reveal that leisure activities are the most frequently shown activity for both male and female representation in Super Minds 6.
Many prevalent stereotypes suggest that men and women allocate different amounts of time to leisure activities.
Men are often associated with 'thing-oriented' activities like vehicle repair, carpentry, and engineering, while women are seen as more interested in 'people-oriented' activities such as dancing, acting, and shopping (Kuhn & Wolter, 2.
The findings on this topic indicate that AuSuper Minds 6Ay shows the highest frequency of both male and female characters engaged in leisure activities.
The textbook portrays both genders in a variety of settings, participating in different types of indoor and outdoor sports, as shown in Parts 9 and 10 (Fig.
Notably.
AuSuper Minds 6Ay presents a more balanced distribution of men and women in these social contexts and depicts both genders equally participating in the same leisure activities.
Men are known to have stronger physical body than women.
These images shown that male from the data, it is found that men Nasution.
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Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
JEELS, 12.
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prefer to spend their leisure time doing activities related to physical activity as seen in the picture there are climbing, biking, skiing as seen in Part 9 .
On the other hand, female also enjoys leisure activity which require harder physical activities.
Part 10 .
, a female enjoys gym The findings are not a line with previous findings whereas said that women are more interested in 'people-oriented' activities such as dancing, acting, and shopping (Kuhn & Wolter, 2.
Females are identical to shopping and window shopping.
But in these findings, not a single image was found that showed female spending their leisure time doing shopping, or doing activities that female usually do.
In Super Minds 6 we can see the equality of the two genders in doing activities in their leisure time, where both genders enjoy the same physical activity.
Essence of The Gender Differences in Super Minds 6 The content of textbooks should be developed in a way that integrates students' experiences, stimulates their desire to learn, and enhances their awareness of gender differences while also guiding the learning process.
This is because textbooks serve as a resource of guidance for understanding the relationship between what is taught in school and what is happening in broader cultural settings (Padilla.
Purwaningtyas, 2020.
Xiong & Peng, 2.
There is a reason why males were dominated than females in this Super Minds 6 book: It is because the content of the Super Minds 6 book is dominated by content that contains inventors either from the past or in the future where almost all technology and many inventions are dominated by men.
The Part 11 .
, the findings found the topic in each unit, pictures, animations and stories .
oth real and imaginar.
present in this textbook and all of them were dominated by male images.
The themes such as future transport, space, and crazy inventions dominated by male scientist.
In the data found in this textbook, from unit 1 to the last unit as shown in the picture.
This book focuses more on the development of science and technology in the past and the Nasution.
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Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
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future, all illustrations are dominated by men who are described as inventors and scientists.
as shown in Part 12 .
Figure 2.
Example of gender potrayals in Super Minds 6 Gender is a socio-cultural construction that distinguishes between women and men in social life.
Historically-sociologically, feminist scientists have questioned the relationship between gender and science .
specially scienc.
since the 1970Aos.
Social life that involves the creation and use of technology will involve all genders, both women and men.
Social life is often dominated by men.
When we talk about technology, it seems as if technology only belongs to men who can create sophisticated technology such as airplanes.
Stigmatization sometimes arises that the development of science and technology is only dominated by men.
Dorf defines technology as the application of science, while defines technology as the knowledge and study of human endeavor in creating and using tools, techniques, resources and systems to manage the natural and man-made environment for the purpose of improving life.
Although science and technology have offered many new opportunities for women and men, the reality shows that Nasution.
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Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
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women's participation is still lower than men's in both engineering, and science and technology in general.
Part 12 in figure 2 some astronauts important art literature pieces, the famous scientists, the landmarks of the target culture can be seen abundantly in the units.
On the other hand, the book prepares pupils for international cultural perspective.
They are introduced judiciously in different activities.
Actually, there are many roles of women in the development of science and technology, but this will not appear on the surface because of the distinction according to socio-cultural culture.
Most of illustration was dominated by men.
This will eventually lead to gender bias.
Women are considered as Aukonco wingkingAy who play no role in the development of science and technology.
Many scientists who succeed in discovering new findings have a female identity.
Women observers predict that in the future there will be more female scientists who come to the surface in the struggle for science.
Women's achievements are undeniable.
Women have contributed a lot to the development of science and technology.
Judy Wacjman, a professor in the Department of Sociology at the London School of Economics, has conducted many studies on science and technology.
She suspects that the lack of representation of women in the world of technology is not necessarily because women are unable to master the field (Wajcman, 2.
Wacjman in her publication AuFeminist Theories of TechnologyAy wants to see how the relationship between women and technology with intersectionality studies between feminist studies and STS (Science and Technology Studie.
Wacjman proposes a newer theory not just women and technology but technofeminism to interrogate gender relations in technology.
Wacjman questions how technology plays a role in gender-based power relations.
Another criticism also comes from Donna Haraway, an expert in the field of science, who is dubbed a techno-science Many of Haraway's works, both books and journals, focus on the resistance to masculine bias in the culture of science, which Nasution.
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she refers to in this essay as Auinformatics dominationAy-the masculine domination of information, and this information constitutes The relationship between women and science has also been politically constructed over time to the detriment not only of women practically but also in the long run.
This construction eventually makes technology AugenderedAy or AugenderedAy.
Chronologically and philosophically.
