TABLE OF CONTENTS - UWA Research Portal

Selling Alternative Masculinities
Representations of Masculinities in Indonesian Men’s Lifestyle Magazines
Suzie Handajani
This thesis
is presented for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
at
The University of Western Australia
School of Social and Cultural Studies
2010
ii
Abstract
After Suharto stepped down from power in May 1998, one of the major changes in
Indonesian politics was media deregulation. Under Suharto’s New Order, control over
the media was equated with control of the masses. Media deregulation introduced a
more democratic mediascape in which new publications flourished in post-Suharto
Indonesia, including Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines. This new era of freedom of
expression also resulted in colliding social forces, for example when Islamic groups
promoted an anti-pornography bill which clashed with the newly acquired freedom of
the press. The pornography debate placed men’s lifestyle magazines like Playboy
Indonesia in the spotlight and under public scrutiny. In this respect the magazines
become a site for contesting particular Indonesian masculinities and male power.
This thesis enquires into the types of masculinities represented by six Indonesian men’s
lifestyle magazines during 2007 – 2008. The magazines are Popular, Hai, Male
Emporium, FHM Indonesia, Maxim Indonesia, and Playboy Indonesia. Understanding
the magazines fundamentally as a cultural phenomenon inscribed with the experiences
and aspirations of Indonesian men, the thesis is informed by profeminist masculinity
studies to discern how discourses of masculinities are negotiated between men and
exercised against women. The thesis is expanded from Beynon’s idea that social
dynamics can be understood through the tensions between hegemonic and nonhegemonic masculinities. The struggles are most intense at the level of the nation-state,
where politics is overwhelmingly a masculine domain, and this is replicated in the
social institution of the family. In the course of Indonesian history, there is a continuous
cycle in which state Fathers are replaced by one of a resistant fraternity, who invites
new resistance and challenges from newly formed fraternities, and the cycle repeats
itself. Struggles between various kinds of masculinities and male power are therefore
highly political and shapes the leadership of the nation.
This thesis argues that Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines represent the struggles of
non-hegemonic men against the hegemonic masculinity of the state. The nonhegemonic masculinities in the magazines are constructed as middle class Indonesian
men. Within Indonesian context, the middle class is ideologically and politically
charged. They are not just a social class but they are bearers of social progress and
social change. This is the result of Indonesia’s socio-political history in which middle
class men simultaneously have the fighting spirit of the lower class and the political
strategy of the ruling class.
In the magazines these middle class men are constructed using three indicators of male
success which are wealth, agency, and women. These three aspects coincide with
Indonesian discourse of male empowerment (harta, tahta, wanita). The wealth of these
middle class men is established through promotion of consumerist and global lifestyle.
The agency is demonstrated by converting articles as potential spaces for politically
subordinated men to challenge the state and express their resistance. The women’s
presence in abundance in the magazines serves to demonstrate the men’s potential
power because they can still dominate and subordinate women.
In conclusion, the magazines are challenging the hegemonic masculinity of the state by
providing competing discourses of masculinities. However this competing discourse
merely repeats the traditional gender ideology without deconstructing it.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration
Abstract
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
ii
iii
iv
vi
vii
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Background
The Argument
Methodology
Researcher’s Background
Research Question
Theories and Approach
Methods
Structure of the Thesis
1
1
5
10
11
15
16
21
27
CHAPTER 2
Theorizing Men and Masculinities
What are Masculinities?
Masculinities as Invisible Ideologies
Hegemonic and Subordinated Masculinities
Patriarchy and Masculinity
Masculinities, Fraternity, and the Nation
Masculinity Studies and Feminism
34
36
43
46
49
52
62
CHAPTER 3
Gendering Indonesian History
The Argument and Theoretical Framework
The History of Indonesian Masculinity
Indonesian Masculinity under Suharto
Post-Suharto
Islamic Masculinity as an Alternative to the New Order
Masculinity
Moving on after Suharto
68
70
74
85
91
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
iv
95
101
Tracing the Ideology of Resistance in Men’s Lifestyle
Magazines
Alternative Media for Alternative Masculinities
Media as Empowerment for Subordinated Groups
Playboy and the New Lad Magazines
New Journalism and Playboy Indonesia as a Case Study
103
104
109
114
120
Negotiating Pornography and Power with Magazine
Editors
Social Background of the Pornography Debate
So What is Pornography?
Surviving the Threats from FPI
The Editors’ Defence
The Post-Pornography Era
135
138
142
144
148
158
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
Girlfriends and Mistresses: Sexualized Representations
of Women in the Magazines
Questions and Arguments
Theory: Foucault’s History of Sexuality
Concubines, Co-Wives, and Mistresses
Representations of Sexualized Women as a Statement of
Challenge
Indonesian Women for Indonesian Men
Local Politics and Global Membership: Identifying
Middle Class Indonesian Men in the Magazines
Gendering Men’s Presence in Public
Representing Indonesian Men as Citizens
Advertising the Power and the Power of Advertising
Summarizing the Middle Class Lifestyle
159
160
163
166
171
175
197
200
206
221
238
CHAPTER 8
Male Adolescents’ Induction into Masculinities in Hai
Magazine
240
Before and After the New Order
241
Boys’ Privileged Access to Sex Education
244
Going after the Girls
252
High School as a Meeting Point between the State and its
Young Citizens
257
Violence and Violation
267
The Future of Indonesian Boys
272
CHAPTER 9
Conclusion. Indonesian Men: Where to From Here?
BIBLIOGAPHY
275
281
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Although my name is written on the cover of this thesis, I could not have survived the
lonely endeavour in conducting my research and writing this thesis without the help of
so many wonderful and caring people.
I thank Professor Lyn Parker for her supervision during my Masters and PhD
candidature. Thank you for your continuing and kind assistance even when I was still
working in Jakarta and preparing my application to return to the University of Western
Australia to do my PhD.
I thank Professor Alison Bartlett for her supervision during my PhD candidature.
Thank you so much for your patience and guidance every step of the way. I understand
that being a supervisor is a lifetime job, and I sincerely hope that when I become a
supervisor one day, I could be like my supervisors.
I would like to thank the people who I met during my fieldwork, for sharing their
insight to my research. Thank you P Suryo R, Titan Galantri Harinda, Arvero Iwantra,
Hagi Hagoromo, Andreas Harsono, Andre Syahreza, Eddy Suhardy, Cynthia
Limanouw, Ika Mustika, Tatang Ary Gumanti, Reza Indragiri Amriel, Djanarto
Budiman, Yosep Adi Prasetyo, Maqdir Ismail, Bambang Gunawan, Aryo Kresnadi, and
Rido.
I would like to thank my postgraduate and undergraduate colleagues at the University of
Western Australia for sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm. You have no idea how
much I cherish the stimulating dialogues that we had.
Finally I would like to thank the University of Western Australia for supporting my
study through the International Postgraduate Research Scholarships for three and a half
years. I would also like to thank all the staff at the university for providing an academic
environment that is warm and friendly.
May God return the enormous kindness and generosity of the people I mentioned above.
Amen.
vi
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.
Sample covers of the six magazines (after page 22)
Maxim Indonesia, No 28/III, March 2008. Popular, No. 242, March 2008. Playboy Indonesia,
April 2007. Male Emporium, No. 77, June 2007. Hai, 27 August – 2 September 2007,
XXXI/No. 35. FHM Indonesia, May 2007.
Figure 2.
A photographer wearing jilbab at a training session (after page 152)
Male Emporium, No. 82, November 2007, p. 106.
Figure 3.
Judging women from their breasts (after page 190)
“Boob Test” Maxim Indonesia, No. 15, February 2007, p. 56.
Figure 4.
Breasts as indicators of women’s virginity and sex lives (after page 190)
“Boob Test” Maxim Indonesia, No. 15, February 2007, p. 57.
Figure 5.
Travelling overseas for work (after page 224)
Male Emporium, No. 86, March 2008, p. 38.
Figure 6.
Questioning leadership through a cigarette advertisement (after page 228)
FHM Indonesia, No. 45, May 2007, p. 2.
Figure 7.
Alcoholic beverages (after page 230)
Playboy Indonesia, April 2007, p. 86.
Figure 8.
Sugar Billiard and Bar. Business card is required to enter (after page 230)
Popular, No. 239, December 2007, p. 148.
Figure 9.
Guess and Oakley stores in Grand Indonesia Mall (after page 232)
Maxim Indonesia, No. 25, December 2007, p. 154.
Figure 10.
Skin treatment for men (after page 236)
Maxim Indonesia, No. 28, March 2008, p. 95.
Figure 11.
Male Chinese model (after page 236)
Popular, No. 230, March 2007, p. 17.
Figure 12.
Advertisement for sexual performance enhancer (after page 236)
Playboy Indonesia, April 2007, p. 113.
Figure 13.
School uniform is getting sexier (after page 252)
Hai, 10 – 16 March 2006, XXXII/No. 10.
vii
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Background
After President Habibie was sworn in as Suharto’s successor in May 1998, his first
major move to mark his presidential term was media deregulation. The result was a rush
of publications. The Indonesian mediascape was inundated with new print media. Apart
from local titles, an emerging trend was to license overseas magazines. They were
published in Indonesian but retained the original magazine titles. Cosmopolitan
Indonesia was the first to license a foreign magazine brand in the 1990s during the New
Order but none followed suit due to the difficulty in obtaining the notorious publication
permit (SIUPP/Surat Ijin Usaha Penerbitan Pers) at the time. However, after 1998,
licensed overseas periodicals flourished in the post-Suharto political environment. One
noticeable genre was licensed men’s lifestyle magazines. It started with FHM Indonesia
and Maxim Indonesia, and later came Men’s Health and Esquire. These were published
with no particular media fuss apart from the regular public relations announcements.
The story was totally different when the media reported that Playboy was coming to
Indonesia. After this, Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines came under scrutiny
because of the kind of attention that Playboy received in Indonesia.
Playboy Indonesia launched its first issue on 7 April 2006. Less than a week after the
launch, on 12 April 2006, a group of people from the FPI (Islamic Defenders
Front/Front Pembela Islam) attacked the Playboy Indonesia headquarters in South
Jakarta. They demanded that this magazine cease its publication in Indonesia. Although
the mob could not access Playboy Indonesia’s office, they managed to ransack the
ground floor of the building.
1
The FPI had been known for vandalizing nightclubs and massage parlours. 1 Given this
track record, the attack on Playboy Indonesia’s headquarters was not that surprising.
Ever since Erwin Arnada, the editor-in-chief of Playboy Indonesia, announced for the
first time (the year before Playboy Indonesia was published) that Indonesia would be
the thirty-second country to publish Playboy, there had been controversy and threats in
the Indonesian media. The FPI was at the forefront of these public condemnations. Both
print and electronic media covered the public arguments and debates swirling around
the Indonesian version of Playboy. Playboy’s international reputation combined with
the extensive media coverage seemed to have an amplified effect on Playboy Indonesia.
It stood alone in the spotlight as if it were the only source of immorality in the
Indonesian media.
Other Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines became anxious after commentators in the
media started questioning the consistency of the FPI’s attack on Playboy Indonesia.
There were other magazines of the same genre that had been published in Indonesia
long before Playboy Indonesia arrived, so why target only this one? To show their
consistency, the FPI started expanding their threats to other men’s lifestyle magazines,
such as Popular, Maxim Indonesia, and Male Emporium. Although Playboy Indonesia
suffered the brunt of the attacks from fundamentalist Islamic groups like the FPI, the
ripple effects on the other Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines were profound enough
to urge them to defend themselves by redefining their magazines as being nothing like
Playboy Indonesia.
1
“Indonesia’s Muslim Militants” BBC News, 8 August 2003, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asiapacific/2333085.stm#top (date accessed 15 March 2010).
2
The arguments surrounding Playboy Indonesia in particular and Indonesian men’s
lifestyle magazines in general, revealed more than just disputes over a genre of
magazines in the Indonesian mediascape. They provided insights into a broad range of
issues in Indonesian society, particularly after the fall of Suharto. These were issues
such as national identity in the face of global brand expansions, freedom of speech after
media deregulation, democracy in the post-Suharto era, and Islamization. Issues of
morality and sexuality were particularly evident as tokens of leadership and authority.
Who had the power to define morality and regulate other people’s sexuality? Morality
and sexuality debates were interplayed with issues of decentralization and the
implementation of Syariah (Islamic law).
The lifestyle magazines paved the way for enquiry into related social issues and
concerns. These magazines are a medium for men, and the protests against these
magazines were initiated by men. Although there seem to be an array of different social
issues thrown up by the magazines themselves as well as by the reaction to them, my
thesis points out that these are all issues of masculinity. My thesis deconstructs these
issues and concerns, and identifies them as a struggle for power among Indonesian men.
Men’s struggle for power is evident everywhere; however, the controversy triggered by
Playboy Indonesia which affected other Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines, allows
for further exposure of the masculine nature of the social issues.
Playboy Indonesia (and other Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines for that matter) was
located at a crossroads. 2 On the one hand, Playboy Indonesia wanted to seize the
momentum of the end of the New Order regime. The Reform era offered a much freer
press and a more democratic socio-political environment. On the other hand, the timing
2
A popular Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazine before Playboy Indonesia was Matra. The magazine is
now defunct.
3
of the publication of Playboy Indonesia coincided with the heated debate on the
Indonesian anti-pornography bill, and although it was the end of an oppressive regime,
the Reform was coloured with the rise of fundamentalist Islam in Indonesia. In
hindsight, Playboy Indonesia seemed to place itself in the line of fire, given the timing
of its publication. It was a moment in Indonesian history when all social forces seemed
to collide.
The Playboy Indonesia debate, which impacted on other Indonesian men’s lifestyle
magazines, highlighted the fact that men’s lifestyle magazines had become a significant
genre in Indonesia. Previously men’s media had been associated with current affairs
rather than lifestyle. The media deregulation following the New Order’s demise had
opened up a niche market that established men’s lifestyle magazines as a profitable
genre. The content design of a magazine can always be justified as a part of revenue
building. However, apart from being profit driven, magazines cannot escape the
ideologically saturated setting that constructs them. Therefore in this thesis I explore
“the production of social meaning” within these magazines. 3
Although the object of my research is Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazine, this thesis is
a critical commentary on Indonesian masculinities rather than Indonesian men’s
magazines. As a medium for men, the magazines provide clues to expressions of
masculinities within Indonesian culture. Borrowing from Du Gay et al, the magazines
are treated as a “cultural artefact” which provides “insights into the shared meanings
and social practices”. 4 My interest is in the construction of Indonesian masculinities,
and men’s lifestyle magazines provide evidence of “shared meanings and social
3
David Hesmondhalgh, The Cultural Industries (London; Thousand Oaks; New Delhi: Sage Publications,
2002), p. 11.
