Preventing the pressure of pornography

By T. Sima Gunawan

JAKARTA (JP): Sex and pornography are two different things, but pornography has everything to do with sex. Accordingly, people's perception of pornography relates to their views on sex.

Many things which are acceptable overseas are banned here on the grounds that they are pornographic. The government bans not only blue movies and X-rated films, but also magazines like Playboy and Penthouse, which are very popular in the other parts of the world.

All movies are tightly censored before being shown at cinemas. Indonesians won't witness Bruce Willis and Jane March have graphic sex in Color of Night, or Sharon Stone pounce on Michael Douglas in Basic Instinct. Nudity is not accepted and even showing women's breasts can be categorized as pornographic in Indonesia.

Executive board director of the Film Censorship Institute, Soekanto, defines pornography as "what is against public ethics in Indonesia."

"Things can be categorized pornographic if they can corrupt people's morals," he said, quoting the government regulation on film censorship.

The definition of pornography is interpreted by the 45 members of the censorship institute, he explained.

"We censor sexual intercourse in films because it is not acceptable here. Scenes exposing breasts are also cut because this is against public ethics," he told The Jakarta Post.

"Kissing is okay. But the scene will be censored if it is exploited. If it is close up or if it shows tongues, the scene will be cut," he asserted.

Censoring must be done carefully because cutting certain scenes may effect the story's flow.

"For example, if a husband becomes violent because his wife is raped, we can't remove the whole rape scene. In this case, we will allow the audience to get an idea of the scene, not by showing the process of rape, but showing the condition before or after the rape," he said.

Even though the government insists that all films be censored before being shown or sold to the public, uncensored video cassettes and Laser Discs are freely available. Pornographic books and pictures, X-rated movies and obscene computer disks are also easily found.

The enforcement of pornography regulations in the country is weak. Raids are launched only once and awhile and few people are tried.

Last November the police confiscated more than 3,000 suggestive calendars in Jakarta. The city police had earlier seized thousands of pornographic books, X-rated video cassettes and stickers emblazoned with naked woman. No one was reported to have been arrested or prosecuted. In 1991, however, the Bandung District Court sentenced two men to six months in jail for selling pornographic books to high school students.

In 1993, the Medan District Court sentenced a film distributor to eight months in prison for showing an uncensored foreign film entitled My Love Story, which showed a woman's breasts. The judge ruled that even though only the upper part of the woman's body was shown, her breasts could sexually arouse the audience.

Data

Data on the number of people charged with pornography is not available, but between 1980 and 1993, there were only 12 pornography cases handled by the Supreme Court.

Pornography-related cases are tried under article 282 of the Criminal Code and carry a maximum penalty of two years and eight months in jail. The law forbids anyone from displaying, importing, exporting, offering, or keeping a picture or written material that is "against the ethics".

The Criminal Code does not define "against the ethics", but legal experts believe that the material should be categorized as pornographic if it is sexually arousing.

Deputy Chief Justice for Criminal Affairs Adi Andojo Soetjipto said it isn't easy deciding if something is pornographic because sexual stimulation is subjective.

He stressed that not all pictures of naked people are pornographic.

"If the pictures are educational, we can't call them pornographic," he said.

Consequently, even though it is illegal to display contraceptives, people who show them to educate people about family planning or safe sex can not be prosecuted.

The government did however stop the publication of a sex education book entitled Adik Baru in 1989. The guide, a translation of a Swedish book called Peter, Ida and Minimum by Grethe Fagerstrom and Gunilla Hanson, was outlawed because it contained vivid sketches and descriptions about the reproduction process. Government officials and Moslem leaders said it went against local mores.

"The definition of pornography is obscure," lawyer Mohamad Assegaf acknowledged.

What is considered pornographic in villages might not be considered so in big cities. Public acceptance develops, Assegaf said.

"I remember when I was still in high school, the government strongly warned some magazines because they printed pictures of women's thighs and parts of their breasts. But now, you can find hotter pictures in the media," he said.

Public demand makes the government's fight futile.

"People like to read pornographic books or watch blue movies because they are curious. But later, some become addicted to them," Dr. Gerard Paat, a sexologist, told the Post.

He sees pornography as a gender issue. More men than women are interested in pornography because the Indonesian culture gives more privilege to men to explore their sexuality.

"Pornography places women as a sexual object. It emphasizes machismo and degrades women," Paat said.

In some cases, pornography can motivate men to rape because they want to show their sexual power, Paat assured.

He added that blue movies can mislead people, especially those who are ignorant, because they portray the wrong perceptions, such as the length of sexual intercourse or penis size. People fixated by pornography may consider sex as the most important thing in a marriage.

Despite the negative impact of pornography, Paat believes it is fine for married couples to watch the occasional X-rated film, as long as they have the right perception of sex.

"But a research in the United States shows that the more people see pornographic films, the less they are faithful to their spouse," he said, emphasizing the danger of pornography.