Interpreting Female Gen Z Sexual Agency on Social Media: An Audience Reception Analysis through the Film 'Like & Share’ (2022)

Amanda Sabrina Santoso, Mashita Phitaloka Fandia Purwaningtyas, S.I.P., M.A.

2025 | Skripsi | Ilmu Komunikasi

Studi ini mengeksplorasi resepsi audiens perempuan Generasi Z Indonesia terhadap representasi agensi seksual perempuan melalui platform media sosial dalam film Like & Share (2022) karya Gina S. Noer. Dengan menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif serta kerangka teori resepsi audiens yang mengacu pada model Encoding/Decoding dari Stuart Hall (1980), teori resepsi Sonia Livingstone (2013), Postfeminist Media Culture oleh Rosalind Gill (2007), dan teori Female Gaze, penelitian ini menelaah bagaimana perempuan muda menginterpretasikan dan merespons representasi feminis dalam konteks sosial budaya Indonesia. Penelitian ini dilakukan melalui wawancara mendalam dengan lima informan. Temuan menunjukkan bahwa tiga informan menunjukkan keselarasan dominan terhadap representasi dalam film, yang dipengaruhi oleh pemahaman mereka terhadap nilai-nilai keagamaan, makna sosial budaya, dan konsumsi media. Dua informan lainnya menunjukkan pembacaan yang dinegosiasikan, mencerminkan keterlibatan kritis yang dipengaruhi oleh pandangan agnostik dan nilai-nilai politik progresif. Di antara semua partisipan, media sosial muncul sebagai sesuatu yang berdampak ganda—memberikan ruang untuk ekspresi diri, namun sekaligus menjadi ruang yang merugikan bagi perempuan. Studi ini menyimpulkan bahwa meskipun Like & Share (2022) menyampaikan pesan feminis untuk melawan kontrol patriarkis atas pilihan perempuan, interpretasi audiens Indonesia tetap dibentuk oleh persilangan antara budaya, agama, ideologi, dan konsumsi digital. Penelitian ini menyoroti kompleksitas dalam negosiasi agensi seksual di masyarakat kontemporer dan menyerukan pentingnya literasi media feminis yang lebih luas dalam studi-studi mendatang yang mempertimbangkan keragaman audiens.

This study explores the reception of Indonesian female Generation Z audiences towards the representation of female sexual agency through social media platforms in the film ‘Like & Share’ (2022) by Gina S. Noer. Utilising a qualitative research method, joined with an audience reception framework drawing from Stuart Hall’s Encoding/Decoding model (1980) and Sonia Livingstone’s reception theory (2013), Postfeminist Media Culture by Rosalind Gill (2007), and the Female Gaze theory, this research investigates how young women interpret and engage with feminist representation within the Indonesian sociocultural context. This study was conducted through in-depth interviews with five informants, and the findings were able to reveal a dominant alignment with the film’s portrayal among three informants; shaped by their familiarity with religious circumstances, sociocultural significance, and media consumptions. Two informants exhibit negotiated readings, reflecting their critical engagement influenced by agnostic beliefs and progressive political values. Across all participants, social media emerged as a double-edged sword--providing opportunities for self-expression while also simultaneously becoming a harmful space for women. This study then concludes that while ‘Like & Share’ (2022) provides a feminist message to combat patriarchal control over women’s choices, the Indonesian audiences’ interpretations are still shaped by intersecting frameworks of culture, religion, ideology, and digital consumption. The research highlights the complexities of negotiating sexual agency in contemporary society and calls for an expanded feminist media literacy for future studies that considers broader audience diversity.

Kata Kunci : Female sexual agency, audience reception, postfeminism, female gaze, digital culture, digital surveillance, Indonesian society, Gen Z