4
Paul du Gay, Stuart Hall, Linda Janes, Hugh Mackay and Keith Negus, Doing Cultural Studies. The
Story of the Sony Walkman (London; Thousand Oaks; New Delhi: Sage Publication, 2001), p. 11.
4
practices”. The magazines are both a cultural phenomenon and a cultural text. As a
cultural phenomenon, the magazines are a masculine reflection of and a masculine
reaction to male politics among Indonesian men. Consequently, the thesis draws on the
parallel between expressions of masculinities inside the magazines and expressions of
masculinities outside the magazines. I delve into the history of Indonesian men to see
how this male history is manifest in contemporary Indonesia. As cultural texts, the
magazines are evidence of how masculinity struggles in the past are carried over to the
present. The magazines invite further investigations into the socio-political life of
Indonesian men. Hill argues that “the print media industry ... offers a unique window
through which to observe developments in a country’s political life.” 5 The conditions
which motivate the men’s lifestyle magazines’ discourse and the social background
which hinders or supports their publication, present an opportunity for a critical
discussion of male rivalry and domination. Thus, these magazines provide a case study
of how Indonesian masculinities are negotiated and maintained through discourse and
representations.
The Argument
The main argument of my thesis is that Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines represent
the struggles of subordinated masculinities with the hegemonic masculine power of the
state. I argue that Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines construct a specific group of
Indonesian middle class men with the following main features: these men have the
potential political power to challenge the state and they have a sophisticated lifestyle
that indirectly demonstrates this power. The lifestyle in the magazines defines
Indonesian middle class men as educated, wealthy, and linked to a wider network of
global masculinities due to their education or their wealth. These three aspects:
5
David T. Hill, The Press in the New Order Indonesia (University of Western Australia Press: Nedlands,
Western Australia, 1994), pp. 18 – 19.
5
education, wealth and international exposure, provide these men with the ideological
ammunition to challenge the hegemonic power of the state. However, the construction
of these masculine struggles operates within the convention of traditional gender
ideology in Indonesia that posits women as subordinated to men. So the magazines
work in two opposing dynamics: striving for power equality vis-à-vis other men while
maintaining inequality vis-à-vis women.
Masculinity studies have noted the masculine nature of the media and journalism. 6 In
this thesis, I view Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines as a reflection of counterhegemonic masculinity in Indonesian society. These magazines are ideologically
located as alternatives to the mainstream “hegemonic masculinity” of the state. 7 I argue
that men’s lifestyle magazines represent subordinated masculinities in the society. My
thesis examines the socio-political struggles between hegemonic and subordinated
masculinities from the point of view of the politically subordinated masculinities as
represented by the men in the magazines.
In her research on the African-American press in the United States, Moody argues that
the comparison of mainstream with minority media should yield a rich
study of the processes of interpretation and representation of cultural
identities because media resources produced by and run for minorities
provide interpretations of events and identities that run counter to
mainstream representations. 8
Following Moody’s method in assessing minority media, I argue that Indonesian men’s
lifestyle magazines frame their message in contrast to the hegemonic ideology of the
state. The men that they represent are those who are not sanctioned by the state. The
6
Michael Flood, Judith Gardiner, Bob Pease, and Alan Pringle, eds. International Encyclopedia of Men
and Masculinity (New York: Routledge, 2007), p. 351.
7
The term “hegemonic masculinity” is taken from R.W. Connell’s Masculinities (Sydney: Allen
&Unwin, 1995), p. 77.
8
Mia Nodeen Moody, Black and Mainstream Press’ Framing of Racial Profiling: a Historical
Perspective (Maryland, US; Plymouth, UK: University Press of America, 2008), p. 6.
6
reason for the departure from the mainstream hegemonic masculinity may be the
marketing schema, which dictates that a niche brand should supply an entirely different
product to communicate to a different group that is not represented in the mainstream
media. Marketing aside, an ideological reading yields a different explanation. Given the
socio-political conditions that stimulated (and presumably previously suppressed) the
growth of men’s lifestyle magazines, the different aspects through which these
magazines choose to position themselves serve as indicators of what these magazines
see as new forms of empowerment for Indonesian men.
I argue that representations of men and masculinities in these magazines are significant
indicators of the continuing trend of middle class Indonesian men to demand the right to
criticize their hegemonic counterparts who run the state. The trend started prior to the
fall of Suharto, as noticed by Hill. He argues that
As ally of the open press, the emerging middle-class demands access to
information and knowledge from a mass media, both print and electronic, that
is free to provide comprehensive coverage of matters of public interest. They
now insist their domestic print media equal what is freely beamed into their
homes by international satellite television. 9
After Suharto stepped down from power, many of his men still ran the state with a New
Order mentality, despite disapproval from the younger generation. This condition is
captured by the lifestyle magazines by featuring opinions and criticism from young
professionals and intellectuals. With representations of middle class men predominating
in the content, these lifestyle magazines are symbolically trying to replace “Suharto’s
men” with middle class Indonesian men. Clark finds a similar trend in Indonesian
movies made after the New Order. He observes a film entitled Kuldesak, and contends
that it is “an ironic comment on the changing of the guard between Indonesia’s older
9
David T. Hill, The Press in the New Order Indonesia, pp. 12 – 13.
7
generation of men and the latest generation of youth.” 10 I use Abu-Lughod’s argument
to propose that these departures signify resistance, and that the need to resist indicates
the strength of the power that they are resisting: the legacy of the New Order. 11
However, as I mentioned earlier, resistance to this hegemonic masculinity is not
followed by women’s empowerment or deconstruction of the traditional gender
ideology. In other words, these men want to be in the hegemonic group to share its
power, but they do not want to share this power with women.
In the west, the discourse of the “new man” is a marketing and ideological construct of
western men’s lifestyle magazines as a reaction to western feminism. 12 In Indonesia, the
“new man” is more inspired by political struggles at the national level rather than by
Indonesian feminists or women’s movements. The Indonesian “new man” is constructed
from the desire to distinguish a new type of masculinity from that represented by ‘the
New Order men’. I argue that the inspiration for the “new man” in Indonesian men’s
lifestyle magazines derives simultaneously from global and local aspirations. The global
aspirations position the men in the magazines as modern global citizens. The local
aspirations construct the men as the next generation who are ready to take over and to
be in charge of the nation.
Although this is not a comparative study between representations of masculinities in the
mainstream media and lifestyle magazines, references to the mainstream media are
10
Marshall Clark, “Indonesian Masculinities: Images of Men in Indonesian TV Advertising” Review of
Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs, Vol. 38, No. 2 (2004), p. 11.
11
Lila Abu-Lughod “The Romance of Resistance: Tracing Transformations of Power through Bedouin
Women” American Ethnologist. The Journal of the American Ethnological Society, Vol. 17, No. 1
(1990), 53.
12
BethanBenwell, “The Textual and Visual Construction of Masculinity in Men’s Magazines” in Gender
Identity and Discourse Analysis. Discourse and Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture, eds.
LiaLitosseliti and Jane Sunderland (Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing, 2002),pp.
150 – 151.
8
necessary in order to define the magazines.
Moody defines the mainstream media as
follows:
The mainstream press is often identified as targeting the general
population with the intent to provide continuous objective coverage of
issues and areas of interest.... [M]ainstream media denotes news outlets
that produce content specifically conceived to reach and appeal to a large
audience. Some researchers view the mass media audience as forming a
mass society with a lack of social connections such as race, gender, etc. 13
By contrast, the minority media is the counter-hegemonic journalism of the mainstream
media. Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines as counter-hegemonic journalism may be
regarded as the media which provide alternative coverage of issues of interest, target a
limited circle, and reach a relatively smaller audience.
The targeted readers of Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines are defined by the editors
as “young Indonesian male executives” [pria eksekutif muda Indonesia]. These
characteristics refer to a specific age range, nationality, gender, and social status, which
describe the exclusive nature of the magazines. Exclusivity is part of the identity of the
magazines that sets them apart from the mainstream media. Magdalinski and Chandler
argue that “Communities function by establishing who they are not, as much as who
they are”. 14 The targeted readers of these magazines are imagined by the editors as an
elite community. I argue that the magazines are aimed at an “imagined community” of
Indonesian male citizens who are portrayed as being different and better than their
predecessors from the New Order. 15
So the magazines construct a group of middle class Indonesian men who represent a
potential group of successors. In the Indonesian context, middle class men are
13
Mia Nodeen Moody, p. 16.
Tara Magdalinski and Timothy J.L. Chandler, “With God on their Side. An Introduction” in With God
on their Side. Sport in the Service of Religion, eds. Tara Magdalinski and Timothy J.L. Chandler
(London; New York: Routledge, 2002), p. 3.
15
The term “imagined community” is taken from Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities.
Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (London: Verso, 1983).
14
9
significant markers of transition and reform. Lev claims that in Indonesia, “Historically
the middle classes have been a major source of pressure for economic, social, cultural,
and political change.” 16 The middle class status allows these men to see things both
ways: they are low enough to feel the impact of political injustice in Indonesia but they
are highly educated enough to strategize the expression of their political dissatisfaction.
The targeted audience and the representations of masculinities within the magazines
reveal the ideological construct of the “new man” of Indonesia. The representations of
masculinities in the magazines support the aspirations of young Indonesian male
executives who are ideally seen as having the potential to replace the older generation
of the New Order. Men’s lifestyle magazines, to some degree, are evidence of the
symbolic distribution of power that no longer resides within the small circle of
Suharto’s men. The magazines demonstrate that, although they are not major venues,
they have the capacity to channel opinions that are absent from the mainstream media.
In the following I describe the process of my research, which has assisted me in
formulating the above arguments.
Methodology
Hesse-Biber and Leavy mention that “Methodology is the bridge that brings theory and
method together.” 17 Research is a journey and methodology is the map that locates: (a)
where the researcher starts (identity, background of knowledge and interest), (b) what
the destination is (research questions), (c) the route taken (theories and approach), and
16
Daniel S. Lev, “Intermediate Classes and Change in Indonesia: Some Initial Reflections” in The
Politics of Middle Class Indonesia, eds. Richard Tanter and Kenneth Young (Clayton, Australia: Centre
of Southeast Asian Studies, No. 19, Monash University, 1990), p. 26.
17
Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber and Patricia Leavy.The Practice of Qualitative Research (California,
London and New Delhi: Sage Publication, 2006), p. 21.
10
(d) the types of transports (methods or data collection). All of these involve options and
making selections from the various theories and methods available.
Researcher’s Background
There are four major reasons why I am interested in researching masculinities in
Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines.The first reason is that I am building on my
previous research on gender representations in Indonesian magazines. 18 My previous
theses on Indonesian children’s and girls’ magazines have shown that representations in
these media are consistent with the dominant gender ideology that circulates in
Indonesian society. 19 While it mightseem that the logical next step would be to move on
to women’s magazines, I refrain from going into that field because others have
contributed substantially to the topic of representations of Indonesian women in the
media. 20 Therefore my next step is Indonesian men’s magazines.
The second reason is that gender in Indonesia is almost always discussed as women’s
issues but rarely refers to males. Dede Oetomo says that, “gender [in Indonesia] has
focused disproportionately on women, with men figuring only, if at all, as the “equal
18
Suzie Handajani, “Widowed mothers in Bobo magazines. The representation of women in Indonesian
children’s literature” in Beyond good and evil? Essays on literature and culture of the Asia-Pacific
region. Dennis Haskell and Megan McKinlay and Pamina Rich, eds. (Crawley, Australia: UWA Press,
2005), pp. 165 – 179.
Suzie Handajani, “Western inscription on Indonesian bodies. Representations of adolescents in
Indonesian female teen magazines” Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific. No. 18,
(October 2008) http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue18/handajani.htm (date accessed 28 October 2010).
19
Suzie Handajani, “Women’s Representation in Children’s Literature in Bobo Magazine.” Graduate
Diploma of Women’s Studies Thesis. The University of Western Australia, 2002.
Suzie Handajani, “Globalizing Local Girls: The Representation of Adolescents in Indonesian Female
Teen Magazines.” Master of Arts Thesis.The University of Western Australia, 2005.
20
Suzy Azeharie, “Representations of Women in Femina: An Indonesian Women’s Magazine.” Master of
Philosophy Thesis at Murdoch University, Western Australia, 1997.
Pam Nilan, “Gendered Dreams: Women Watching Sinetron (Soap Operas) on Indonesian TV.”
Indonesian and the Malay World 29 (2001), 85-99.
Suzanne Brenner, “On Public Intimacy of the New Order: Images of Women in the Popular Indonesian
Print Media.” Indonesia, No.67 (1999), 13-37.
Barbara Hatley, “Nation, Tradition and Constructions of the Feminine in Modern Indonesian Literature”
in J. Schiller and B. Martin-Schiller (ed) Imagining Indonesia: Cultural Politics and the Politics of
Culture Center for International Studies, University of Ohio, 1997a.
11
and harmonious partners of women.” 21 Marshall Clark laments the scarcity of gender
discussions that focus on Indonesian males and masculinities. 22 He says that in
Indonesia, sadly, discussions of gender issues are an unbalanced – if not impossible –
act of clapping with one hand. I would like to contribute to the field by doing research
on men’s magazines, to fill in the gap in gender studies in Indonesia. My analysis would
identify cultural practices which are deemed gender neutral and expose them as
masculine practices.
My third reason is that at the start of my research, Indonesian male lifestyle magazines
were being put under intense public scrutiny. As I mentioned in the opening of my
thesis, a heated public debate on pornography has raged, during which these magazines
have been accused of pornographic content. The outrage over the publication of
Playboy coincides with the resurgence of Islam, which sometimes asserts itself with an
anti-western attitude, or in Barton’s words: as “anti-modern”. 23 One faction of resurgent
Islam, the Islamists, who have a narrow understanding of Islam and a political agenda
that seeks to advance Syariah (Islamic law), “adopt an exclusive approach to communal
relations and [to] view with suspicion all outside of their orbit, seeing the world very
much in terms of ‘us and them’”. 24 To supporters of Islamism, Playboy is not just a
pornographic magazine: the publication of Playboy in Indonesia represents the transfer
of the immorality of the ‘west’ to Indonesia. I have argued in my Master’s thesis that in
21
Dede Oetomo, “Masculinity in Indonesia. Genders, Sexualities, and Identities in a Changing Society”
Framing the Sexual Subjects: The Politics of Gender, Sexuality, and Power. Richard Guy Parker and
Regina Maria Barbosa and Peter Aggleton, eds., (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of
California Press, 2000), p. 46.
22
Marshall Clark, “Indonesian Masculinities: Images of Men in Indonesian TV Advertising” Review of
Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs, Vol. 38, No. 2 (2004), 9 – 37.
Marshall Clark, “Men, Masculinities and Symbolic Violence in Recent Indonesian Cinema” Journal of
Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 35, No. 1 (February 2004), 113-131.
