Sex is still deemed taboo, a topic that most Indonesians, and even most Jakartans, are still uncomfortable with.
But Google Trends, an application providing insights into broad search patterns, tells a different “sex story” about Jakarta, the capital of a country where moral conservatism is gaining ground.
In 2009, it ranked the metropolis second out of the most people googling the word “sex” via the search engine.
Amid the blizzard coverage of the recent sex video scandals, which purportedly involve high-profile Indonesian celebrities Nazriel “Ariel” Ilham, Luna Maya, and Cut Tari, sexual double standards seem to be alive and well in Jakarta.
Erlyna Folie, 30, an urban socialite, said the more people repressed the issue of sex, sweeping it under the carpet, the more likely they would become hypocrites.
Folie said the sex videos were just the tip of the iceberg as all fell under the great scheme of sexual adventures for urbanites, be they married or single.
The sex videos have indeed tested urban conservative ground, which is dominated by some vigilante-style groups that politically carry religious symbols to justify their status as moral guardians.
The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), for instance, issued a statement last Wednesday, saying the alleged actors involved in the video were free-sex devotees, undeserved to be worshiped as idols, if proven guilty.
The videos also provoked the Communications and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring, who unexpectedly raised a rhetorical question: “Why would anyone tape such a private thing?”
Tifatul also said anyone who produced sex videos, even for private purposes, could be guilty of violating Indonesia’s pornography law.
But Julia Sondakh, 27, an entrepreneur, said the authorities had squeezed more mileage from the scandals.
“The authorities have double standards. What about porn DVDs or other pornographic materials that are freely sold in the streets across the city?” she said.
Ayu Utami, a renowned fiction writer whose works touch on cultural and feminist issues, concurred; saying sex through the lens of Indonesian society was still confined within the concept of copulation, which they deemed still exclusive only to a husband-and-wife relationship.
“Sex is far more complex than such a concept; it is a cultural and social reality,” she said.
Pinckey Triputra, a media expert from the University of Indonesia, explained that the media also played crucial roles in cementing the double standards.
“Media outlets should take up the gauntlet for a good cause by providing inferences for comprehensive public interests, not just for the sake of entertainment purposes only,” he said. (tsy)
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