Teenagers hungry for erotic magazines<\/p>\n
By Agus Maryono<\/p>\n
PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): Five young boys in junior high
\nschool uniform were oblivious to their surroundings; they were
\njoking with each other close to a sidewalk newspaper vendor not
\nfar from the campus of Jenderal Soedirman University here. Once
\nin a while they burst into laughter as they competed with each to
\ncheck out FILM, a tabloid-sized magazine with a front cover
\nfeaturing a woman posing in a sexually alluring style. After
\nleafing through the whole magazine, the boys decided to buy it.<\/p>\n
\"Give me the middle page with the Indian actress on it,\" said
\none of them. \"I'll take this one, I'd like to stick it on the
\nwall of my bedroom,\" said another. And finally the magazine was
\ndivided into five. Each of the boys obtained pictures of sexy
\nwomen who were scantily dressed and posing in a provocative
\nmanner.<\/p>\n
\"Why did you buy FILM. Isn't it for adults?\" The Jakarta Post
\nasked the boys.<\/p>\n
\"We are adults, all right, and we need to learn something
\nabout sex. People say sex education is important, right?\" replied
\nSanto, 14, a second grader at a junior high school here. His four
\npeers nodded in agreement. \"It is not only adults that are
\ncurious about this thing; we are, too,\" one of them chimed in.<\/p>\n
It was surprising that Santo put forward sex education as his
\nreason to buy an erotic magazine, because this is indeed not the
\nright way to do things. But this is what happens, not only in
\nthis small Central Javanese town, but also throughout the
\ncountry. In response to the demand, erotic magazines have flooded
\nthe market.<\/p>\n
Sudarwo, 24, a sidewalk newspaper vendor on Jl. HR Bunyamin,
\nsome 100 meters to the north of the Jenderal Soedirman University
\ncampus here, told the Post that erotic magazines and media
\npublications featuring scantily dressed sexy women were easier to
\nsell than other magazines and media publications. \"Well, yes,
\nthey are the best sellers. Take POP tabloid, for example. On
\nMonday afternoon they are sold out,\" he said, adding that every
\nMonday he received 20 copies of POP.<\/p>\n
He said that 80 percent of people buying erotic magazines were
\nteenagers in junior high school uniform. \"We can't prohibit them
\nfrom buying the stuff because we certainly want it to sell
\nquickly,\" he said. In addition to POP, which is sold at Rp 2,000
\nper copy, magazines and tabloids popular among these young
\nteenagers include FILM, KISS, Tangisan Hati (Cry of the Heart --
\nnarratives by women who have been deflowered by men, accompanied
\nby sexy pictures), Tragedi (similar to Tangisan Hati) and Liberty
\nmagazine.<\/p>\n
\"The most sought after are POP, Tangisan Hati and Tragedi,\"
\nsaid Darwo. He said POP sells well because it contains large
\npictures of pretty women in sexually alluring poses, while
\nTragedi and Tangisan Hati -- both in the form of a bulletin --
\nsell well because they are relatively cheap at Rp 350 per copy.<\/p>\n
Darwo also said that almost every day groups of junior high
\nschool boys came to his place. \"Sometimes they just look at the
\npictures of pretty women, though they often buy magazines or
\ntabloids jointly,\" he said. The teenagers usually come to his
\nplace after school hours. \"They will be squatting here, smoking
\nand leafing through some of the magazines,\" he added. He said he
\nwasn't bothered by their presence. \"It's all right with me. I
\nfeel glad because some of them will buy a magazine or two.
\nBesides, they come here not because I invite them,\" he said.<\/p>\n
POP is also popular among university students. The Post
\nvisited a book and magazine stall owned by Abu, 30, located near
\nthe Jenderal Soedirman University campus. Anto, a ninth semester
\nstudent was just one of the day's customers. He said he was fed
\nup with news about political matters. \"Once in a while I read POP
\nto refresh my mind. Reading political stuff all the time will
\ngive you a headache,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to Abu, soft-porn magazines sell better than
\npolitical and general publications. \"I can sell 15 copies of POP
\na week, but only two or three copies of Oposisi or Gugat
\npolitical tabloids,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Hermanto, 46, the owner of one of the largest newspaper agents
\nhere, agreed with Abu. He said the sales volume of POP was higher
\nthan that of political media publications. \"It may be true that
\npeople are getting fed up with political news, which is often
\nconfusing. So, publications presenting pictures of pretty women
\nmay entertain you temporarily,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that every week he had about 700 copies of POP, more
\nthan the AKSI, Oposisi and Bangkit (Rise) tabloids. \"I used to
\nsell 700 to 800 copies of AKSI weekly, but now I can sell a
\nmaximum of only 200 copies, or sometimes fewer,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Concerning POP, he said he had to supply copies of this
\ntabloid to regular customers, i.e. smaller agents. As a
\nconsequence, he said that he was often unable to meet the demand
\nof newspaper vendors, especially if they needed many copies of
\nthe tabloid.<\/p>\n
\"On Mondays, they usually queue up here,\" he added. Wagimin,
\n33, a newspaper vendor who usually requested POP and similar
\ntabloids from Hermanto, acknowledged that teenagers often placed
\nan order for these tabloids with him. \"Usually their fathers
\nsubscribe to a newspaper and their teenage children secretly buy
\nPOP on a retail basis. Sometimes some of them buy the tabloid at
\nroadsides,\" Wagimin said.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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