Marshall Clark, “Too Many Wisanggenis: Reinventing the Wayang at the Turn of the Century” Indonesia
and the Malay World, Vol. 32, No. 92 (March 2004), 62-79.
23
Greg Barton, “The Prospect for Islam” Indonesia Today. Challenges of History. Grayson Lloyd and
Shannon Smith, eds., (Singapore: Southeast Asian Studies., 2001), pp. 245 – 248.
24
Greg Barton, “The Prospect of Islam”, p. 250.
12
discourses on sexuality in Indonesia, the general public regards the west as the source of
moral decadence. 25 Playboy is the icon of western moral decadence par excellence. The
reaction towards Playboy provides insight into the “malestream” social condition of
Indonesian society. In the midst of these disputes between Playboy and the more
fanatical Islamists − which can be seen as a male-to-male confrontation −
representations of women are the objects of their argument. In a sense, control over
images of females is used to define each group’s patriarchal dominance.
This brings me to my fourth reason. These men’s magazines, as a cultural phenomenon
and cultural text, have great potential to portray gendered social dynamics − particularly
masculinities. 26 Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines can be seen as a cultural product
that portrays ideal masculinity/ies to which middle class Indonesian males aspire. Given
the diversity of Indonesia and consequently the potential plurality of Indonesian males,
“masculinity” in the title of my thesis is set in the plural, in recognition of the different
kinds of masculinities that were encountered in this research. R. W. Connell argues that
“It has become increasingly clear that different masculinities are produced in the same
cultural or institutional setting.” 27
These men’s magazines signify cultural messages worthy of interpretation. Following
Barthes’ method, magazines, as signifiers, can be interpreted like a language. 28 Hall
argues that “There are broadly three approaches to explaining how representation of
meaning through language works.” 29 The first one is the reflective approach, in which
25
Suzie Handajani, “Western inscription”, pp. 138 – 143.
Kenneth MacKinnon, Representing Men: Maleness and Masculinity in the Media (London: Arnold;
New York: Distributed in the United States of America by Oxford University Press, 2003), p. 25.
27
R.W. Connell, Masculinities (Sydney: Allen &Unwin, 1995), p. 36.
28
Roland Barthes, Mythologies. Translated from the French by Annette Lavers.(London: Paladin Grafton,
1973).
29
Stuart Hall, “The Work of Representation” in Representation. Cultural Representations and Signifying
Practices, Stuart Hall, ed. (London; Thousand Oaks; New Delhi: Sage Publication, 1997), p. 24.
26
13
“language functions like a mirror, to reflect the true meaning as it already exists in the
world” [emphasis in original]. 30 These magazines and the social conditions surrounding
the production of the magazines reflect each other reciprocally. The second approach is
the intentional approach, in which “Words mean what the author intends they should
mean.” 31 This approach recognizes the magazine editors’ authority in designing the
messages that they want to convey to their readers. However, Hall argues that this
authority is limited since “Language can never be wholly a private game”. 32 This brings
the intermediary solution which is the constructionist approach. According to this
approach
neither things in themselves nor the individual users of language can fix
meaning in language. Things don’t mean: we construct meaning, using
representational systems − concepts and signs [emphasis in original]. 33
So the magazines construct meanings based on existing conventions and further develop
or modify those conventions to serve their purpose. This approach also applies to the
way I interpret the magazines and the society in which the magazines are published. As
a researcher, I work within the existing culture of masculinities and Indonesian culture.
However, my interpretations will be influenced by my own education, the requirement
of a critical attitude, and by my identity as a researcher.
As an Indonesian writing about Indonesia, I am aware of the danger of not being able to
critically assess the condition of my own country due to my extended exposure to and
immersion in the society. Soedjatmoko acknowledges that “the Indonesia-centric
historical narrative will have to be able to stand up against other, non-Indonesian
30
Stuart Hall, “The Work of Representation”, p. 24.
Stuart Hall, “The Work of Representation”, p. 25.
32
Stuart Hall, “The Work of Representation”, p. 25.
33
Stuart Hall, “The Work of Representation”, p. 25.
31
14
versions of historical events in Indonesia.” 34 This research takes advantage of the fact
that I am Indonesian with a native insight into the society but it is also balanced with
“non-Indonesian” narratives of the society, as Soedjatmoko suggests. With historical
narratives, I have to balance my own experience as an Indonesian with outsiders’
observations.
Research Question
The research question that this thesis addresses is: what kinds of masculinities are
represented in Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines? This single question has led me to
explore a wide range of research areas, which extend beyond the theoretical and
geographical realm of Indonesia. From this basic research question more questions
arose. What are the reasons for these kinds of representations? Since masculinity studies
were initially developed in the west, which western theories provide explanations for
the text and the phenomenon of Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines? How are these
masculinities linked to Indonesian society in general and Indonesian masculinities in
particular? Since the debate about the magazines evolved around pornography, how is
this debate linked to masculinities? How do the women in the magazines contribute to
the masculinities of Indonesian men? Since the magazines that I collected include a
boys’ magazine, what are the correlations between the boys’ and the men’s magazines
in terms of the way these two magazines convey masculinities that are particularly
Indonesian?
These expanded research questions form the structure of my thesis: each chapter is an
answer to each of those questions. The result is that each chapter that can be read
34
Soedjatmoko, “The Indonesian Historian and his Time” in An Introduction to Indonesian
Historiography, ed. Soedjatmoko (Ithaca, N.Y: Cornell University Press, 1965), p. 407.
15
individually, but the reason for writing each chapter is also to support other chapters and
complete the thesis. The thesis has become a discussion of the broad picture of
Indonesian masculinities with a case study of Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines.
Theories and Approach
Jureidini et al contend that to carry out a social science research requires “an intellectual
process that brings together theoretical frameworks, specific theories and empirical
research.” 35 Therefore the structure of the whole thesis and its individual chapters is
governed by the provision of those three elements: theoretical frameworks, specific
theories, and empirical research. Jureidini et al explain that theoretical frameworks and
specific theories are located at “descending scales of generality.” 36 Theoretical
frameworks are the umbrella theories with the broadest scope, whereas specific theories,
as the term suggests, refer to theories which address particular conditions. 37 In my
research the theoretical framework is pro-feminist masculinity studies.
Although this is a discussion of Indonesian men, referencing western masculinity
theories is inevitable. This has made me realize how theories that influence the world of
academia are so western, and how we lack theories that operate outside the overarching
western worldview. Jackson refers to this condition as “the hegemony of theories”.38
Jackson argues further that,
research on cultural Others is commonly legitimated when an author establishes
a sufficiently dense mass of referencing connections between exotic data
35
Ray Jureidini, Sue Kenny and Marilyn Poole, “The Search for Society” in Sociology. Australian
Connections, Ray Jureini and Marilyn Poole, eds. (Crows Nest, NSW: Allen &Unwin, 2003), p. 16.
36
Ray Jureidini, Sue Kenny and Marilyn Poole, “The Search for Society”, p. 16
37
Ray Jureidini, Sue Kenny and Marilyn Poole, “The Search for Society”, pp. 16 – 18.
38
Peter A. Jackson, “Reading Rio from Bangkok: An Asianist Perspective on Brazil’s Male Homosexual
Cultures” American Ethnologist, Vol. 27, No. 4, 951.
16
gathered from the global margins and the analytic frameworks constructed by
often Eurocentric scholars who produce general theory presumed to possess
universal validity. 39
To respond to this condition, I have to choose suitable western theories and analytical
framework. In some cases I simply abandoned the theories since they do not apply to
Indonesia.
With regards to western theories that I explored during my research, I categorized them
into three groups according to their usefulness for each chapter of my thesis. There were
applicable theories, inapplicable theories, and modified theories. As I mentioned above,
some theories were applicable or adjustable, but some theories had to be abandoned
because they did not provide explanations for the matters at hand. There are theorists
and theories that I do not mention because I have explored them and decided that they
are irrelevant to or incompatible with the social practices under examination.
One example of this is that this thesis breaks with the usual trend in western academia
to discuss western men’s lifestyle magazines in terms of embodied masculinities. The
works of western academics on men’s lifestyle magazines, such as those of Sean Nixon
and Frank Mort, examine men’s representations in magazines to find the physical
markers of masculinity. 40 This kind of examination pays attention to physical attributes
such as clothing and body shape (such as the necessity to have a “six pack” or to engage
in a certain fitness regime). That is why these scholars focus on advertising and on how
men design their “look” and their bodies: it is important to men in western lifestyle
magazines to have the proper masculine appearance.
39
Peter A. Jackson, “Reading Rio from Bangkok”, p. 951.
See Sean Nixon, Hard Looks. Masculinities, Spectatorship and Contemporary Consumption. New
York: University College London, 1996 and also see Frank Mort, Cultures of Consumption. Masculinities
and Social Space in Late Twentieth–Century Britain. London; New York: Routledge, 1996.
40
17
My thesis, on the other hand, focuses more on masculinities as disembodied entities.
These types of masculinities are defined in terms of men’s exercise of power through
their relationships with other people in society rather than through men’s physical
attributes. In my research, I deal more with discourses of masculinities in magazine
articles than with men’s appearances in advertisements. There is more evidence of
Indonesian masculinities available within the magazine articles than in the
advertisements. These articles provide more insights into social dynamics in Indonesia
which the visual dimension of advertisements lacks. That is why in Chapter Two on
masculinity theories and in the whole thesis in general, I discuss masculinities as social
politics rather than as body politics.
This is not to say that appearance is not important to Indonesian men, and I do discuss it
in my thesis. I examine advertising and men’s appearance in Chapter Seven, and I found
that while the articles deal more with local issues, the advertisements are about
“globalizing” Indonesian men through modern western male gadgets and products.
Globalization is an important aspect since it provides Indonesian men with a link to
their western counterparts. This link is a source of symbolic intellectual power because
of the intellectual hegemony of western men, as argued by Jackson above. Knowledge
of democracy, freedom of speech, and modernity are key elements of intellectual power
in the west, to which Indonesian men aspire.
Without oversimplifying the complex relationships between masculinity studies and
area studies, dividing masculinities into embodied and disembodied masculinities
results in dichotomies that depict the trends in cross-cultural masculinity research, as the
18
following table illustrates. My research falls predominantly, although not exclusively, in
the left column.
Disembodied masculinity
Embodied masculinity
Social politics
Body politics
Predominantly in non-western context
Predominantly in western context
Magazine articles
Advertisements
Heterosexual
Metrosexual
I experienced another example of western “intellectual hegemony” in my discussion of
pornography. 41 In western academia, pornography is predominantly the domain of
scholars in feminism and women’s studies. Within the Indonesian context, however, the
pornography charges against the magazines and the public debates regarding the
pornography law, cannot be analyzed using western feminist theories. The reason is that
the objects and conducts defined as pornographic in the Indonesian pornography bill at
the time were not necessarily pornographic according to western standard. As a result, I
do not use feminist theories and the usual feminist framework to discuss pornography
because they are inapplicable. In Chapter Five I discussed the pornography debate as a
case study that documents the power struggle among men by claiming women’s bodies
as the field over which they command authority.
Although the pornography chapter does not employ feminist theories, this thesis uses a
feminist approach to analyze the magazines. Using a feminist approach means that the
purpose of the thesis is to contribute, however modestly, to women’s empowerment.
41
Peter A. Jackson, “Reading Rio from Bangkok”, p. 951.
19
My thesis aims to contribute through an interrogation of how masculine power works.
The overarching theoretical framework of pro-feminist masculinity in this thesis is
employed to deconstruct men’s power. The research question and the answers are
directed towards understanding gender dynamics in Indonesian society. Although the
discussions are about men, this thesis is a means to a pro-feminist end.
The method for the interpretation of my data is framed within the area of cultural
studies. I use cultural analysis as the “asking tool”. 42 Cultural analysis is about
discerning the “production of social meaning”, as I mentioned above. 43 Lewis explains
that “the crisis of understanding that accompanies modernization has sensitized many
intellectuals to the problems associated with meaning-making”. 44 This requires cultural
products to be interpreted at semiotic and metaphoric levels in order to arrive at the
social meanings attached to them. I answer my research questions by decoding symbolic
meanings found within the cultural phenomena in Indonesian society. Thus, Indonesian
men’s lifestyle magazines can be seen as cultural products that attempt to symbolically
construct what it means to be contemporary Indonesian men. It is within this context of
meaning-making that I employ cultural analysis in this thesis.
The sources of data to answer my research question have been gathered from a broad,
multidisciplinary area. Different disciplines have contributed to the provision of data for
different parts of my thesis. These disciplines are used to collect different information
and to assist with the analysis in different sections of the thesis. This includes area
studies, history, literary studies, politics, media studies, cultural studies, masculinity
42
A term used by Ien Ang at the workshop on “Intersection of Area, Media, and Cultural Studies”, ANU,
Canberra on 25 – 26 February 2010.
43
David Hesmondhalgh, The Cultural Industries, p. 11.
44
Jeff Lewis, Cultural Studies: the Basics (London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage Publication, 2004),
p. 18.
20
studies and women’s studies, to name just a few. Overall, this research takes advantage
of the interdisciplinary nature of social science.
In conclusion, I employ different theories at different levels. The theoretical framework
at the umbrella level, which represents the mission of my thesis, is governed by profeminist masculinity studies. At the next level, the process of interpretation of the
overall data, employs methods from cultural studies. The third level, the process of data
collection and the empirical research, is taken from various social science disciplines.
My multidisciplinary approach is supported by Gerring, who argues that
as a matter of good scholarship, writers in the social sciences ought to be able
to converse with those in other fields. Hayek once remarked, “The physicist
who is only a physicist can still be a first class physicist and a most valuable
member of society. But nobody can be a great economist who is only an
economist − and I am even tempted to add that the economist who is only an
economist is likely to become a nuisance if not a positive danger.” ... Indeed,
crossdisciplinary research is perhaps the most fertile area of research in the
social sciences today. 45
In my case, the masculinity studies approach would be “dry” and insufficient without
the support of other fields and disciplines.
Methods
The main cultural evidence and primary data that I gathered for this research are
constituted by one year’s issues of six magazines from March 2007 to March 2008. The
magazines that I subscribed to are: Popular, Male Emporium, Hai, FHM Indonesia,
Maxim Indonesia, and Playboy Indonesia (see Figure 1 for samples of magazine
45
John Gerring, Social Science Methodology. A Critical Framework (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2001), p. 5.
21
covers 46). Playboy in Indonesia was short-lived, starting in April 2006 and ending in
July 2007. It was also published irregularly due to threats from Islamic groups, mainly
the FPI. Therefore I added issues of Playboy Indonesia from 2006 to my sample. All are
magazines for adult males, except Hai, which is a magazine for male adolescents. I
include Hai in this research because Hai shows how teen-aged boys are socialized into
the masculinities represented in the men’s magazines. I show how masculinities in this
boys’ magazine are consistent with those in the men’s magazines in terms of voicing the
‘other’ masculinity.
