Don't call me Momoye: a novella on a woman's struggle against body commodification
This creative work examines the commodification of women’s bodies through a magical-realism novella titled Don’t Call Me Momoye. Inspired by the real history of jugun ianfu women during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, the story follows Mardiyem, a young girl who dreams of becoming a singer but is forced into prostitution for Japanese soldiers. After experiencing severe abuse, she mysteriously awakens in present-day Indonesia as a successful singer. However, after facing exploitation from her manager, she comes to realize that commodification of women still exists, only in a different form. This novella uses the magical realism genre to connect historical trauma with contemporary gender issues. The theoretical framework is based on Catharine MacKinnon’s theory of sexual objectification and body commodification, as well as survivor feminism and solidarity frameworks proposed by Robertson (2021) and Burton (2025). Through Mardiyem’s journey across different timelines, the story explores how women’s bodies continue to be commodified within patriarchal systems and how survivors resist oppression through solidarity, storytelling, and reclaiming their voices. This creative work aims to raise awareness about the persistence of body commodification and the importance of collective resistance against gender-based exploitation.