Who draws the line between pornography and art?

By T. Sima Gunawan

JAKARTA (JP): A group of yuppies burst out of an office on the 12th floor of a building on Jl. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, headed for a leisurely lunch at a cafe downstairs.

Over their meal, they talked about work and politics before turning to lighter topics, like new eateries in the city. Soon, they were engaged in a discussion on pornography in the media.

A "newsmagazine" with a cover of a woman clad in a bikini was put on the table. Splashy headlines offered teasers on what lay inside, including tales of an official's "other woman" and "metropolitan freelance sex".

"It's nice," a woman said of the cover. "She has a beautiful body."

She shrugged as she flipped through the 104-page magazine. "It has titillating pictures and stories about sex, prostitution. But I don't think it is pornography. I have no problem with it."

Another woman said: "If it graphically exposes the genitals or especially sexual intercourse, then you can call it pornography."

None of the people, all in their 20s and 30s, objected to the suggestive photos in the magazine. They did not believe they exploited or dehumanized women, or treated them like objects.

After all, the models agreed to have their photos taken, they said.

Granted, there have never been any widely publicized reports of the coercion of models for glossy magazines in Indonesia. Many of the women are reportedly proud that their photos make it onto the country's newsstands.

Chitra, director of Image Modeling Agency, acknowledges that there are aspiring models and entertainers who agree to be photographed naked or seminude in the hope of furthering their careers.

"Some hope they will get a role in a sinetron (TV film), as promised by the photographer. This is not right. How can one build a career as an actress without talent?" said Chitra, whose husband Darwis Triadi is a noted photographer.

"If the woman has a side job as a call girl, that is another case, and it all depends on the individual."

Classifying a provocative photo as art or pornography depends greatly on the viewer's perspective, how the picture was taken and in which media it appears.

"Art has no limit. It can be presented in nude pictures. But if you view it with a dirty mind, you may say it is pornography," Chitra said.

Actress-model Sophia Latjuba, who was summoned late last month by the police as a witness in an investigation into obscene materials printed by Popular magazine, said she agreed to pose as though she were nude after considering all the risks.

"I know that in this country nude photos and even seminude ones are still regarded as unethical, but I think it depends on how people see it, as art or not," she said.

Reward

Feminist Myra Diarsi explained the phenomenon of erotic pictures in the media according to the idea of reward and punishment.

Models will give the nod to the photos if the reward is greater than the punishment.

"They know that they might be condemned by some people, but that is regarded as trivial compared to the reward," she said.

If a model is paid well, she can share the money with her family. Posing in skimpy clothing becomes a small price to pay for her family's approval.

She may use the money on expensive clothes and accessories, leading to recognition from society, also a form of reward, Myra said.

And the ultimate gratification may be derived from the recognition of her attractiveness by those around her and society.

"Patriarchy prevails among most of the people here. They enjoy looking at smooth skin, they feel amused. Most of us also accept this even though we do not say anything," Myra said.

Picture this scenario: you are simmering with frustration in a traffic jam. Then a magazine vendor holds up an array of magazines with appealing photos of seminude women. Suddenly, all is fine with the world again.

According to Myra's way thinking, you have just put yourself squarely in the ranks of the patriarchy.

A patriarchal society is a male-dominated society, one that is marked by the supremacy of the males. Patriarchal views persist not only among men, but also women. It is a society in which men always set the standard, Myra said.

Patriarchal societies are unlikely to object to eroticism, and may allow pornography.

"As long as people enjoy it, as long as they still see women as objects, exploitation against women will continue and pornography will remain," Myra said.

But what is pornography? "It is too difficult to give a definition of pornography because this will likely simplify the issue," she said. "What you call pornography depends on how you look at it."

Each of holds individual views on where we draw the line between art and porn. Some of us may even wish to see those involved in suggestive photos prosecuted, such as women during an antiporn protest on Thursday who held up posters calling for Sophia Latjuba to be tried.

Myra believes dealing with pornography is not as simple as ferreting out the producers or performers of the materials for punishment.

"The public must be reeducated. The efforts to combat pornography should start with education at home. The media, especially television, should take a great role to educate people on how to view the relationship between men and women."

She added that changing societal attitudes should also involve religion and the law.

Another problem is that porn is big business. "There are many parts which gain benefit from the sale of pornographic media. There is the patriarchal capitalist interest in the industry."

She said a "structural war" would be required to change patriarchal society, but it may take forever to do so. Feminist groups have repeatedly brought the issue before the government. One of the recommendations is the revision of elementary school textbooks which stereotype men and women and distort their relationship according to entrenched gender roles.

"But the government has never responded to our input," Myra complained.

The media, including mainstream enterprises and those who claim to be respectable publications, also are blamed for prevalent use of sexist language. Women are often described based on their physical attributes, even when it has nothing to do with the focus of the story. TV series also put women on a pedestal according to their physical attractiveness.

Despite the lack of gender awareness in the society, Myra still holds hope for change.

"I often give training on gender issues and receive positive responses from the participants." She added that marginalized members of society are more open to the idea for structural struggle against the patriarchy.