Three of the magazines are licensed from international magazines: FHM Indonesia,
Maxim Indonesia, and Playboy Indonesia. Hai, Popular and Male Emporium are local
magazines: they are not licensed from other countries. Hai and Popular were
established long before the Reform era. The other four magazines started only in the
2000s. However, despite the differences in their age, currently these magazines seem to
be involved in the same trend. Vigorito and Curry argue that the purpose of collecting
different magazines from a particular period (rather than over an extended period of
time) is to emphasize the significance of the period. 47 The flourishing genre of
Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines itself marks the trend of the Reform era.
MacKinnon argues that western men’s lifestyle magazines flourished because they were
constructed as a separate space for men, in which to escape the hegemonic power and
feminist pressures. 48 In Indonesia, men’s lifestyle magazines create a space in which
subordinated men could escape the pressures of the hegemonic masculinity of the state.
46
Maxim Indonesia, No 28/III, March 2008. Popular, No. 242, March 2008. Playboy Indonesia, April
2007. Male Emporium, No. 77, June 2007. Hai, 27 August – 2 September 2007, XXXI/No. 35. FHM
Indonesia, May 2007.
47
Anthony J. Vigorito, and Timothy J. Curry. “Marketing Masculinity: Gender Identity and Popular
Magazines” Sex Roles, Vol. 39, No. 1 (February 1998), 135 - 152.
48
Kenneth MacKinnon, Representing Men. Males and Masculinity in the Media (London: Arnold; New
York: OxfordUniversity Press, 2003), p. 12.
22
Figure 1. Sample covers of the six magazines
In addition to textual analysis, I interviewed the editors of the magazines to talk about
their magazines in general and particularly about how the pornography debate impacted
on them and their publication. I also interviewed Indonesian journalists regarding
publication and freedom of the press in Indonesia. I do not assume that they are
representatives of their professions, but rather, I simply state that these are the opinions
of a few people that I interviewed. I asked them about Indonesian men’s lifestyle
magazines: what they think, how these magazines affect them (if at all), and whether
they noticed any difference before and after the Reform of 1998. I refer to their
comments in different parts of the thesis to supply additional information to my own
statements and data.
I mentioned earlier that the western trend in analyzing men’s lifestyle magazine usually
revolves around the notion of embodied masculinity and metrosexuality. My cultural
reading of the magazines relies heavily on the notion of masculinity as disembodied,
where politics play a significant role in the construction of the identity of middle class
Indonesian men. So how do I “read” the magazines as significant cultural sites?
Schwichtenberg in her discussion of Madonna as a product of popular culture, states
that the basic task of cultural critics is to “make connections between culture as it is
lived and culture as it is theorized.” 49 The task of Cultural Studies is to decipher cultural
forms to reveal the meaning they produce and the sort of identity that they develop.
Every piece of empirical data should be able to be explained in terms of how such
cultural practices or cultural products contribute to the construction of social meaning
and of the identity of the people involved.
Since men’s lifestyle magazines are already a forum of communication, and their
49
Cathy Schwichtenberg, “Introduction: Connections/Intersections” in The Madonna Connection.
Representational Politics, Subcultural Identities, and Cultural Theories, Cathy Schwichtenberg, ed. (St
Leonards, NSW: Allen &Unwin, 1993), p. 4.
23
readership is identified as young male executives, my job in this research is to read
between the lines and the signs to seek the ideological reasons for such forms of
communication and identity.This includes delving into light articles and advertisements
and serious interviews to search for an underlying theme that runs through and is shared
by all these magazines. That is why I use cultural studies methods which are applicable
to a diverse range of cultural sites and practices, rather than specifically referencing
other analyses of western men’s lifestyle magazines.
However, cultural critics have been warned of the dangers of entering the realm of
banality because of the nature of the objects of their research which deal, with everyday
life. As argued by Theodore Adorno, the culture industry has diminished culture’s value
by associating it with capitalism and mass production. 50 This is the opposite of high
culture, which denotes the exclusivity and hegemony of a small dominant group of
people. Nevertheless, Schwichtenberg recognizes “the ideological force of commodity
culture.” 51 The ideological force of this kind of culture lies in the availability of mass
products to a relatively large group of “common” people who share similar cultural and
ideological interest in the products. The availability of mass culture as an alternative to
high culture may become a social force that competes with the hegemonic power. I posit
the object of my research − Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines − as a popular
commodity that represents “common” Indonesian men who are ideologically located
outside the hegemony of the state, but who wish to compete for that hegemony.
In order to seek the ideological force embedded within the magazines, I need to look
into Indonesia’s past. I need to search for the reasons behind the discourses of the
magazines because they have their roots in Indonesia’s socio-political history. Gill
50
See Theodore Adorno, The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture, J.M. Bernstein, ed.
(London: Verso, 1991).
51
Cathy Schwichtenberg, “Introduction: Connections/Intersections”, p. 4.
24
contends that “In any culture, there are elements of change and elements of
continuity.” 52 Gill’s research is on television programmes for Japanese children.
However, one of his arguments resonates for Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines. He
argues that “cultural continuity may be found even in an area of popular culture which
is subject to countless fast-changing influences.” 53 By looking into Indonesia’s past, the
cultural continuity between Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines and the history of
Indonesian men has proven to be that the hierarchy of Indonesian masculinities is
mostly determined by their hierarchical relationships to the state.
A clear indication of the power of the state is the unwritten regulation within the
Indonesian media industry during the New Order. The press understood that they
forbidden to print criticism or material damaging to “The First Family[,] ... senior
government officials[,] ... senior military officers, and their families.” 54 This constraint
reflects the hierarchy of power which resides with the First Family and people in the
government and the military and their families. After President Suharto was no longer
in power and the New Order ended, one of the celebrations of the freedom was to
breach the unwritten regulation. Articles that I discussed in the analysis are testimony of
the magazines’ attempt to symbolically break their silence by allowing “ordinary” men
to express criticism of the government. If political outsiders are symbolically
emasculated, then the freedom to express their political opinions is seen by Indonesian
men as a form of empowerment which allows them to regain their symbolic
masculinity.
52
Tom Gill, “Transformational Magic. Some Japanese Super-heroes and Monster” in The Worlds of
Japanese Popular Culture. Gender, Shifting Boundaries and Global Cultures, ed. D.P. Martinez
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), p. 33.
53
Tom Gill, “Transformational Magic”, p. 33.
54
David T. Hill, The Press in New Order Indonesia, pp. 45 - 46.
25
The politically marginal position of Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines can be traced
back to the history of print media in Indonesia’s New Order. During the New Order the
state attempted to control the masses through the media; the masses resisted the state by
using the media as well. In 1994, Hill concedes that, “Since the turn of this century, the
press in Indonesia has been a forum of the expression of nationalist aspirations and
political agitation.” 55 This is still true after the New Order ended and into the Reform
era, as testified by the Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines that I analyzed.
Because of the nature of commodity culture, which is counter hegemonic, Indonesian
men’s lifestyle magazines can be read as the “low-Other”, a term coined by Peter
Stallybrass and Allon White. 56 According to Schulze et al in their discussion of
Madonna,
The low-Other is a symbolic and cultural construct, involving the production
of a hierarchical order. Something is designated as ... marginal ... − pushed
down into a “low” place and pushed away as “Other.” ... Powerful social
conflicts are taken up in such representational practices, and often
constructions of the low-Other are mobilized around gender, race, ethnicity,
class, sexual orientation, and so on. ... Low-Others of various sorts are
heavily represented in popular culture. 57
I see this concept as useful because labelling the magazines as low-Others allows me to
read the magazine as a resisting force against the higher power within the social
hierarchy. This concept is particularly useful in identifying “powerful social conflicts”
which are represented in the magazines. The politically agitated overtone of the
magazines which are directed at the state are evidence of these conflicts.
55
David T. Hill, The Press in the New Order Indonesia, p. 25.
Laurie Schulze and Ann Barton White and Jane D. Brown, ““A Sacred Monster in Her Prime”:
Audience Construction of Madonna as Low-Other” in The Madonna Connection. Representational
Politics, Subcultural Identities, and Cultural Theories, Cathy Schwichtenberg, ed. (St Leonards, NSW:
Allen & Unwin, 1993), p.16.
57
Laurie Schulze and Ann Barton White and Jane D. Brown, "A Sacred Monster in Her Prime”, p. 16.
56
26
Stallybrass and White, as quoted by Schulze et al, argue that the low-Other is a
paradoxical existence: “what is “socially peripheral” often assumes a “symbolically
central” position.” 58 It is necessary for me to be aware of this paradox because the men
in the magazines have multiple statuses. They are politically marginalized but socially
in the centre. The reason for their politically marginal status is that they are outside the
power circle of high-rank government officers and the military who are in charge of the
country. To balance the politically peripheral status of these men, their social status is
represented as higher than that of average Indonesian men. This is made evident in the
magazines’ choice to identify the high-income professions of the men in their
magazines: businessmen, entrepreneurs, people working in the entertainment industry,
and executives for private or multinational companies are among others frequently
mentioned. The magazines refrain from representing or using the words “pegawai
negeri” or civil servant, because the low social status of this occupation does not go
well with the image of young male executives.
Overall, this thesis is about Indonesian men and cultural expressions of their
masculinity in relation to and within Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines. In order to
understand the reasons for the discourse of masculinities, and to gauge the intensity of
the masculine expressions and the aspirations of these men, it is necessary to delve into
the social background.
Structure of the Thesis
As I mentioned earlier, this thesis examines the magazines as a cultural phenomenon
and as a cultural text. The link between the two is based on the dual roles of the media.
58
Laurie Schulze and Ann Barton White and Jane D. Brown, "A Sacred Monster in Her Prime”, p. 32.
27
One role derives from the understanding that “the media can only report what is already
there” 59; the other derives from the contention that the media have the ability to
construct collective knowledge and form collective opinions. Therefore, simultaneously,
the media are not apart from social reality [emphasis in original],
passively reflecting and giving back to the world its self-image; they are a
part of social reality [emphasis in original], contributing to its contours
and to the logic and direction of its development via the socially
articulated way in which they shape our perceptions. 60
Thus the thesis delves into the reality of masculinities outside the magazines and then
teases out the ‘reality’ inside the magazines’ text.
One principal difference between feminist theories and masculinity studies is the
objectives. Feminist theories are meant to empower women. Masculinity studies, on the
other hand, are not designed for male empowerment, but to deconstruct men’s power.
The first step towards deconstruction is to mark men as a gender so that men are visible
as men, rather than as mankind.
Chapter Two sets up the theoretical basis from which I draw my conceptual
underpinnings of masculinities. Since this thesis is informed by theories of
masculinities, this chapter surveys and problematizes the concept of masculinities: the
definitions and the considerations in defining masculinities. Masculinities are
understood in this thesis as the language of power for men. They are also a significant
part of men’s identity. Connell contends that
Gender arrangements are...sources of pleasure, recognition and identity
[emphasis added], and sources of injustice and harm. This means that
gender is inherently political  but it also means the politics can be
complicated and difficult. 61
59
Tony Bennett, “Media, ‘Reality’, Signification” in Culture, Society and the Media, eds. Michael
Gurevitch, Tony Bennett, James Curran, Janet Woollacott (London; New York: Methuen, 1982), p. 287.
60
Tony Bennett, p. 288.
61
Raewyn Connell, Gender. In World Perspective. (Cambridge, UK; Malden, US: Polity Press, 2009), p.
7.
28
Without his masculinity, a man would not be regarded by society as a man. McNair
argues that masculinity is “what a society expects and wants its men to be.” 62 This
definition consequently leads to the question of who in the society has the power to
determine men’s roles and characteristics. The answer is probably another group of
powerful men who construct the “hegemonic masculinity”. This powerful hegemonic
group has the power to determine the standard of masculinities by which other men are
expected to abide and are judged.
The concept of hegemonic and subordinated masculinities will be explored to explain
the ‘otherness’ of the men in the magazines. I propose to use the metaphor of the family
to describe the masculinity struggles between hegemonic and subordinated
masculinities. Hegemonic masculinity is the metaphoric and ideological ‘father’ and
subordinated masculinities consist of a group of ‘brothers’ who want to take over their
father’s power. I argue that the dynamics in society are constituted by these continuous
struggles between the ‘father’ and the group of ‘brothers’ who feel that they are old and
mature enough to take over their father’s position.
Chapter Three explores the socio-political background of Indonesian men. It looks into
the consistent emergence of a group of political ‘brothers’ in different periods in
Indonesian history. These ‘brothers’ challenge the patriarchal power of the state and
they signal the nascent political power that will later develop into an elite group of
middle class Indonesian men who are featured by the magazines.
62
Brian McNair, Striptease Culture. Sex, Media and the Democratization of Desire (London and New
York: Routledge, 2002), p. 115.
29
This chapter also examines the New Order discourse which is so dominant that it still
pervades every aspect of Indonesian people’s lives. It can be seen as forming the
hegemonic masculinity of Indonesian men. The chapter also provides a brief sketch of
Indonesian colonial history because some patterns of the exercise of power of the New
Order have existed since the Dutch administration. The Dutch created a hierarchy of
Indonesian men based on their access to and inclusion into the colonial government. 63
The hierarchy is carried over after independence and becomes the continuous source of
friction among Indonesian men.
In general this chapter demonstrates that throughout the course of Indonesian history,
power in politics defines the ultimate male power. If politics has a gender it is definitely
male. Masculinity is about who has the power to become the leader in society. Since the
opportunity to become the leader is limited and most men are vying for the position, it
ultimately creates a recurring theme of struggle that occurs between the hegemonic
father and the subordinated brothers.
Chapter Four follows by describing how the media captures masculinity struggles and
how they react to the struggles. I demonstrate that the media can become a space where
subordinated masculinities voice their dissatisfaction by using what Scott refers to as an
“unobtrusive realm of political struggle.” 64 Popular media such as men’s lifestyle
magazines have the potential to allow non-hegemonic groups of men to express their
opinions without engaging in open political confrontations. These magazines often
63
Ruth T. McVey, “Introduction” in Sukarno, Nationalism, Islam and Marxism (New York: Cornell
University, Southeast Asia Program, 1969 [translated by Karel H. Warouw and Peter D. Weldon]), p. 2.
64
James C. Scott,Domination and the Arts of Resistance.Hidden Transcripts.(New Haven and London:
Yale University Press, 1990), p. 183.
