Is pornography a threat to society?<\/p>\n
What is pornography? Different people have different views on the
\nsubject. What one country considers art might be banned in
\nanother which views it as pornography. Religions, too, influence
\nthe way people perceive things. The following article and several
\nothers on Pages 2 and 4 discuss the topic.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Pornography. The term is derived from the Greek
\nwords porne and graphos. Porne means prostitute and graphos
\nmeans writing. Literally, then, the word means writings about
\nprostitutes.<\/p>\n
In its development, the word pornography has come to mean all
\nforms of visual material used to arouse sexual desire.<\/p>\n
Therefore, we categorize Playboy or Penthouse magazines, or
\nbooks containing pictures of nude bodies, as pornographic because
\nof their provocative nature.<\/p>\n
In many countries, including Indonesia, pornography is banned
\nbecause it is considered to have a dangerous power to corrupt
\npeople's morals.<\/p>\n
Love-making scenes or suggestive poses bluntly described in
\nclassical literature or carved on temple walls are not considered
\npornographic, although sometimes they can be as arousing as
\nmaterial considered to be pornography.<\/p>\n
A scene from a Balinese sung poem (Geguritan), Calon Arang --
\nwhich describes the wedding night of a girl called Ratnamanggali
\nand a man named Mpu Bahula -- includes these lines:<\/p>\n
The girl scratches strongly, she kicks and cries, then she
\npushes her man's chest. The man smiles sweetly, then he seduces
\nher, passionately kisses her. His hand holds Ratnamanggali's
\nwaist while he tries to pull off Ratnamanggali's underwear. She
\nis weaker, and is pushed onto the bed by Mpu Bahula.<\/p>\n
The scene described by the poem, which uses ancient Balinese
\nlanguage, becomes even hotter in the lines which follow those
\nabove. Yet it is not condemned as pornography.<\/p>\n
The list of classical Indonesian literature which today might
\nbe categorized as pornographic is long. The Serat Centhini, which
\nis regarded to be the encyclopedia of Javanese culture, contains
\nexplicit descriptions of homosexual coitus.<\/p>\n
The walls of the Sukuh temple in Central Java, built in the
\n15th century, have carved reliefs of male and female genitals.
\nThere are also erotic reliefs at the famous Buddhist temple of
\nBorobudur in Central Java, which was built by King Syailendra in
\nthe ninth century.<\/p>\n
\"At that time, such reliefs were accepted because people had
\ndifferent values,\" says writer Umar Kayam.<\/p>\n
The teachings of Islam, which came to Indonesia in the 17th
\ncentury, changed values. Like Christianity and other religions
\noriginating in the Middle East, Islam has rigid doctrines, even
\nthough old works of literature, such as the popular Arabian
\nNights, also have erotic elements, according to Kayam.<\/p>\n
Purpose<\/p>\n
Educator Mochtar Buchori says people do not regard erotic
\ncarved reliefs to be pornographic because these are found at
\nreligious sites, such as temples.<\/p>\n
\"But, actually, we don't know what their purpose was,\" he
\nadds.<\/p>\n
According to Buchori, who is also an observer of social
\naffairs, Indonesians have a tendency to be more lenient towards
\ntemple carvings or classical literature because they think those
\nthings belong to them. With other items, we assume that they are
\npornographic because we associate them with the West, says
\nBuchori, adding that we are sometimes wrong about this.<\/p>\n
Kayam says the idea that pornography came from the West is
\nmistaken. Pornography is a universal tendency of human beings, he
\nargues, and there is pornography and eroticism everywhere.<\/p>\n
The Dutch colonial government, during its 350 years' rule in
\nIndonesia, sought to promote austere values, in accordance with
\npuritanical strands of Christianity.<\/p>\n
\"They even covered up the lowest level the Borobudur temple,
\nwhich exposes the people's sinful acts -- like gambling,
\nprodigality and prostitution -- because they considered it to be
\npornographic,\" says Kayam. \"But now, you can see a part of that
\nsection, since our government has opened a small part of it.\"<\/p>\n
Kayam thinks that, currently, Indonesians are a little bit
\nmore relaxed about eroticism. The younger generation, in
\nparticular, are more open about such matters as a result of the
\nprocess of globalization.<\/p>\n
\"What strikes me as strange is that liberalism is emerging
\nwithin the conservative thinking of the older generation in many
\nfields,\" he says. \"But I believe that, in the future, liberal
\nthinkers will overcome the conservatives.\"<\/p>\n
Kayam, who defines liberal thinkers as people who are broad-
\nminded, thinks people are not as rigid now as they were 10 or 20
\nyears ago. He points to contemporary literary works and
\ncinematography, which, he says, reflect a general social trend.<\/p>\n
In Surakarta, for example, erotic classical-style pictures are
\non sale to the public. Contemporary erotic art work involving the
\nexploration of sexuality can also be found in Kamasan near
\nKlungkung in Bali, according to Kayam.<\/p>\n
Buchori contends that pornography is dangerous only if it is
\ncombined with an erosion of a society's moral norms.<\/p>\n
\"Pornography is only a small part. What is more dangerous is
\nthe erosion of moral norms,\" he argues.<\/p>\n
In societies in which moral norms continue to be upheld,
\nBuchori says, there are mechanisms which 'put a brake' on
\npornography.<\/p>\n
\"The family and school can be the foundation for upright moral
\nnorms,\" he adds. (sim\/als)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/is-pornography-a-threat-to-society-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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