Wacjman and Haraway have explained that technology as a masculine space is a politically created construction to control the public sphere.
This construction ultimately keeps women away from technology and science.
Part 14 in figure 2 from the history of the car, the inventors were dominated by male.
Women and men are nurtured differently from birth.
That's how the gender construction of technology was first born.
Boys were given robot toys and girls were given dolls.
Since then we have unconsciously labeled certain items, masculine toys and feminine So if a man played with dolls, he would be ridiculed, bullied, and considered weird.
Similarly, when a woman chooses to study technology, she becomes a minority and often has to leave her feminine traits behind to enter the world of technology.
In patriarchal cultures technology as an innovation is claimed to belong to men.
Patriarchal culture also forces women to be feminine .
assive, masochistic, narcissisti.
and tries to convince women that they approve of being feminine.
These social constructions continue to be embedded in the so-called female Under the pretext of women's inability to master Science.
Technology.
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, this masculine culture creates gender stereotypes in technology (Muenks et al.
, 2020.
Erol & Erol, 2.
Men are superior as a population to women at those tasks.
Though there are many female scientists, they tend to further explore already established topics, and with inventors and entrepreneurs these both require innovative and aggressive minds.
Which men have and women donAot.
There are several reasons why women hold fewer patents on innovations than men.
One hypothesis is that Nasution.
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women may be less attracted to math-intensive fields, which produce most inventions.
However, statistics show that women earn more bachelor and master degrees in STEM than men (Smith & Evans.
DISCUSSION Gender encompasses the socially constructed attributes of women, men, girls, and boys, including the norms, behaviors, and roles assigned to each gender, as well as their interactions with one As a social construct, gender differs across societies and can evolve over time.
Textbooks are commonly utilized resources in teaching and learning processes within schools.
In English as a Foreign Language (EFL) textbooks, gender equality often highlights issues of gender discrimination.
Although the textbook was written and produced by nonIndonesian authors and publishers, the content of the textbook is sufficiently in accordance with the applicable national curriculum, school syllabus and student needs, as well as the objectives of English Language Teaching (ELT).
Through discursive analysis after Fairclough's CDA framework combined with Giaschi's .
theory of image analysis as data analysis, it reveals that the visual images presented in the Super Minds 6 textbook depict general knowledge and those related to technological development.
All of illustrations and images throughout the book show the gender gap which is mostly dominated by men as inventors, astronauts and scientists.
the book focuses on the development of time from the past to the future.
technological development and technological progress are the main focus in this book.
In Indonesia, textbooks play a crucial role in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL).
Since EFL students primarily engage with the language only within the classroom, textbooks should provide more opportunities for language exposure, enabling students to practice English independently outside of class.
The data analysis reveals several key findings.
Firstly, male images are predominant in the textbook.
Marques et al.
Nasution.
Setia.
, & Rangkuti.
Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
JEELS, 12.
, 475-499.
suggest that this dominance reflects a bias against women.
Similarly.
Sanmugam et al.
observed the dominance of similar gender representation images in a study that qualitatively analyzed 25 journal articles using CDA methods to discuss the gender roles of women in ESL textbooks for Malaysian students.
The lower frequency of female images in textbooks or ESL may be due to the prevailing societal perception of the visibility of women who are stereotypically depicted doing housework and performing domestic roles while being underrepresented in work roles and social This review revealed that for the most part, this assumption serves as an important factor in explaining the observed Secondly, the textbook does not exhibit stereotypes against There are no images depicting women performing domestic tasks such as cooking, meal preparation, or laundry.
This absence suggests that the textbook does not reinforce gender norms that traditionally associate women with household chores.
The presentation of gender roles is unequal, with fewer female roles compared to male roles, similar to Gupta and Lee's study, which found fewer female roles such as teaching, food preparation, and serving.
This imbalance suggests an implication of lesser competence among females compared to males, indicating clear gender bias.
However, unlike Yang's .
study, which did not include male teachers, this textbook features one image of a male Another finding is the predominance of males in games and leisure activities.
Only one image depicts a female engaging in gym activities, whereas there are significantly more images of males participating in such activities.
CONCLUSION
The current study has analysed, described and explained the gender representation of Both gender in Super Minds 6 textbook for elementary school produced by non- Indonesian authors and publishers, yet used in most elementary school EFL classrooms in Nasution.
Setia.
, & Rangkuti.
Representations of gender in English textbook super minds: A critical discourse analysis.
JEELS, 12.
, 475-499.
Indonesia.
The findings show that in the first findings, there is a significant gender difference where the frequency of male images dominates more than female images.
Female depicted only a few and not so visible in this textbook that focus more on science and technology in general and globally.
In the second finding in the 3 social parameters, again the male image dominates.
However, in the familial setting section, there are not so many images that show gender roles in the familial setting and there are no specific images that distinguish both genders, but in the field of work and leisure time, it is still dominated by men who have the highest image presentation and illustration.
In the third discovery, it was found that the reason why male images are more dominant than female is that the book focuses on the development of science and technology where most inventors and scientists are men.
DECLARATION OF AI AND AI-ASSISTED TECHNOLOGIES
No artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted technologies were used in the creation or preparation of this research.
Nonetheless, a number of software programs, including Excel.
Grammarly and Mendeley are used to assist in organizing and calculating the data.
REFERENCES