30
employ strategies that Scott terms “symbolic resistance” to minimize the
confrontational nature of the message. 65
In this chapter I introduce three theories that allow me to assess the ways men’s lifestyle
magazines accommodate non-hegemonic groups which I later identify in Chapter Seven
as middle class Indonesian men. The first one is by strategically identifying men’s
lifestyle magazines as an alternative media. By using the broad definition of alternative
media, which is anything that is located outside the hegemonic mainstream media, I am
able to describe how men’s lifestyle magazines ideologically accommodate nonhegemonic masculinities. The second one is Scott’s theory of “hidden transcripts”. This
theory enables the search of non-hegemonic discourse by bearing in mind that men’s
lifestyle magazines are “written between the lines”. 66 The third one is a different
technique of reporting identified as New Journalism. The ideology behind this method
of reporting undermines the hierarchy of knowledge acquisition by giving more power
to individual reporters. Within the Indonesian context this method is ideologically
deviant since it diminishes the authorities’ role in providing verification and permission
in producing sensitive news material.
Chapter Five is interested in the editors’ defence in the face of accusations of producing
indecent material. The anti-pornography legislation and the rise of men’s lifestyle
magazines seemed to be on opposite sides, but they are both reactions to the same new
political era. Many different issues were incorporated into the pornography debate, such
that the dispute ceased to be about pornography per se. It became more about exercising
power and control of society in the post-Suharto era.
65
James C. Scott, p. 184.
James C. Scott, p. 183.
66
31
Chapter Six addresses the presence of sexualized women in the magazines. They are
mostly represented visually. I argue that heterosexual sex and the sexuality of the
women are used to bolster men’s sense of masculine power. The sexual politics is based
on the parallel dichotomy of mind/body and male/female. Women are represented as
bodies and are constructed as the opposite of Indonesian men, who are represented as
minds. The magazines are depicting traditional gender ideology by portraying women
who are sexually submissive. The sense of power derives from the apparent
vulnerability of these women in revealing themselves for the pleasure of the male
readers. This is what Laura Mulvey recognized as the power of looking: the person
looking is more powerful than the person being looked at. 67 I argue that within the
magazines, sexual discourse is transformed into a language of resistance, empowerment
and emancipation of the subordinated men, at the expense of women.
Chapter Seven is about the men in the magazines. Despite the association of men’s
lifestyle magazines with sexually alluring women, the public figures who are
interviewed in the magazines are mostly men. They are represented verbally in long
articles with less or few photographs. The interview questions position them as
members of society who have the obligation to make a contribution to the greater good.
Even male celebrities are asked their opinions on the social and political conditions of
Indonesia. The magazines’ choice of male public figures deliberately veers from the
mainstream. The men who are interviewed might have been discredited or dismissed or
disadvantaged in society but they are portrayed as men with integrity. The magazines
mostly want men who are recognized for their achievements despite, not because of the
circumstances surrounding their success.
67
See Laura Mulvey, Visual and other Pleasures (Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan,
[1989], 1975).
32
Chapter Eight deals exclusively with Hai magazine because it differs from the other
magazines in targeting male adolescents. Nevertheless, Hai is still linked to the whole
men’s lifestyle magazine genre through the traditional gender divide that assigns men to
control the public sphere. In this chapter I explore how Hai magazine, after the New
Order, accommodates social issues in its content. This reflects the role of Hai as a boys’
magazine that adopts the masculine tone of its adult counterparts. Hai emphasizes my
argument that these magazines are a microcosm of Indonesian society where male
power is played out and contested. Hai showcases the early formation of the
brotherhood of Indonesian men who are critical of their leaders.
Overall, Hai and the other five magazines reflect a particular aspect of the Indonesian
society, which is the union of subordinated masculinities against their common
opposition: the hegemonic masculinity of the state. The magazines stand for the
aspirations of the young generation of Indonesian men for the future of Indonesia. This
thesis explores the aspirations of subordinated Indonesian men and showcases the
magazines as a medium for this group of men to express and channel these aspirations.
33
CHAPTER 2
Theorizing Men and Masculinities
Just as feminist scholarship has demonstrated that ‘woman’, ‘women’, and
‘femininity’ are socially and historically constructed, and thus problematic,
so too has it demonstrated the problematic nature of ‘man’, ‘men’, and
‘masculinity’. 68
This chapter attempts to define the ways masculinities are expressed as social relations
in society. In this chapter, masculinities are understood to be social relations of power
rather than as characteristics of men expressed in individuals. In his research on male
sexuality, Kimmel points out that “masculinity is a constantly changing collection of
meanings that we construct through our relationships with ourselves, with each other,
and with our world.” 69
Despite the changing meanings of masculinities, their
associations with power remain constant.
The recognition that masculinities are a set of constructed norms is important in order to
be able to challenge the supremacy of masculinities. Providing definitions of
masculinities does not entail exhausting the social production of meanings of the word
but, rather, proposing comprehensible ideas of masculinities and ways of looking at
masculinities which are useful for the purpose of deconstructive analysis in this thesis.
Since this research is particularly interested in national identity as a site for a wealth of
masculine expressions, this chapter partly aims to reveal the masculine dynamics within
a gendered nation and the social structures that support them. Filene points out that the
purpose of masculinity studies is to reveal men’s history by “[reframing] familiar
68
Jeff Hearn and David H. J. Morgan, eds. Men, Masculinities and Social Theory (London, Boston,
Sydney, Wellington: Unwin Hyman, 1990), p. 4.
69
Michael S. Kimmel, The Gender of Desire: Essays on Male Sexuality (Albany: State University of New
York Press, 2005), p. 25.
34
events, such as wars and reform movements, in terms of gender.” 70 This chapter,
therefore, addresses the ‘invisible’ masculinities within social structures in order to
expose the masculine nature of these structures. The nation is perceived as a neutral
social unit that is actually rife with masculine ideologies.
Although this thesis is about representations of masculinities within the Indonesian
context, it has to be acknowledged that the theoretical and empirical underpinnings
come from western perspectives. There are two reasons for this. One is that masculinity
studies and masculinity theories were initiated in the west. 71 I limit the definition of the
“west”, following Barker’s lead, to “critical theories and thinkers circulating in the
English–speaking world.” 72 The second reason is that, despite ‘third wave’
masculinities that recognize a vast array of local masculinities, globalization connects
these local and national masculinities through international trade, colonization, and
politics. 73 More recent links between masculinities in different places are also made
possible through the pervasive effects of the media and popular culture.
The “import and export” of masculinities eventually affects the power relations of men
at global and local levels. 74 They usually result in the positioning of western
masculinities at the highest tier of the global power hierarchy. We cannot deny the
domination of the west in the field of masculine ideologies, both at the level of
academia, in terms of theoretical contributions, and in international relations. However,
70
Peter Filene, “The Secrets of Men’s History” in The Making of Masculinities. The New Men’s Studies,
ed. Harry Brod (Boston; London; Sydney; Wellington: Unwin Hyman, 1987), p. 116.
71
Shahin Gerami, “Islamist Masculinity and Muslim Masculinities” in Handbook of Studies on Men and
Masculinities, eds. Michael S. Kimmel, Jeff Hearn, and R.W. Connell, Masculinities (California;
London; New Delhi: Sage Publication, 2005), p. 449.
72
Chris Barker, Cultural Studies Theories and Practice (Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore:
Sage, 2008), p. 2.
73
See Raewyn Connell, Gender. In World Perspective, pp. 129 – 133.
74
Christian Haywood and Mairtin Mac an Ghaill, Men and Masculinities: Theory, Research, and Social
Practice (Buckingham, UK; Philadelphia, US: Open University Press, 2003), p. 100.
35
in this thesis, western theorization is not meant to be an act of “conceptual
imperialism.” 75 It is just a matter of proposing a theoretical starting point for this thesis.
What are Masculinities?
Stimpson contends that masculinities are “the products, not of God, not of nature, but of
historical processes.” 76 Histories evolve and so do masculinities. Masculinities change
spatially and temporally. What is consistent about masculinities is their association
with power based on gender differences. The power does not exist within masculinities
themselves but it depends on gender relations to define their own power. 77 In short,
defining the position of masculinities as powerful would require comparisons with other
less powerful genders. 78
Green’s revelation about being a female-to-male transgender allows insight into how
power is granted ‘naturally’ to men; but, also reveals how men have to struggle to hold
on to the masculine power that is bestowed on them:
Now that I had a male body, however, I realized it was that very body that
was placing new constraints on me. In some quarters, masculinity is
characterized as the defining trait that confers privilege on a man; this same
masculinity is often the target of ridicule and parody meant to devalue or
disempower men. So many men worry about their masculinity as defining
the quality of their manhood: with the right amount of masculinity they
expect to be accepted by others, but if they feel their masculinity is deficient,
then they expect not to be treated well in the world. I was beginning to learn
75
A term coined in Christian Haywood and Mairtin Mac an Ghaill, p. 90.
Catharine R. Stimpson, “Foreword” in The Making of Masculinities. The New Men’s Studies, ed. Harry
Brod (Boston; London; Sydney; Wellington: Unwin Hyman, 1987), p. xii.
77
Gill Atwood claims that, “It seems that a variety of masculinities is acceptable, as long as none of them
actually leads to a decrease in the patriarchal power which depends for its existence on the difference
between the sexes.” Gill Atwood, French Feminisms. Gender and Violence in Contemporary Theory
(London: UCL Press, 1998), p. 60.
See also Arthur Brittan, Masculinity and Power (Oxford, UK; New York, US: Basil Blackwell, 1989), p.
3.
78
Dean Lusher and Gary Robins, “Hegemonic and Other Masculinities in Local Social Context” Men and
Masculinities, Vol. 11, No. 4 (June 2009), 395.
76
36
concretely that ... my masculinity (in this case, a quality of perceived
maleness) preceded my male body. 79
Green’s story tells how masculinities consist of efforts and anxieties to maintain male
power. Since masculinities are supposedly natural, exhibiting too much effort and
anxiety leads to accusations of not coping with the standard of masculinity expected by
the society. Men would like to think that their masculinities are innate in order to justify
and hold on to their masculine power. Feminism attempts to prove that masculinities
are acquired and learned. The notion that masculinities are not natural but a social
construct is apparent when speaking of a “masculinity crisis”. If male domination were
natural, why would men be anxious about a crisis.
During her experiment in passing as a man, Norah Vincent noted how men treated her
with more respect when she was disguised as a male. 80 A number of popular culture
entertainments also reflect this attitude. Remington Steele, an American television
series, features a female detective who realizes that being a female private investigator
does not give her enough credibility to pursue clients. It is only after she invents a male
persona under the name of Remington Steele that her business starts to develop. 81
Disney’s rendition of an ancient tale from China, Mulan, also reflects how a person’s
actions become more powerful once they are expressed from a male body. 82 Brecht’s
drama, The Good Woman of Setzuan, features a woman who disguises herself as a man
in order to confront the people who try to take financial and social advantage of her as a
79
Jamison Green, Becoming a Visible Man (Nashville, Tennessee, US: Vanderbilt University Press,
2004), p. 35.
80
Norah Vincent, Self-Made Man: One Woman’s Journey into Manhood and Back Again (New York:
Viking, 2006), p. 3.
81
Michael Gleason (Executive Producer), Remington Steele, 1982-1987, MTM Enterprises,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083470/fullcredits (accessed 16 September 2010).
82
Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, Mulan, Disney Film, 1998,
http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/characters/mulan/mulan.html (accessed 16 September 2010).
37
woman. 83 These female-to-male transformations are interesting in that they demonstrate
how female and male authorities are differentiated along a spectrum of power.
Reeser and MacInnes both concede that because masculinities depend on the dynamics
of images, myths, discourses and practices that are circulating in society, they become
fluid and flexible.84 In order to preserve their male power, men have to adjust their
masculinities according to the demands of society. Different eras and different social
contexts require different masculinities. Masculinities are not what men are; they are
what men do. Men are trained to exercise gendered power through gendered social
relations, which will accrue them their masculinities. The question is, why is it that only
males are entitled to masculinities? Female masculinities embodied in powerful women
are subject to ridicule and fear. 85 Hunt claims that during the French Revolution,
women’s involvement in politics was described as monstrous. 86 The reason is that, as
Reeser argues, “Female masculinities ... may evoke a threat that men will lose their
supposedly natural hold on masculinity if women do not take flak for breaking out of
their assigned gender.” 87
Reeser suggests a concept of masculinities as copies of which there is no original.88
This is similar to Baudrillard’s concept of simulacra “models of a real without origin of
83
Bertolt Brecht, Parables for the Theatre. Two Plays: The Good Woman of Setzuan and the Caucasian
Chalk Circle, trans Eric Bentley (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1965).
84
See Todd W. Reeser, Masculinities in Theory. An Introduction (West Sussex, UK: Blackwell
Publishing, 2010) and John MacInnes, The End of Masculinity (Buckingham: Open University Press,
1998).
85
John M. Sloop discusses the discourse surrounding the US attorney general during Bill Clinton’s
administration, Janet Reno. Her masculine power was apparently problematic for the US public. See John
M. Sloop, “The Disciplining of Female Masculinity. Janet Reno as the “Lesbian Swamp Monster”” in
Disciplining Gender. Rhetoric of Sex Identity in Contemporary U.S. Culture (Massachusetts: University
of Massachusetts Press, 2004), pp. 104 – 112. See also, Judith Halberstam, Female Masculinity (Durham,
NC: Duke University Press, 1998).
86
Lynn Hunt, The Family Romance of the French Revolution (Berkeley, Los Angeles: University of
California Press, 1992), p. 91.
87
Todd W. Reeser, Masculinities in Theory, p. 132.
88
Todd W. Reeser, Masculinities in Theory, p. 18.
38
reality: a hyperreal.” 89 This also echoes Butler’s argument on the performativity of
gender. 90 MacInnes, similarly, argues that there is no such thing as masculinity. It is just
a socially invented concept to emphasize the “natural” differences between male and
female. 91 One of the most natural distinctions maintained between males and females is
the parallel dichotomies between masculinity-femininity and powerful-powerless.
Without these naturalized differences, men might have to share their power with
women.
The notion of male privilege is supported by the argument of natural differences. Antifeminists, such as Robert Bly, maintain that male privilege is necessary in order to
maintain the natural balance in society. 92 This privilege is packaged into gender divides
such as male/female, rational/emotional, breadwinner/homemaker, public sphere/private
sphere. These are the “natural” allocation of aspects or accompaniments of genders that
support social (masculine) stability. Therefore anti-feminists argue that a crisis of
masculinity creates social crisis. In order to restore the stability of the society, feminists
should forego their claim on what is naturally considered to be masculine territory. In
the end, the concept of natural difference is used to exert male power in a patriarchal
society. 93
When positions of masculinities in society are firm and strong and not in any perceived
crisis, they are seen as natural. This is when men’s status is often conflated with the
society. Therefore discussions of men and masculinities involve a wider social realm
than discussions on women and femininity. The reason is that women are seen to
89
Jean Baudrillard, “The Precession of Simulacra” in Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks, eds.
Meenakshi Gigi Durham and Douglas M. Kellner (Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2006),
pp. 453 – 481.
90
Judith Butler, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (New York: Routledge, 1990),
p. 25.
91
See John MacInnes, The End of Masculinity.
