<![CDATA[Detailed Unmarried (single) adult women within Madurese society frequently face social pressure in the form of questions, labeling, and stigma related to their marital status. This study aims to understand the forms of social pressure experienced by single adult women in Labuhan Village, Sreseh Sub-district, Sampang Regency, Madura, as well as the communication strategies they use to negotiate that pressure. This study employs a qualitative approach using an ethnographic method and an interpretive paradigm. Data were collected through participatory observation, in-depth interviews with eight informants selected through purposive sampling, and documentation, then analyzed using the qualitative data analysis technique of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. The findings show that social pressure toward the informants originates from the surrounding community and family, appearing in the form of repeated questions about marriage, negative labeling such as "tak pajuh lakeh" and "peraben towah," and gossip circulating in the informants' absence. In negotiating this pressure, informants employed three types of facework strategies: avoiding facework (silence, neutral answers, avoiding social situations), dominating facework (self-assertion still framed within politeness), and integrating facework (humor, adaptive dialogue, and career-achievement narratives). The discussion shows that Face Negotiation Theory is reasonably relevant in explaining these communication strategies, although its operational definitions regarding the role of third parties and the "aggressive" character of dominating facework need to be adjusted to the context of a densely networked, collectivist-religious society such as Labuhan Village. This study concludes that single adult women in Labuhan Village are not passive toward social pressure, but actively devise communication strategies aligned with local cultural and religious values. The implications of this study emphasize the importance of re-reading the facework theoretical framework when applied to rural communities with dense social networks.]]>
