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.