92
See Robert Bly, Iron John (New York; Toronto: Random House, 1990).
93
See John MacInnes. The End of Masculinity.
39
represent only women, but men represent the whole nation, and even the whole of
mankind. 94 Therefore discussions on men and their masculinities eventually cover a
social space and ideology that seem to go beyond the masculine domain. 95 Upon closer
inspection, however, these domains are in fact masculine. It is just that they are not
regarded as such due to the naturalization process of masculinity.
The way we understand masculinities is partially historical. In Europe, before the
Enlightenment, a religious worldview prevailed and religious instruction secured men as
the superior beings vis-à-vis women. The glorification of science during and after the
Enlightenment only served to confirm the superiority of men through different branches
of knowledge that took the place of religious doctrines. 96 Barker claims that, “Since the
enlightenment, men have traditionally associated masculinity with metaphors of
reason.” 97 The argument used to deny women citizenship at the time lies in the ideology
of separate spheres, which gives a higher status to the public sphere for men. 98 The
higher status is accorded due to the perceived rational nature of the public sphere as
opposed to the emotional nature of the domestic sphere. 99
MacInnes argues that the naturalness of masculinity is constructed to resist democracy
introduced by Enlightenment and modernity. 100 Democracy promotes equality, which
94
For example, Australian female politicians hesitate to declare that they are feminists because such a
statement would seem to limit their capacity: they would be assumed to only take care of other women,
not the whole nation. See, Julia Baird, Media Tarts. How the Australian Press Frames Female Politicians
(Melbourne: Scribe, 2004), pp. 91 – 110.
95
John Tosh, “Hegemonic Masculinity and the History of Gender” in Masculinities in Politics and War.
Gendering Modern History, eds. Stefan Dudink, Karen Hagemann, John Tosh (Manchester, UK; New
York, US: Manchester University Press, 2004), p. 41.
96
Alan Petersen, Unmasking the Masculine. ‘Men’ and ‘Identity’ in a Sceptical Age (London, Thousand
Oaks, California; New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1998), p. 2.
97
Chris Barker, p. 302.
98
Michele Adams and Scott Coltrane, “Boys and Men in Families. The Domestic Production of Gender,
Power, and Privilege” in Handbook of Studies on Men and Masculinities, eds. Michael S. Kimmel, Jeff
Hearn, and R.W. Connell (Thousand Oaks; London; New Delhi: Sage Publication, 2005), p. 231.
99
Josephine Donovan, Feminist Theory: The Intellectual Traditions of American Feminism (New York:
F. Ungar Publishing, c1985), pp. 1 – 30.
100
John MacInnes, The End of Masculinity, p. 55.
40
should include gender equality. However, despite feminists’ efforts to argue that a
woman is also human, and she therefore has her own natural rights, male scholars of the
Enlightenment did not extend the category of “man” to include woman, according to
Donovan. 101 So when the American Declaration of Independence was drafted, the
passage that says “All men are created equal” was not extended to women. 102 The
Republicans of the French Revolution which to a certain extent inspired the American
Independence, held a similar opinion. Hunt argues that during the French Revolution,
despite the slogan of equality promoted by the revolutionary legislators “They were not
willing ... to grant women equal status as citizens.” 103 Women were to be represented
by their father or husband. By maintaining the naturalness of men’s gender superiority,
men have prevented their power from becoming subject to gender democracy. 104
These examples demonstrate how masculinities adapt and adopt the particulars of the
time in order to survive. They are malleable and open to modification according to the
demands of each era, while resisting the demands to incorporate feminism and gender
equality. Ashe argues that
societies can undergo substantial social change but gendered and other
inequalities while loosening in some respects, can become modified and
reproduced in new conditions. 105
As I highlighted above, the reason masculinities can still lay claim to gender-based
power, is not despite the fact that they change, but because they are able to change as
necessary. For example, Kimmel describes how masculinities in America evolved from
the “Genteel Patriarch” and the “Heroic Artisan” during the feudal era, to the
101
Josephine Donovan, p. 4.
Josephine Donovan, pp. 2 – 4.
103
Lynn Hunt, The Family Romance of the French Revolution, p. 42.
104
John MacInnes, The End of Masculinity, p. 55.
105
Fidelma Ashe, The New Politics of Masculinity. Men, Power and Resistance (London; New York:
Routledge: 2007), p. 30.
102
41
“Marketplace Man” of the capitalist era, all the time securing their position of power. 106
Webb describes how Australian masculinity is defined partly through wars:
It cannot be forgotten that Australia, which has always seen itself as a male
nation, achieved a kind of collective national manhood by its involvement in
the First World War. War was seen as a rite of passage for the nation from
untried immaturity to tested manhood. 107
However, during peaceful times, the types of Australian masculinities diversify.
Sporting prowess has become one of the modern day Australian identities and one of
the things that define masculinities. 108 Since masculinities exist as a set of “images,
myths, discourses and practices”, if these elements are produced collectively on a
national scale, the effect is significant, convincing, and naturalized. 109 Awareness of the
historicity of masculinities is necessary to work out the simultaneous dynamics and
stability of masculine domination: how masculinities change over time but still manage
to consistently claim power as they change. Perhaps knowledge of this will assist us in
getting a step closer to understand why masculinities are constantly linked with
superiority.
Horne argues that men perceive women as their antitheses: to define masculine
rationality, there needs to be a feminine irrationality which is treated as the “other” and
as dependant upon male reasoning. 110 To turn the tables, theoretically it is men who are
dependant on women in order to forge their masculine identity. The superiority of the
106
Michael S. Kimmel, The Gender of Desire, pp. 28 - 29.
John Webb, Junk Male. Reflections on Australian Masculinity (Sydney: HarperCollins Publishers,
1998), p. 68.
108
Ellis Cashmore, Sports Culture: An A-Z Guide (London; New York: Routledge, 2000), p. 306.
For Australian masculinities related to sports see also Mike Donaldson, Richard Howson, Pam Nilan,
“Comparative Masculinities: Why Islamic Indonesian Men are Great Mates and Australian Men are
Girls” in Asia Reconstructed: From Critiques of Development to Postcolonial Studies (The 16th Biennial
Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia, University of Wollongong, 26 – 29 June
2006).
109
Todd W. Reeser, p. 21.
110
John Horne, “Masculinity in Politics and War in the age of Nation-State and World Wars, 1850 –
1950” in Masculinities in Politics and War. Gendering Modern History, eds. Stefan Dudink, Karen
Hagemann, John Tosh (Manchester, UK; New York, US: Manchester University Press, 2004) p. 24.
107
42
masculine requires the supposedly inferior traits of the feminine. Therefore, masculinity
constitutes not only its own identity, the masculine, but also its negation, the feminine.
Grossberg’s discussion of identity and culture formulates this:
Any identity depends upon its difference from, its negation of, some other
term. ...
[A]ny dominant identity ... must always ... and already incorporate its
negation. 111
Furthermore Grossberg argues that the incorporation of the negation into the dominant
identity renders the dominant identity unstable. 112 For the purpose of the discussion
here, we can extrapolate from Grossberg’s argument that masculine identity is unstable
because it has to keep the feminine at bay while at the same time using it as a point of
reference. This instability is negotiated by a careful balancing act. The result is the
exclusion of women from men’s sphere of power but at the same time women are
essential to men as the negation of men’s gender identity.
Masculinities as Invisible Ideologies
Masculinity is an ideology whose pervasive power renders it dominant. 113 Nevertheless
its domination is seen as natural, so that even its oppressive quality is perceived as
natural. Whitehead argues that
What hegemonic masculinity does so effectively is exemplify, at a
macrostructural level, a masculinist ethos that privileges what have
traditionally been seen as natural male traits. One could proceed to describe
this in terms of a dominant ideology of masculinism: an ideology which
seeks to sanction the cultural boundaries of “masculine behaviour while
“naturalising” the sex/gender categories of man/woman. 114
111
Lawrence Grossberg, “Identity and Cultural Studies: Is That All There Is?” in Questions of Cultural
Identity, eds. Stuart Hall and Paul du Gay (London; Thousand Oaks, California: Sage, 1996), p. 89.
112
Lawrence Grossberg, p. 90.
113
Eagleton says that ideology can come from the dominant group in society or from the subordinated
ones. It is used by the dominant group to maintain and naturalized its domination. The subordinated
groups use ideology as a statement of their resistance. See Terry Eagleton, Ideology. An Introduction
(New York: Verso, 1991), p. 6.
114
Stephen M. Whitehead, “Hegemonic Masculinity Revisited” Gender, Work, & Organization, Vol. 6,
No. 1 (1999), 58.
43
One of the consequences of the fluidity and dispersion of masculine ideologies into the
social structure is the invisibility of the ideologies. Masculine practices may not be
identified as such. The invisibility is explained by Buchbinder as follows: “men are in a
special sense gender-less, precisely because the masculine is thought of as the universal
and neutral/neuter term.” 115 In this sense masculinities operate as an ideology that is not
self-proclaimed. People operating within that ideology will see it as the way things are
rather than something that they have to abide by. Only people outside that ideology will
see it as such. 116 Buchbinder contends that
it is ideology’s task to make itself invisible [emphasis in original] in order
that it continue undisturbed to sustain the existing class structure and the
consequent power relations among social groups. It is therefore in the
interests of the dominant class to preserve the ideology that enables its
dominance; and this is done by establishing and maintaining a system of
beliefs and practices that seem natural and inevitable. 117
Apart from recognizing the survival strategy behind the evolution of masculinities, as a
concept and as an ideology, masculinity has to be acknowledged in its plural form. The
language adjustment is part of the deconstruction process. Recognizing its plurality
undermines the unified power that is understood as emanating from a single monolithic
masculinity. At the global level, this monolith is occupied by “white, middle class,
heterosexual and able-bodied” males. 118 Monro argues that the benefit of recognizing
the plurality of masculinities is twofold. Apart from dismantling the concentration of
power from the monolith, the plurality is intended to be inclusive, in an effort to
acknowledge other masculinities outside the predominant western realm of masculine
115
David Buchbinder, Performance Anxieties. Re-producing Masculinity (Sydney: Allen & Unwin,
1998), p. 122.
116
Terry Eagleton, p. 2.
117
David Buchbinder, pp. 3 – 4.
118
Surya Monro, “Transgender” in Sexuality and the Law: Feminist Engagement, eds.,Vanessa E. Munro
and Carl F. Stychin, (Abingdon, Oxford, UK; New York, NY: Routledge – Cavendish, 2007), p. 135.
44
ideology. 119 The plurality of masculinities is obviously the result of the plurality in
society and also the intersections of different dimensions in society like “race, ethnicity,
religion, class, age, marital status, sexuality”, 120 which create a vast array of masculine
ideologies. These masculinities are produced and reproduced through the articulations
of these dimensions of race, ethnicity, religion, class, age, marital status, sexuality, and
other dynamics in society that function to mask the presence of stark masculinities.
Johnson and Meinhof propose the notion of implicit and explicit masculinities. This
helps to explain how implicit masculinities ‘disappear’ and take on different forms, only
to be identified as a universal norm or a natural condition. 121 The explicit masculinities
become noticeable only if they are in excess (often represented racially by AfricanAmerican masculinities) or as a lack (often represented racially by Asian masculinities),
or if something is recognizably ‘wrong’ with it (represented sexually by effeminate gay
men). 122 Many scholars argue that the trend to examine masculinity explicitly as a
men’s gender has surfaced in academic and public discourse due to the masculinity
crisis after the rise of feminism and the gay movement. 123 Before that, ‘normal’
masculinities just disappeared into the social structures and were mediated through
these structures.
119
Surya Monro, p. 135.
Stefan Dudink, Karen Hagemann, John Tosh, eds. Masculinities in Politics and War. Gendering
Modern History, (Manchester, UK; New York, US: Manchester University Press, 2004), p. xiv.
121
Ulrike Hanna Meinhof and Sally Johnson, “Introduction” in Language and Masculinity, eds. Sally
Johnson and Ulrike Hanna Meinhof (Oxford, UK; Massachusetts, USA: Blackwell Publishers, 1997), p.
1.
122
For African-American masculinities see Athena D. Mutua, “Theorizing Progressive Black
Masculinities” in Progressive Black Masculinities, ed. Athena D. Mutua (New York, London: Routledge,
2006). For Asian masculinities see Kam Louie, Theorising Chinese Masculinity. Society and Gender in
China (Cambridge: Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002).
123
For crisis caused by feminism see, Judith Kegan Gardiner, Masculinity Studies and Feminist Theory.
New Directions (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002), pp. 1- 29.
For crisis caused by gay movements see David Buchbinder, Performance Anxieties, p. 144.
120
45
Hegemonic and Subordinated Masculinities
According to McNair, masculinity is “what a society wants and expects its men to
be.” 124 A man who evades the social convention of what it means to be a man, will risk
the reputation of being less of a man. 125 McNair’s definition is in line with the concept
of masculinities as socially formulated ideas. The questions that arise out of this
definition would be: Who in society determines how men should be? What does society
expect from its men?
Since society is invisibly masculine, the answer to the first question is: other men. 126
This is how masculinities function in society: masculine ideologies are guarded by men
who hold the power in society. Nevertheless, these ideologies are packaged within
tradition and conventions that refuse to acknowledge the masculine nature of the
ideology. So particular practices, images, myths or representations of men serve as
benchmarks of masculine ideologies, which determine the gender aspirations of other
men (and women).
The ways these masculinities are imposed creates a hierarchy in the gender system.
Connell introduces the concepts of hegemonic and subordinated masculinities that are
helpful to explain the different kinds of relations between masculinities in society and
how power is distributed according to gender.
Connell explains that hegemonic
masculinity
refers to the cultural dynamics by which a group claims and sustains a
leading position in social life. At any given time, one form of masculinity
rather than others is culturally exalted. Hegemonic masculinity can be
defined as the configuration of gender practice which embodies the currently
accepted answer to the problem of legitimacy of patriarchy, which
124
Brian McNair, Striptease Culture. Sex, Media and the Democratization of Desire (London and New
York: Routledge, 2002), p. 151.
125
Todd W. Reeser, p. 1.
126
Michael S. Kimmel, The Gender of Desire, p. 40.
46
guarantees (or is taken to guarantee) the dominant position of men and
subordination of women. 127
Furthermore, Connell argues that hegemonic masculinity not only ranks the position of
power between men and women, but also stratifies the power distribution among men.
Connell contends that
Hegemony relates to cultural dominance in the society as whole. Within that
overall framework there are specific gender relations of dominance and
subordination between groups of men. 128
The identification of hegemonic and subordinate is relational rather than absolute, and
the relations can overlap and are often challenged. 129 A man can be powerful in relation
to one group of men but he can be subordinated in relation to a different group. This
domination and subordination often intersects with other dimensions like race, class,
age and sexuality.
The standards of hegemonic masculinities are ideals that fuel masculine aspirations.
