Clay as Space for Negotiation: Gender Relations in Traditional Ceramic Production

This study examines how traditional ceramic production practices in Kasongan are formed through interactions between the artisan body, clay materials, gender relations, and community social structures. This study analyzes how traditional ceramic production practices in Kasongan, Yogyakarta, are shaped by the interaction between the artisan body, clay materials, gender relations, and the social structure of the community.

A descriptive-interpretive qualitative approach was used with thematic-inductive analysis. Data obtained through semi-structured interviews, participatory observations, and visual documentation of six purposively selected artisans were analyzed.

The results of the study show that the body becomes the main source of knowledge as skills grow through physical experience and repetitive work rhythms. The involvement of the body with clay forms an affective relationship in which material is understood as a living partner that influences the creative process. Such a relationship forms an aesthetic born from social collaboration and the negotiation of production and market needs. The production space becomes a fluid arena for gender negotiation through daily practice without a rigid division of roles. The contribution of this research lies in the new understanding that the tradition of craft survives through embodied negotiations that continue to occur in everyday practice. The aesthetics and sustainability of Kasongan ceramics result from social negotiations involving bodies, materials, gender, traditions, and market demands.

The production space serves as a flexible social arena with a division of labor not defined by gender, but by production habits and needs. The entire process shows that Kasongan is a living ecosystem of cultural knowledge that survives through embodied practices, solidarity, and adaptability.