RESEPSI KHALAYAK TERHADAP FENOMENA CHILDFREE PADA KONTEN ‘KICK ANDY: CHILDFREE’ (STUDI PADA IBU RUMAH TANGGA)

Nahda Awindya Bhanuwati, 202010040311389, Audience Reception of the Childfree Phenomenon in the “Kick Andy: Childfree” Content (A Study of Housewife). The childfree phenomenon, defined as the decision of married couples not to have children, has become a topic of public discussion, particularly after being featured in the program “Kick Andy: Childfree.” This issue has generated various stigmas because it is often perceived as conflicting with cultural norms, traditions, and religious values that associate marriage with the obligation to have offspring. Mass media play an important role in framing this phenomenon and shaping public discourse; however, media messages are not always interpreted uniformly by audiences. This study aims to examine audience reception of the childfree phenomenon in the content “Kick Andy: Childfree,” focusing on married women. The research employs a qualitative approach using the reception study method based on Stuart Hall’s encoding-decoding theory, which categorizes audience interpretations into dominant-hegemonic, negotiated, and oppositional positions. Data were collected through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) involving four research participants with different social, economic, cultural, and family backgrounds. The findings indicate that women from harmonious families and stable economic backgrounds generally agree with the childfree phenomenon but still hold certain considerations regarding the stigma that views it as deviant behavior. Women with strong religious backgrounds tend to perceive childfree as contrary to social norms and traditions. Working women and women who already have children occupy a dominant position regarding the social construction that an ideal woman is one who has children. Participants with strong religious and cultural backgrounds tend to agree that childfree is inconsistent with religious principles, while women who have children are more likely to view childfree as a form of personal freedom. Audience reception of the childfree phenomenon varies significantly and is influenced by individual backgrounds, including life experiences, social environments, and religious understanding. This study concludes that audiences actively interpret media messages, and differences in reception reflect the complexity of social meaning construction surrounding the childfree phenomenon in Indonesian society.