The land belongs to men: hegemonic masculinity and women's exclusion in Gayo coffee farming communities, Aceh, Indonesia

Abstract

This study examines how hegemonic masculinity is constructed and reproduced through land ownership and patriarchal discourses, shaping women's exclusion from land ownership and agricultural decision-making in Gayo coffee farming communities in Aceh, Indonesia. Drawing on Feminist Political Ecology and Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis, it analyzes how cultural narratives and institutional practices position land as a male domain, shaping authority, decision-making, and agrarian governance. Using a qualitative case-study design involving 20 participants, supported by participant observation and document analysis, the study employs thematic and discourse-oriented coding informed by Fairclough's framework. The findings show that land operates not only as a productive asset but as a key source of social legitimacy through which men are recognized as household representatives and decision-makers. Institutional arrangements, such as inheritance systems, land certification, and cooperative structures, systematically reinforce male authority, while everyday discursive practices normalize this dominance by framing women's contributions as supportive rather than authoritative. Despite women's extensive involvement in agricultural labour and household economies, their roles remain less formally recognized, producing a persistent gap between participation and authority. Although women's participation is expanding in cooperatives and environmental initiatives, these developments remain negotiated within existing gender norms and do not fundamentally transform male dominance over land and decision-making. By demonstrating how land, institutions, and discourse intersect to sustain masculine authority, this study contributes to scholarship on gendered agrarian relations and highlights land as a critical site through which gendered power is reproduced in rural contexts.