Contructing Identity and Independency: A Multimodal Analysis of Indonesian Women’s Solo Travel on Instagram

The purpose of this study is to examine how Indonesian women’s agency can be presented in the form of solo travel content in Instagram as a platform where women negotiate the existing gender norms and present themselves. The study utilizes Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis by Theo van Leeuwen to show how multimodality can contribute to the presentation of women’s autonomy, independence, and self-determination. For this study, Instagram data were collected via observation and documentation of two posts that depict Indonesian women’s solo travels. The results demonstrate two different types of agency in these Instagram posts. First, @ayeshaikke shows women’s self-determination and the ability to represent authentic self through solo travels that allow them to make their own decisions beyond social expectations. Secondly, @berkelanov presents women’s independent decision-making and emotional strength through the capability to cope with unusual situations and take control over public spaces. In this way, Instagram uses such techniques of social actor representation as composition, salience, gaze, captions, embedded texts, music, and hashtags to show women as active social actors instead of being passive recipients of gender norms.