This does not necessarily mean that the aspirations are translated into reality. Not all
men cannot occupy the hegemonic position since it is selective, and not every man can
reach the standard. Standards of masculinities can have detrimental effects on other men
who cannot keep up. 130 Most of the time the ideals of hegemonic masculinities remain
in the domain of ideas. 131 Due to the blur between the real and the ideal, Tosh argues
that
From this perspective the role of the mass media in taking up and reinforcing
the dominant expressions of masculinity is clearly central to the maintenance
of hegemonic masculinity in modern societies. 132
127
R.W. Connell, Masculinities, p. 77.
R.W. Connell, Masculinities, p. 78.
129
Dean Lusher and Gary Robins, p. 309.
130
Ian M. Harris, Messages Men Hear. Constructing Masculinities (London, UK; Bristol, US: Taylor &
Francis: 1995), pp. 17 - 18.
131
R.W. Connell, Gender and Society: the Person and Sexual Politics (Cambridge: Polity, 1987), pp. 184
-185.
132
John Tosh, “Hegemonic Masculinity and the History of Gender”, p. 44.
128
47
The media assist the promulgation of masculine identities despite the fact that these
identities may not be achievable in day-to-day life. It can be argued that the media keep
the notion of hegemonic masculinity alive regardless of the attainability of the ideals.
Ashe contends that “The media [are] instrumental in producing a range of identities for
men.” 133
The answer to the second question, about what a society expects from its men in terms
of their masculinities, lies in the notion of masculinities as the language of power based
on gender. In many societies, men are expected to be leaders by virtue of their gender.
Most of the time masculine superiority is translated into patriarchy acknowledged as
leadership. As a contemporary analytical tool, patriarchy differs from masculinities in
its exercise of male power. The concept of masculinities is often used to cover a broader
area with endless possibilities of how men express their power. The concept can also be
employed to look into men’s agency as a subordinate group that exercises resistant
masculinities. The concept of patriarchy, on the other hand, stresses the structure,
organization and systematic use of masculine power. That is why Connell stresses the
aspect of institutionalization in defining patriarchy. He argues that patriarchy “is a ...
term for historically produced situations in gender relations where men’s domination is
institutionalised [emphasis in original]” 134
The concept of masculinities perceives male power as going in every direction in a
Foucauldian manner: bottom-up, top-down, vertical and horizontal. Men’s resistance
and their agency vis-à-vis other hegemonic groups are inclusive within this concept.
Patriarchy, however, sees power going mostly in one direction: top-down, father-to-son
and leader-to-subject, within any unit of social organization (such as family, state
133
Fidelma Ashe, p. 32.
R.W. Connell, “The State, Gender, and Sexual Politics” Theory and Society, Vol. 19, No. 5, (1990),
514.
134
48
institutions, among others). Masculinities are more dispersed, and not necessarily
contained within organized social movements or institutions.
Connell’s earlier comment that “hegemonic masculinity can be defined as ... gender
practice which embodies ... patriarchy”, indicates the close relationship between
masculinity and patriarchy. These two concepts cover some common ground. However,
there needs to be some differentiation between patriarchy and masculinity, because
these terms are utilized strategically to theorize different aspects of gender relations.
Patriarchy and Masculinity
If every theory responds to the demands of a particular era, 135 then patriarchy as a
theoretical framework was popularized by second-wave women’s movements in the
1960s and 1970s. 136 Feminists began problematizing the fact that men seemed to
dominate women’s lives, both in the public and the private spheres. This condition was
given a name: patriarchy, or the rule of the father. Around the time of second wave
feminism, the most compelling issue was that male domination was widely and deeply,
and almost universally, entrenched in society. Patriarchy was an apt depiction at the
time because it was perceived as universal. Consequently patriarchy was perceived as
ahistorical and blind to the various forms of patriarchy possible at different times and
places. 137 This is part of the problem associated with patriarchy theory. According to
Bennett:
The term “patriarchy” is also sometimes associated with a feminism that
falsely elides differences among women by assuming that white, middleclass, heterosexual women can speak for all women. 138
135
Chris Beasley, Gender and Sexuality, p. 245.
John Remy, “Patriarchy and Fratriarchy as Forms of Androcracy” in Men, Masculinities and Social
Theory (London: Unwin Hyman, 1990), p. 44.
John Tosh, “Hegemonic Masculinity and the History of Gender”, p. 44.
137
Judith M. Bennett, History Matters. Patriarchy and the Challenge of Feminism (Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006), p. 54.
138
Judith M. Bennett, pp. 56. – 57.
136
49
So according to third-wave feminists, second-wave feminism instantiated a new kind of
discrimination by not recognizing the patriarchal reality outside the western theoretical
perspective. 139 According to Jackson, opponents of the patriarchy approach called it
“bourgeois feminism” due to its failure to acknowledge class struggles. 140 Bennett
defends the theory of patriarchy by suggesting that “we can cautiously deploy such
categories without obfuscating difference” and “seek to balance the particular and the
general.” 141 Nevertheless, the notion of patriarchy as an overarching social system
based on gender became much less popular when confronted by the new era of postcolonial theory that coincided with third wave feminism.
In the 1990s, the concept of masculinity was theorized and popularized. Raewyn
Connell was at the forefront with her concept of hegemonic and subordinate
masculinities. 142 In contemporary masculinity theory, masculinity as an analytical tool
addresses the complexity of relationships between men and women and between men
and other men. Unlike patriarchy, that seemed to refer only to the dominance of a
particularly powerful masculinity in society, masculinity studies covers the multiple
ways that men are perceived in relation to many other aspects of their lives – their
personal biographies, their social relations, their physical and embodied selves, their
global representation, and many more. More importantly, unlike patriarchy, masculinity
is acknowledged as historical; and it is recognized that different societies produce
different masculinities.
139
Alan Petersen, p. 25.
Stevi Jackson, “Feminist Social Theory” in Contemporary Feminist Theories, eds. Stevi Jackson and
Jackie Jones (Edinburg: Edinburg University Press, 1998), p. 13.
141
Judith M. Bennett, p. 57.
142
John Tosh, “Hegemonic Masculinity and the History of Gender,” p. 45.
140
50
Nevertheless, patriarchy as an ideology is still important because it explains some of the
cultural phenomena of masculinities. Jeffords explains the relation between
masculinities and patriarchy:
Masculinity is the primary mechanism for the articulation,
institutionalisation, and maintenance of the gendered system on which
patriarchy is based. The structural expression of patriarchal interests takes
place through ... the masculine point of view, [it is] distinct from masculinity
in that it marks specific males as expendable in order to maintain the larger
frame of masculine narration. 143
Jeffords implies that the political competition between men leads to a patriarchal
society. I will return to this issue of male rivalry within patriarchy later in the chapter.
While masculinity and patriarchy are theoretically linked, Chan argues that there needs
to be a strategic separation. The separation will allow masculinities to retain their
viability as men’s identities without their oppressive leadership qualities associated with
patriarchy. 144 This way, masculinities serve to differentiate the two genders but they are
detached from the spectrum of power that equates masculinity with powerfulness and
femininity with powerlessness.
At the moment there is still much to be done to pry patriarchy from masculinity. Chan
proposes that men should not be stripped of their masculinity but rather should be
prevented from constructing a patriarchal society. As Harris argues, "[a] patriarchy is a
social order established by males to benefit themselves” – at the expense of women. 145
This suggests that as a male identity, masculinity is still valid, as long as it does not rely
on domination and oppression.
143
Susan Jeffords, The Remasculinization of America: Gender and the Vietnam War (Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, c1989), p. 181.
144
Jachinson Chan, Chinese American Masculinities. From Fu Manchu to Bruce Lee (New York:
Routledge, 2001), pp. 10 – 11.
145
Ian M. Harris, Messages Men Hear, p. 18.
51
Lusher and Robins ask whether masculinity is "a social relation, an individual trait, or a
cultural phenomenon?” 146 We can take Chan’s suggestion on board, and answer that
masculinity should be a social relation based on respect and democracy. In the absence
of oppression, masculine identities expressed individually or socially will not be
deleterious, since they are not based on their capacity to exclude or suffocate others
with their power. Power cannot be eliminated, but it can be distributed fairly.
Since the division of hegemony and subordination is based on the division of power, the
relationship between hegemonic and subordinate masculinities is precarious.
Understandably, men in a subordinated position want to claim the power of the
hegemonic group. This reflects the strain between hegemonic and subordinated groups
of masculinities. Beynon explains that
Power (which, of course, can be variously defined and displayed) is the
crucial factor in hegemonic masculinity and resistance ensures that many
sites are ones of ideological struggles for contested senses of masculinity. 147
There are continuous tensions between men, as they vie for hegemonic masculinity. The
tensions partly account for the instability of masculinities. Since the tensions are seen as
genderless, their expressions are taken as social dynamics rather than as dynamics of
masculinities.
Masculinities, Fraternity, and the Nation
Kimmel argues that, “masculinity is a homosocial enactment.” 148 The classic
public/private gender divide indicates that men’s realm is the public sphere. It may be
partially reproduced in the private sphere, but it is in the public sphere that masculinities
are displayed to be emulated and treated as narratives of masculine aspiration. What
146
Dean Lusher and Gary Robins, p. 390.
John Beynon, Masculinities and Culture (Buckingham; Philadelphia: Open University Press, 2002), p.
16.
148
Michael S. Kimmel, The Gender of Desire, p. 34.
147
52
needs to be emphasized further is the impact of men’s monopoly on the public sphere:
society becomes masculinized and the “official discourse is a male discourse” 149 albeit a
discourse seen as serving “general interests and universality.” 150
The socially assigned role of men as representatives of ‘mankind’ has allowed the
discussion of masculinities to venture into broader aspects of society that are often seen
as gender neutral. Jeffords argues that “Although masculinity is by far the category of
privilege... [it is] manipulated by other interests [race, sexuality, class] than those
defined by gender.” 151 In a similar vein, Dudink, Hagemann and Tosh argue that
Only by placing masculinity in a field of differences that includes categories
like race, ethnicity, religion, class, age, marital status, sexuality et cetera, can
we fully comprehend its meaning. 152
Through engaging with the history of race, ethnicities, religions, sexualities and nations
we can come to understand that the discriminative power of masculinities emanates
through these social dimensions. Particular men, of particular race, ethnicity, religion,
sexuality and nationality, enjoy privilege. Part of the power of masculinity is its
articulation through these social dimensions.
Two of the social settings for masculinities, as defined by Lusher and Robins, are the
national and the global levels. 153 This section examines the nation as a site that
promulgates ideologies that create masculinities particular to a nation. I proposed earlier
that the largest and most significant organization for the enactment of masculinities is
the state. The nation becomes the space where masculinities are exercised upon its male
149
Arthur Brittan, p. 131.
Stefan Dudink, Karen Hagemann, John Tosh, eds., Masculinities in Politics and War. Gendering
Modern History, p. xii.
151
Susan Jeffords quoted in Robyn Wiegman, “The Progress of Gender. Whither “Women”?” in
Women’s Studies on its Own: a Next Wave Reader in Institutional Change, ed. Robyn Wiegman
(Durham, US: Duke University Press, 2002), p. 118.
152
Stefan Dudink, Karen Hagemann, John Tosh, eds., p. xiv.
153
Dean Lusher and Gary Robins, p. 406.
150
53
and female citizens. Even in a global multicultural setting (for example the United
Nations) the hierarchy is based upon nationalities. A small group of men, identified by
their nationality, have the power to act on behalf of their nation. Another reason
masculinities remain strong is that the masculine discourse is coordinated and regulated
at the national level by the nation-state. Tosh gives an example of when the New
Imperialist discourse developed in Britain at a time filled with nationalism and racism.
The vocabulary of colonialism and imperialism constructed by politicians at the time
was profoundly masculine. 154
Connell recognizes that the scope of shared practices of masculinities expands as far as
the dynamics of nations and international relations allow. The term scope here is used to
denote “the extent of the area ... that something deals with or to which it is relevant.” 155
The nation-state is a scope that Connell refers to as “gender on the large scale.” 156 Men
who hold positions of hegemony are perceived to have the highest power if they act on
behalf of their respective nation.
It is within this frame of national imagining that I will expand on how masculinities are
produced and reproduced. Dawson writes about the construction of British national
identity based on war. A concept that I want to extrapolate from Dawson is the
interrelation between “imagined masculinities and imagined communities.” 157 As
Dawson argues, “Masculinities are lived out in the flesh, but fashioned in the
imagination.” 158
154
John Tosh, The Pursuit of History. Aims, Methods and New Directions in the Study of Modern History
(Harlow, UK: Longman, 2006), pp. 201 & 301.
155
Compact Oxford English Dictionary http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/scope_1?view=uk (date
accessed 27 March 2010).
156
Raewyn Connell, Gender. In World Perspective, pp. 113 – 133.
157
Graham Dawson, Soldier Heroes. British Adventure, Empire and the Imagining of Masculinities
(London; New York: Routledge, 1994), p. 72.
158
Graham Dawson, p. 1.
54
Although Dawson uses the word “imagination” in a psychoanalytical context, I would
like to use the word to refer to the way masculinities are constructed by the members of
a community and reproduced in their discourses and actions based on what they assume
to be proper masculine conduct. Following Anderson’s concept of imagined
communities, imagined masculinities operate at a parallel with imagined communities
in terms of how they are conceptualized and how they proliferate. Imagined
masculinities need forums of communication and these act as sources of information on
masculine social codes of conduct. The media gain significant status in terms of
promoting these codes. Since it is not possible for all men in a nation to meet one
another and benchmark their masculinities, representations in the media allow the men
to imagine how other men are “doing” their masculinities. 159
Scholars like Dudink, Hagermann and Tosh, who work on masculinities and politics,
are proposing ways of looking at a nation and its identity building as part of a major
masculinity project under construction. 160 Unravelling the gendered identity-building
process of a nation will be relevant to this thesis in that it exposes the histories of a
nation as the histories of its men.
Brittan proposes the idea of masculinities as a collectivity, which is helpful for seeking
the source of power of men, which is from their collective identity. 161 Men are rarely
identified as a group of the same gender in the mass media. They are mostly identified
as individuals. However, it is their status as a group that helps them maintain their
159
See Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities (London: Verso, 1983).
Stefan Dudink, Karen Hagemann, John Tosh, eds., Masculinities in Politics and War.
161
Arthur Brittan, pp. 108 – 141.
