Self-Representation of Female Street Children in Makassar City

The phenomenon of female street children is growing in several regions of Indonesia, including Makassar City. That prompted this study to take the case of female street children in Makassar City, especially those related to self-representation. This study uses a qualitative approach with data from interviews and observations. This study shows that the openness of female street children regarding their identity and activities is quite open. The openness of identity with their activities helps this study to conduct an assessment related to the self-representation of female street children. The self-representation of female street children is categorized into front stage and backstage. In the backstage categorization, street girls are considered to be close to their parents, self-representation of female street children is not based on the work of their parents who work on the streets, self-representation of female street children in terms of income will be returned to be deposited or given to their parents, self-representation of children the street to work is based on self-awareness, and they have goals. The tendency of these findings indicates that female street children have a different self-representation from the general public's views. The contribution of this research is possible to reconstruct street children's self-representation in the social environment.