Teenagers hungry for erotic magazines

Teenagers hungry for erotic magazines

By Agus Maryono

PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): Five young boys in junior high
school uniform were oblivious to their surroundings; they were
joking with each other close to a sidewalk newspaper vendor not
far from the campus of Jenderal Soedirman University here. Once
in a while they burst into laughter as they competed with each to
check out FILM, a tabloid-sized magazine with a front cover
featuring a woman posing in a sexually alluring style. After
leafing through the whole magazine, the boys decided to buy it.

"Give me the middle page with the Indian actress on it," said
one of them. "I'll take this one, I'd like to stick it on the
wall of my bedroom," said another. And finally the magazine was
divided into five. Each of the boys obtained pictures of sexy
women who were scantily dressed and posing in a provocative
manner.

"Why did you buy FILM. Isn't it for adults?" The Jakarta Post
asked the boys.

"We are adults, all right, and we need to learn something
about sex. People say sex education is important, right?" replied
Santo, 14, a second grader at a junior high school here. His four
peers nodded in agreement. "It is not only adults that are
curious about this thing; we are, too," one of them chimed in.

It was surprising that Santo put forward sex education as his
reason to buy an erotic magazine, because this is indeed not the
right way to do things. But this is what happens, not only in
this small Central Javanese town, but also throughout the
country. In response to the demand, erotic magazines have flooded
the market.

Sudarwo, 24, a sidewalk newspaper vendor on Jl. HR Bunyamin,
some 100 meters to the north of the Jenderal Soedirman University
campus here, told the Post that erotic magazines and media
publications featuring scantily dressed sexy women were easier to
sell than other magazines and media publications. "Well, yes,
they are the best sellers. Take POP tabloid, for example. On
Monday afternoon they are sold out," he said, adding that every
Monday he received 20 copies of POP.

He said that 80 percent of people buying erotic magazines were
teenagers in junior high school uniform. "We can't prohibit them
from buying the stuff because we certainly want it to sell
quickly," he said. In addition to POP, which is sold at Rp 2,000
per copy, magazines and tabloids popular among these young
teenagers include FILM, KISS, Tangisan Hati (Cry of the Heart --
narratives by women who have been deflowered by men, accompanied
by sexy pictures), Tragedi (similar to Tangisan Hati) and Liberty
magazine.

"The most sought after are POP, Tangisan Hati and Tragedi,"
said Darwo. He said POP sells well because it contains large
pictures of pretty women in sexually alluring poses, while
Tragedi and Tangisan Hati -- both in the form of a bulletin --
sell well because they are relatively cheap at Rp 350 per copy.

Darwo also said that almost every day groups of junior high
school boys came to his place. "Sometimes they just look at the
pictures of pretty women, though they often buy magazines or
tabloids jointly," he said. The teenagers usually come to his
place after school hours. "They will be squatting here, smoking
and leafing through some of the magazines," he added. He said he
wasn't bothered by their presence. "It's all right with me. I
feel glad because some of them will buy a magazine or two.
Besides, they come here not because I invite them," he said.

POP is also popular among university students. The Post
visited a book and magazine stall owned by Abu, 30, located near
the Jenderal Soedirman University campus. Anto, a ninth semester
student was just one of the day's customers. He said he was fed
up with news about political matters. "Once in a while I read POP
to refresh my mind. Reading political stuff all the time will
give you a headache," he said.

According to Abu, soft-porn magazines sell better than
political and general publications. "I can sell 15 copies of POP
a week, but only two or three copies of Oposisi or Gugat
political tabloids," he said.

Hermanto, 46, the owner of one of the largest newspaper agents
here, agreed with Abu. He said the sales volume of POP was higher
than that of political media publications. "It may be true that
people are getting fed up with political news, which is often
confusing. So, publications presenting pictures of pretty women
may entertain you temporarily," he said.

He said that every week he had about 700 copies of POP, more
than the AKSI, Oposisi and Bangkit (Rise) tabloids. "I used to
sell 700 to 800 copies of AKSI weekly, but now I can sell a
maximum of only 200 copies, or sometimes fewer," he said.

Concerning POP, he said he had to supply copies of this
tabloid to regular customers, i.e. smaller agents. As a
consequence, he said that he was often unable to meet the demand
of newspaper vendors, especially if they needed many copies of
the tabloid.

"On Mondays, they usually queue up here," he added. Wagimin,
33, a newspaper vendor who usually requested POP and similar
tabloids from Hermanto, acknowledged that teenagers often placed
an order for these tabloids with him. "Usually their fathers
subscribe to a newspaper and their teenage children secretly buy
POP on a retail basis. Sometimes some of them buy the tabloid at
roadsides," Wagimin said.