Feminists divided over 'disclosure'

Feminists divided over 'disclosure'

By Santi WE Soekanto

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian women's activists are divided in their opinion about the portrayal of a woman sexually harassing a male subordinate in the blockbuster film Disclosure.

"This film is an attack on feminism," said Tati Krisnawati of the Kelompok Solidaritas Perempuan (Women's Solidarity Group), yesterday.

Another prominent feminist, however, said the movie could contribute to feminist efforts to present a more complete picture of women to society.

"Discussion of female sexual harassment ... gives a more complete picture of women. We're real people. We're not one- dimensional human beings. We can be good or evil, as men are," media expert and columnist Debra H. Yatim said.

"I believe it's (the development of) feminism which has allowed discourse on women's multi-dimensionality, such as that in the film," Debra said. "This film may in fact facilitate healthy discourse on the issue."

"We know that sexual harassment can occur both ways, and that there are plenty of women in superior positions who harass their male subordinates," the former journalist added. "Women are not always the victims, and men are not always the villains."

Debra said it was high time for society to stop looking at gender relations in a "black or white" fashion and pigeonholing people in rigid sex roles. "If we're locked into myths about what men or women should and shouldn't be, or myths that only men can be the villains and only women can be victimized, and if we suppress (discussion of the issue) ... that's not healthy."

The film, which is an adaptation of a novel of the same title by best-selling author Michael Chrichton, has been screened to full movie houses in Indonesia during the past week.

Conversations about the "possibility" or "impossibility" of a woman sexually harassing a man have been going on in offices and other places.

Sita Aripurnami Kayam, a prominent advocate of women's rights, said the controversy may have arisen because the "villain" is a beautiful woman who's seeking revenge against a man who scorned her, using "ways which are traditionally men's".

"In the end, the woman loses," she told The Jakarta Post.

"This discussion about a woman harassing a man is not about sex," said Sita, who is a psychologist by training. "It's actually about a power play."

Legislator Linda Agum Gumelar of the House of Representatives' Commission VIII, which oversees, among other things, women's affairs, said sexual harassment is deplorable, no matter who the perpetrator is.

As for sexual harassment by women, Linda believes it's something of a rarity in this country. "I think only a few (women) do it," she said. "We're Indonesians, and here, women and men should respect one another."

Neither Sita, Debra, Linda nor Tati have seen the movie, but they have all read either the book or reviews about the film.

Directed by Barry Levinson, Disclosure features Demi Moore as and Michael Douglas as Meredith Johnson and Tom Sanders, colleagues in a computer company called Digicom, which designs CD Roms and electronic databases.

According to one reviewer, "Meredith is a virtual 'square peg in a round hole' but becomes the head of the technical division by plundering her physical faculties where her mental ones fail".

In one scene, Meredith, in her capacity as boss, suggests to Sanders an after-office-hours meeting to prepare for a business meeting.

Meredith's attempt to seduce Tom ends in failure, leaving her feeling bitter and humiliated. She then complains of having been assaulted by Sanders. Sanders fights back, initiating a legal action against Meredith for sexual harassment and against the company for siding with her and threatening to have him removed.

Both Tati and Sita are in agreement that the issue that needs to be addressed is not the harassment itself, but the unbalanced relationship between women and men and the quest for one- upmanship and power.

"This is about competition for power, no matter who the perpetrator is," Sita said. "In the case of the film itself, this particular woman is humiliated and tries to take her revenge using male methods."

A Jakarta office worker who has read the book and seen the movie agreed that sexual harassment is actually about power play, about powerful people asserting their muscles over the powerless.

"Actually, the film is a bit of a let-down," Rini said. "The book is more rewarding and reveals the complicated means, including the sexual harassment stuff, by which a person attempts to get a competitor out of the way."

"The intricacy does not come out in the movie, probably because of time and other constraints," she said.

Interestingly enough, Tati, who is known for her sharp comments on abuses of women's rights, says she would be willing to speak up on behalf of male victims of sexual harassment.

"I'd do it, because what's to be deplored here is the imbalance in the relations between men and women," she said.

Sita took a more cautious stance on the issue. "I would be willing to speak up on behalf of male victims, but I would be rather more careful and would examine the background of the so- called sexual harassment," she said.

"There are men who can't accept the changing roles of women and see their more assertive ways of dealing with them as impropriety," Sita said. "I still believe that only a few men have been subjected to sexual harassment by women," she said.