A plethora of writings have already established the role masculinity plays in Javanese culture and the effects of colonialism in defining maleness. However, less thoroughly considered is the topic of the feminine in the Javanese context. Local understanding of women's visual representations remains under-theorized, especially vis-a-vis changes in the light of Islamization. My dissertation, “Regimes of Femininity,” Investigates how gender and religious ideologies are represented or made manifest through historical portraits, contemporary arts, and visual culture. Moreover, my project especially probes how visual representations of Javanese Muslim women have changed through an analysis of portraits and elite culture during the late colonial period (1880-1945) and art and performance in the present day. As a point of departure, my study begins with an in-depth look at a portrait of a royal woman from the Islamic Central Javanese courts during the late colonial period. I then compare these representations with contemporary art created by Ipeh Nur and Dian Suci Rahmawati, two Javanese Muslim artists. I argue that a comprehensive comparative analysis of portraits and contemporary art will explain how Javanese images of the feminine reflect notions of gender, power, and religion. Additionally, I make connections between the court portraits, contemporary art, and hair. The concept of hair as a cultural signifier is an additional and significant site of analysis in my project. In portraits from the colonial era, women wear their hair in a sanggul (traditional Javanese bun hairstyle). I analyze the sanggul, its relationship to femininity and traditions, and how the contemporary prevalence of veiling (wearing hijabs, called jilbab in Indonesia) opposed to this formerly popular hairstyle is a rejection of Javanese traditions in favor of a more modern, and therefore more Middle Eastern, Muslim identity. Because my project focuses on representations of feminine identity in relation to visual culture and changing religious ideals, it contributes not only to scholarly discourse on Islamic art, Southeast Asian art, and gender studies in Indonesia but also to expanding insights into the vast diversity of Muslim identities.