Pornography: A social menace?
Pornography: A social menace?
By Johannes Nugroho
SURABAYA (JP): Recent outrage expressed by socioreligious
groups over the allegedly pornographic pictures of certain
Indonesian female celebrities has fueled a national debate on the
issue.
Prominent figures, ranging from Minister of Education Juwono
Sudarsono to literary giant W.S. Rendra, have expressed their
"disgust" and "disapproval", while denizens of the cinematic-cum-
sinetronic-cum-artistic world have displayed an ambivalent
attitude. The latter's typical comments have been: "It is really
their (the celebrities) right, and they must have realized what
(a furor) it would cause."
Yet the pertinent questions in the controversy are what
constitutes pornography and whether it is a social menace which
needs to be stamped out of society.
Social commentators have agreed that it is difficult to define
pornography because of differing prevalent values in urban and
rural areas, not to mention those existing across our borders.
The standard argument against overt flouting of sexual themes
and images in Indonesia has been the banal axiom that it is not
in accordance with "eastern mores and values". To claim that
pornography and "sexual promiscuity" are derivatives of
westernization is arguably fallacious.
Historically, pornography in Indonesia, be it visual or
literary, dates back, at least, to the 15th century. The Shiva
temple of Sukuh on Mount Lawu in Central Java, built from 1437 to
1438, is presumably the oldest Indonesian pornographic specimen.
The large relief carved on the pedestal supporting the temple's
gateway depicts the male genitalia, known as the lingga, pressing
against its female counterpart, otherwise known as the yoni. The
temple also boasts a statue of a standing man holding his erect
penis.
The imagery is comparable with the ancient Greeks' veneration
of the sexual organs in their rituals, which included a stone
model of the erect penis and a hollow stone to symbolize the
fertile womb of the goddess Demeter. Occidental interest in sex
was matched by their Oriental counterparts in the form of reliefs
on temple walls in India, portraying coitus in the same way as at
the Konarak Temple. The ancient Indian sex guide Kama Sutra has
achieved worldwide fame, while the Arabic nations produced the
Arabian Nights, sexual tales from Middle Eastern harems.
The supposed sexual prudery of the Javanese lies in stark
contrast with its literature in which there are at least two
works falling under the "pornographic" category. The book of
Candraning Wanita, composed by a palace scribe during the reign
of Sultan Hamengkubuwono VIII in Yogyakarta, details the "sexual
nuances" of women and the "secrets of copulation", complete with
hand-drawn illustrations. The Indonesian version of Romeo and
Juliet, titled Pranacitra, also known as Rara Mendut, contains
descriptions of sexual trysts.
The current anathema to pornography is reminiscent of the
postindependence era, in which flourishing pornographic
publications, such as Terang Bulan (Moonlight), with its infamous
1951 short story Hotel Siapa Mau (Hotel for the Wanton), were
declared a public enemy.
The Old Order regime feared the increasing popularity of
pornography would "corrupt and degenerate" the nation's youth.
The "anti-cabul" (antipornography) crusade was instigated with
the formation of the "Panitia Susila Pers" (the press morality
committee). The committee subsequently was active in organizing
public bonfires of literature considered "morally offensive" and
numerous prosecuting members of the press for "offenses against
morality".
If we were to recommence the anachronistic frenzied
persecution of pornography, it would equate to a culling of the
freedom of press. Despite the public's condemnation, there is no
denying that foreign hardcore porn films and magazines are
readily obtainable in most metropolitan areas in the country.
This state of affairs has been tolerated for decades by the
authorities. Meanwhile, even kissing scenes are censored on
television, while, ironically, gory sadistic scenes in action
films remain unscathed.
This "as-long-as you-don't-make-it-obvious" approach to
pornography and the sex industry bears evidence to the country's
hypocritical stance on sexual issues. Indonesia's paradoxical
hypocrisy is most transparent in the social judgmental attitude
toward the prostitution industry, which, legally speaking, is
punishable by law. Indonesian prostitutes have become a bubbling
cauldron and dumping ground for the country's sexual repressions
and taboos.
In Western democracies, legislation concerning pornography has
been continually updated over the years, thus providing a precise
definition of what pornography constitutes.
In America, for example, "general publications" consumed by a
public unspecified by age group are allowed to display
seminudity, that is female breasts, but not the nipples, and male
buttocks, but not the full-length penis.
On the other hand, magazines for adult consumption that are
not X-rated, such as Playboy and Playgirl, can expose full
nudity, including the erect penis and sexual activities that
exclude penetration. The X-rated hard core magazines, however, of
which circulation is limited to certain outlets that require
proof of age show virtually "everything".
In Britain and Australia, laws governing pornography have been
adopted along the same lines as the United States, with minor
variations, such as a ban on the depiction of "a male in the
state of excitement" in non-X-rated adult magazines. The
Australian law on male nudity even specifies that in non-X-rated-
adult magazines, such as the Australian Women's Forum, which
features male nude centerfolds, the male penis depicted must not
"surpass a 45 degree angle of inclination".
Television channels in Australia are also obligated to specify
their program content. A typical TV guide in Australia would
include classifications such as PG (Parental Guidance), which
means nudity free, or M (Mature) -- formerly AO (Adults Only) --
which may have semi-nudity, full frontal nudity and sex scenes.
Meanwhile, in the recent National Literary Symposium, the
celebrated Indonesian poet W.S. Rendra reiterated that he did not
wish to see his "children and grandchildren live in an
environment deficient of human qualities". He further likened
sexual promiscuity, of which pornography is an integral part, to
"degeneration of humanness", saying that he would like to "uphold
moral values so that human beings will remain human beings, not
animals".
In contrast, in 1970 the U.S. Presidential Commission on
Indecency and Pornography, after two years of research, concluded
that there were "no strong grounds" to claim that "exposure of
erotic images" could lead to "sexual offenses or immorality".
Today's America, while the largest producer of pornography in the
world, statistically has no higher percentage of sexual offenses
compared to other countries. On the question of dehumanization,
it would be preposterous to attribute animalistic qualities to
the world's most prosperous nation.
The bottom line is pornography has never in history become any
nation's chief preoccupation. Indubitably, there is an almost
ardent interest in pornography anywhere in the world, but to
propose that it may bring about cataclysmic dehumanization is
arguably melodramatic.
Denmark, which allows its citizens unlimited access to
pornography, tackled the issue by totally decriminalizing the sex
industry in the late 1960s. The first phase of the process in
1969 saw a tremendous leap in the sales of pornography, estimated
at 30 million poundsterlings. Yet by the end of 1970, the figures
plummeted to around 12 million, less that half of what it had
been the previous year.
Indonesia may not have to go as far as Denmark's total
decriminalization of the sex industry. Nevertheless, an update of
the articles in the Panel Code concerning pornography is
essential. The new House of Representatives (DPR) and the
upcoming government could call for the formation of a special
commission to investigate the issue.
It would be of paramount importance to include non-
governmental organizations on the panel of such a commission,
particularly human rights organizations. Most importantly, the
commission should ideally refer to the United Nations conventions
in its recommendations to the government.
The writer works at the International Language Program in
Surabaya, East Java.