Popularity of sex shops moves upwards in the city

Popularity of sex shops moves upwards in the city

By Imran Rusli

JAKARTA (JP): "Rringg!"

"Hello, Maryati?"

"Speaking."

"Please deliver a dildo to Chintya, Radio Dalam No. ...
On the double, eh. I need it fast."

"No problem, Miss."

"That's one of my customers," Maryati explained while putting
down the phone. It is also one of the calls that causes the phone
on the shopkeeper's desk in East Jakarta's Jatinegara to ring
frequently.

"Many are interested but they are usually reluctant to come in
person," explained Maryati.

The vibrator ordered by Chintya is a multi-speed battery-
operated tongue. It ranges from lively to very fast, reaching the
most intimate parts to create sexual pleasure in a woman.

"Women used to a dildo will reach an orgasm, therefore, they
no longer feel frustrated if their husbands suffer from early
ejaculation," Maryati added.

"Teenage girls go for it too, because it leaves their
virginity intact."

Jakarta doesn't have any hardcore porn theaters. To get a peek
inside magazines like Playboy, Penthouse and Playgirl, or read
cheap stenciled porn copies, watch blue movies on video or
laser disc, Jakartans must sneak around. Watching a striptease is
illegal, as if the entire audience will instantly become rapists.
Apart from this, though, Jakarta does have ample red-light
districts and sex shops.

"The sex toys are an alternative for people who do not like to
visit red-light districts for sexual satisfaction," said Teddy, a
sex shop owner on Jl. Mandala in Tomang, West Jakarta.

"They want to keep their good health and don't want to be
nagged by guilty feelings just because they like unconventional
sex," added Teddy.

Ever since AIDS got the upper hand over syphilis, gonorrhea,
Vietnam rose and other venereal diseases, most people opt for
safe sex to protect their families from possible contamination.
Other reasons for opting for sex toys rather than prostitutes
range from fear of being blackmailed by the criminals roaming the
red-light districts, or to avoid embarrassment. Students short on
cash and people who don't want to commit adultery but want some
variation in their sex lives are also loyal sex toy customers.

"In fact, it is the only solution to uncomfortable biological
urges which are hard to suppress," argued Soemartono, the market
pioneer who has often been labeled obscene. "Also, this is a
legal business licensed by the Ministry of Health," he said.

Capsules

Penis reinforcing pills, liquids and creams to prolong
intercourse are available to those in need.

"There are even ads claiming that the medicines or sex toys
will enlarge and extend the male organ, while we know that
nothing can be done about size," said Effendi, a specialist in
venereal diseases practicing in Mangga Besar, West Jakarta.

Other tools come in the form of a hairy rubber ring and a
knobby instrument with a frog skin texture. "This is to be fixed
onto the male organ for the sole purpose of providing
satisfaction to the female partner," said a trader of sex toys
near the Tanah Abang bridge in Central Jakarta.

He also sells a more sophisticated device, a plastic female
vagina that comes in various thicknesses -- complete with
simulated pubic hair and a clitoris.

"It is made very close to the real thing," said Teddy while
flaunting his merchandise.

There are also models of realistic penises in various sizes.
The only difference being, the man-made version is constantly
erect and can vibrate, giving the user a profound sense of
pleasure.

Customers who want to get close can purchase an anatomically
correct blow-up doll.

"This is a practical toy. It can be inflated and deflated, can
be folded and stored in a bag. All one has to do, if in need, is
to blow or fill the doll with air by means of a hand or foot
pump. It is then ready to be somebody's sleeping partner for one
wholly satisfying night," pitched Maryati.

According to this saleslady, who admitted sometimes resorting
to the sex toys when her husband is on long buying trips in
Japan, Germany, China or South Korea, the doll is the hottest
item in their shop. It doesn't come cheap, however, selling for
between Rp 250,000 (US$111.) and Rp 500,000.

"Maybe because she looks so real, eh?" Maryati suggested.

Students

Sex toys are on the rise in Jakarta, although shops in
Jatinegara, Tomang, Dewi Sartika, Senen, Glodok, Mangga Dua,
Tebet, Pasar Minggu, Tanah Abang and Pulo Gadung are still
reluctant to advertise. Consumers generally consist of students,
lonely widows, husbands and wives separated by circumstances,
career women, people who are not ready for marriage yet and who
are too shy to date, those with unhappy wives, and those who
don't want to frequent prostitutes.

The customers are happy with their toys because of the
bargain-basement prices and the ability to use the items at any
time.

"Imagine, if they had to employ the services of a mid-range
call girl or gigolo, they would have to pay at least Rp 50,000
($22) per service," Maryati explained.

Looking at it from that angle, it is indeed much cheaper,
especially when physical and psychological health is factored in.
Plastic vaginas, dildos and vibrators sell for under Rp 200,000.

"Nobody will contract venereal disease or be pursued by guilt
and feelings of sin if they use these products," Teddy assured.

Despite reasonable prices and increased market interest, the
sex shops, disguised as drugstores and health clinics, are not
crammed with customers.

"They like it, they want it, but, they are too bashful to come
to the shop," said Eddy, who has a shop in Jatinegara.

Consumers usually opt for indirect buying, by, for instance,
sending a servant, a driver or a friend who is a client of the
shop. Some people like to have the merchandise delivered to their
homes, or buy directly from door-to-door salespersons operating
in housing complexes.

Sales aren't steady, but as Teddy, Soemartono, Maryati and
Eddy claim, the passion business is very profitable. They quoted
a gross profit of Rp 5 million to Rp 15 million a month, but
admitted that Rp 3 to Rp 4 million a month had to be spent on
advertising.

Rringg! Goes the phone again.

"Hello. Maryati?"

"Yes, it's me."

"Please, send me a male of... of generous proportions...not
too large, but, it must be long and strongly veined.... deliver
it to Sarita on Ampera Raya No. ... Hurry, please. I'm waiting
for it."

"Don't worry, Miss. We'll send it right away."

Calls like this are increasing in Jakarta, a city which treats
its inhabitants as ignorant and where even people's sex lives are
supervised by the state.