160
55
power. 162 Although not specifically talking about men, philosopher Hannah Arendt
claims that
Power is never the property of an individual; it belongs to a group and
remains in existence only so long as the group keeps together. When we say
of somebody that he is “in power” we actually refer to his being empowered
by a certain number of people to act in their name. 163
Arendt’s explanation is applicable to the condition of men as a group of people who
are divided according to Connell’s hegemonic masculinity and complicit
masculinities: there are men in power and there are other men who benefit from the
other men’s power. Since masculinities are a group dynamic, it is not ideologically
efficient to confront men individually. Some men are receiving the power
“dividend” of their masculinity from their group. The concept of dividend is
developed by Connell to describe how some men gain power indirectly from other
men. Connell explains that
The number of men rigorously practising the hegemonic pattern in its
entirety may be quite small. Yet the majority of men gain from its
hegemony, since they benefit from the patriarchal dividend, [which is] the
advantage men in general gain from the overall subordination of women.
164
If the discourse of nation-building has been a masculine, rather than a feminine,
aspiration, 165 then the notion of a masculine dividend justifies the tracing of masculine
narratives through nation-building: even though only a few founding-fathers
conceptualize the nation’s identity, a larger group of men benefit from the masculine
bias of the identity building.
162
Sally Robinson, “Pedagogy of the Opaque: Teaching Masculinity Studies” in Masculinity Studies and
Feminist Theory New Directions. ed. Judith Kegan Gardiner (New York: Columbia University Press,
2002), p. 151.
163
Hannah Arendt, On Revolution (New York: Viking, 1970), p. 44 quoted in Michael S. Kimmel, The
Gender of Desire: Essays on Male Sexuality (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2005), p. 41.
164
R.W. Connell, Masculinities, p. 79.
165
John Horne, p. 22.
56
As a collective activity in a colonized nation, nation-building forges a sense of
masculinities that is required by the men within a nation to assert their power against
physical and ideological imperialism. This sense of masculinities at the national level
will eventually trickle down to local levels. Every nation-state creates the kind of
masculinities that are necessary to preserve the nation-state from external threat (that is,
other masculinities alien to the nation-state). 166 Alternatively the state can ‘create’ a
threat that allows hegemonic masculinity to stay in power under the pretext of providing
protection to its people. An example of this is the way Suharto’s government in
Indonesia created a communist phobia to justify its suppressive action against any
opposition to the authority. That is why this thesis reflects on nation-building as an
important factor in moulding large-scale, nation-wide masculinities that will eventually
inform local masculinities. These masculinities are later taken on as the ‘norm’.
Still related to nation-building, Tosh mentions that politics is a public sphere where
masculinities as ideologies are rife. Hunt also argues in regards to the gendered
participation of nation-building during the French Revolution that, “Male virtue meant
participation in the public world of politics; female virtue meant withdrawal into the
private world of the family.” 167
Therefore, observing politics has the potential to
discover the way masculinities are bound up with the narratives of nationalism. Tosh
points out that
The political order can be seen as a reflection of the gender order in society
as a whole, in which case the political virtues are best understood as the
prescribed masculinities writ large. 168
166
Adapted from Kaplan’s comment on the construction of adolescence in Louise J. Kaplan, Adolescence.
The Farewell to Childhood (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984), p. 336.
See Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities (London: Verso, 1983), p. 4.
167
Lynn Hunt, The Family Romance of the French Revolution, p. 121.
168
John Tosh, “Hegemonic Masculinity and the History of Gender,” p. 41.
57
In reviewing Connell’s theories, Ashe mentions that masculinities are “supported by ...
the ideologies and activities of the state”. 169 Locating masculinities in a political arena
rather than in a private sphere or within an individual context has the potential to
uncover the socialization of masculinities, which support its naturalization in a man. 170
The process of nation-building is an intense struggle of masculinity. These struggles
demonstrate the existence of different groups of men vying for domination at the
highest level of social unit: the nation. I am especially referring to periods of wars and
revolutions when men are willing to sustain violence on behalf of their country. To
colonized nations, nation-building may be considered a paradox: national identities are
constructed in contradistinction to the identity of the colonial power, yet the separatist
movement is always initiated by the merging of identities through colonialism,
imperialism and the inequities of international trade. The post-colonial trend in forging
national identities is to conjure local identities from memories of a romanticized precolonial past in order to emphasize a difference or uniqueness that a group of people
have prior to the arrival of the colonizing forces. In this sense nationality is a “cultural
artefact”. 171 And so are masculinities.
Gendered nations of the post-colonial era are created due to global relations. 172 In
Indonesia, for example, before the intrusion of colonialism, local masculinities were
isolated. Colonialism amalgamated these isolated masculinities in the face of
confrontation. Confrontations, particularly during the revolution in 1945-1949, allowed
different groups of men to come in contact with and influence one another, albeit at the
levels of dispute. Despite the shared practices of masculinities acquired through these
169
Fidelma Ashe, p. 150.
Fidelma Ashe, pp. 150 – 151.
171
See Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities, p. 4. In this case Indonesian was chosen as the
unique identity of the people.
172
Christian Haywood and Mairtin Mac an Ghaill, pp. 86 – 91.
170
58
conflicts, these contacts created separate identities based on the men’s status as the
colonized and the colonizers. Haywood and Ghaill argue that
A gendering of nation approach stresses that masculinities are formed by
nationally specific images, tasks, rituals and value systems. In this way,
masculinity is not a simple self-construct but is generated through an
imagined community/a sense of national/ethnic belonging and racialized
difference. 173
So a nation, like gender, is defined by differences (and so are many other forms of
identities). 174 Although Benedict Anderson did not write Imagined Communities with
any explicit gender perspectives, he equates nationality with gender. In an era of modern
nation-states, gender and nationality are two important things that a person has to have
as a citizen. 175
Given the domination of male over female, nationality can be said to have been
constructed from the point of view of the masculine founding fathers to protect the
virgin soil or to secure the feminine motherland. 176 The relationship between the
motherland and the founding fathers reflects the gender dichotomy of a nation-state. The
nation is represented as the feminine and the state represents the masculine. Since the
nation is feminine, she is under the control of the state. The state takes care of the nation
the way men take care of women. The way the state runs the nation has resulted in
patriarchal discourses of government. 177 The feminine is often defined as in need of
patriarchal assistance such as in the feminized expressions of poverty. The terms welfare
mothers and poor widows are more often heard than welfare fathers and poor widowers.
173
Christian Haywood and Mairtin Mac an Ghaill, p. 86.
John Tosh, The Pursuit of History.
175
Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities, p. 5.
176
See John Tosh, The Pursuit of History, p. 301.
177
Raewyn Connell, Gender. In World Perspective, p. 120.
174
59
Nation-building is an ongoing project, with nations constantly maintaining and working
on their identities. As Grossberg argues, “Identities are always ... in process.” 178 This
ongoing project attracts constant challenges and contestations. If a nation is understood
as a patriarchy, the internal challenges from other groups of men of the same nationality
may be explained with the theory of fratriarchy, or the rule of brothers.
Remy utilizes the concept of fratriarchy to describe homosocial male activities where
younger men are in charge. This homosociety stresses male bonding by excluding older
men (fathers) and women. 179 Fratriarchy, as a metaphor, emphasizes solidarity (that
could turn into rivalry) with other members of society who are not included in the circle
of patriarchal power. Horne takes this concept further and views this homosocial bond
as an embryonic form of political opposition and nationalist movements. The fraternity
may take the forms of social organization, secret/underground organization, or political
organization. 180 I am borrowing Brod’s definition to differentiate between patriarchy
and brotherhood. His explanation, which will be relevant to my analysis, is as follows:
As opposed to the patriarch, who embodied many levels and kinds of
authority in this patriarch, the brothers stand in uneasy relationships with
each other, engaged in sibling rivalry while trying to keep the power of the
family of man as a whole intact ...
Patriarchy, as a father-to-son transmission of authority, more directly
inculcates traditional historically grounded authority, whereas the dimension
of temporal continuity is rendered more problematic in fratriarchy’s brotherto-brother relationships. 181
According to Horne, fraternity as a socio-ideological group indicates a new generation.
The concept also implies a concentrated force in monitoring, resisting, and sometimes
178
Lawrence Grossberg, p. 89.
John Remy, pp. 43 – 53.
180
John Horne, pp. 26 – 27.
181
Harry Brod, “Pornography and the Alienation of Male Sexuality” in Rethinking Masculinity.
Philosophical Explorations in Light of Feminism, eds. Larry May, Robert A. Strikwerda, Patrick D.
Hopkins (Maryland, US: Rowman & Littlefield Publisher, 1992), p. 158.
179
60
overturning patriarchal rule. 182 Patriarchy is based on kinship and family ties and the
dictatorial rule of the father. Brotherhood is based on common interests, in opposition to
the patriarch, although these will quickly become the source of rivalries once the
‘brothers’ have the balance of power. In a government structure, fratriarchy may be a
metaphor for the parliament, the opposition parties or resistance movements. Wiegman
contends that this notion of “male bonding” within fratriarchy is valuable in
understanding the construction of alternative masculinities as an ideological
movement. 183 The metaphoric transition from patriarchy to fratriarchy is relevant in
describing a society that evolves from a monarchy based on aristocratic lineage to a
more egalitarian society. This society is supposedly based on the interests of the
majority rather than the interests of the father. In a modern nation-state, the patriarchyfratriarchy transition may mark the toppling of a dictator or freedom from the colonizer.
However, rather than viewing this as a linear phenomenon, it is more fruitful to perceive
the process as cyclical because some members of the fratriarchy will take over the
patriarchal society which later will be defeated by other newly-formed fratriarchies.
And the cycle continues.
The concept of fraternity or brotherhood is useful in defining the dynamics in a political
arena. Brotherhood implies a coalition in facing a common enemy: the ‘father’ who
rules under an assumed natural power. This concept will be relevant in this thesis for
providing explanations for the ties that men form to resist the rule of the ‘father’ and
take over hegemonic masculinity. I propose fraternity can be read as both an analogy
and as an analytical tool to explain the politics of masculinity struggles within a nationstate. Connell’s framework of hegemonic-subordinated masculinity is useful to explain
masculinity struggles in society. However, the brotherhood concept is useful to focus on
182
183
John Horne, p. 26.
Robyn Wiegman, p. 108.
61
the opposition against the father, both in democratic rules as well as under dictatorial
regimes. The concept of subordinated masculinities is useful for stressing the power of
hegemonic masculinity, but the term lacks the intense and intimate agency connoted by
the brotherhood.
I therefore use of the concepts of hegemonic and subordinated masculinities to take
advantage of the wider scope this concept brings. Nevertheless, in discussing the agency
of dominated men, I prefer to use the concept of brotherhood because it stresses the idea
of resistance by the coalition of the brothers rather than their subordination.
Masculinity Studies and Feminism
To conclude this chapter, I would like to justify the deployment of masculinity studies
as a feminist strategy. Modleski argues that the inclusion of masculinity studies into
feminism and women’s studies, might decentre women’s position ideologically. 184
However, Thomas argues, looking at the history of feminist struggles, that masculinities
studies should be seen as one of the “necessary consequences” of feminist theory rather
than perceived as a threat both to academia and women’s movements. 185
According to Brod, women’s studies started as a solution to gender discrimination by
creating awareness that women are victims of many social inequalities. However, Brod
states that the idea of “women as victims” was not intended to define women as helpless
victims who lacked agency. He says that “Feminism always understood this as a
sociological claim about the unjust allocation of social resources between and among
184
See Tania Modleski, Feminism without Women: Culture and Criticism in a “Postfeminist” Age (New
York: Routledge, 1991).
185
Calvin Thomas, “Reenfleshing the Bright Boys; or How Male Bodies Matter to Feminist Theory” in
Masculinity Studies and Feminist Theory New Directions. ed. Judith Kegan Gardiner (New York:
Columbia University Press, 2002), p. 60.
62
groups.” 186 The focus of women’s studies is on how to empower women and create
awareness of women’s oppression. Additionally, it aims to propose a supportive
environment so that women can achieve gender justice both in the “boardroom and the
bedroom”, which represent the public and private spheres. 187
Despite the development of feminism and women’s movements and recurring
masculinity crises, masculinity still maintains a position of power vis-a-vis women.
This condition perhaps calls for a theoretical and ideological shift in handling gender
injustice. Instead of focusing on the “victims”, there should be a focus on the
perpetrators of gender injustice. 188 Brod concedes that
Focusing a course on gender on the superordinate instead of the subordinate
group, as does a course on men and masculinities, produces a paradigm shift that
can illuminate both sides of the gender divide in new and informative ways. For
example, much has been said and written about the feminization of poverty. But
... the logically necessary corollary to the feminization of poverty is the
masculinization of wealth. 189
Brod’s suggestion is similar to Nader’s proposal in the field of anthropology, that
alternatively, anthropologists could look into the source of power rather than scrutinize
the group of people who are affected by that power. 190
My analysis in this thesis is therefore governed by the search for masculinization
processes within social structures, in an effort to expose the strategy of male power at
work through different elements in society. Although my analysis focuses on the
representations of men and power in the media, eventually, quoting Thomas,
186
Harry Brod, “Studying Masculinities as Superordinate Studies” in Masculinity Studies and Feminist
Theory, ed. Judith Kegan Gardiner (New Directions. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002),
p.170.
187
Susan Faludi, Stiffed. The Betrayal of the Modern Man (United States: Chatto & Windus, 1999), p. 10.
188
This is comparable with anthropologist Laura Nader’s approach to her research object which she refers
to as “studying up”. See Laura Nader, “Up the Anthropologist – Perspectives Gained from Studying Up”
in Reinventing Anthropology, Dell H. Hymes, ed. (New York: Pantheon Book, 1972).
189
Harry Brod, “Studying Masculinities as Superordinate Studies” p.166.
190
Laura Nader, pp. 284 – 311.
63
“masculinity studies is, or should be, the effect [emphasis in original] of masculinity
construction on women.” 191 I understand that my analysis may not complete the full
circle to reach the point where I show how these representations of power affect
women, but I will make a modest contribution by starting with how representations of
male power are often overlooked as they pass as representations of a general, ungendered world order.
The term “masculinity studies”, chosen over men’s studies to define the discipline, is
used strategically to argue the feminist case that the problem is not “men” per se, but a
whole socio-cultural system that supports a masculine ideology. In regards to the link
between masculinity studies and women’s studies, Wiegman argues that masculinity
studies owes much of its theoretical examination of the category of “men” to feminist
theories. If feminism theorizes that femininity is imposed on women rather than innate,
then similarly, there is an ideological gap between masculinity and men. This way it is
possible to place masculinities within a broader context that is not confined to the
corporeality of men. 192 Invoking the instability of the categories of men and masculinity
has been fundamental in the development of masculinity studies.
A discourse that is often linked with masculinity studies is the discourse of crisis. 193 The
“crisis” discourse is important for masculinity studies because the visibility of men as
gendered beings has been brought about by this perceived masculinity crisis. 194 The
crisis discourse has paved the way for men and their masculinities to become sites of
scrutiny. 195 I have mentioned earlier that women were often blamed and held
responsible for the masculinity crises. Women’s entry into the workforce is often
191
Calvin Thomas, p. 62.
Robyn Wiegman, p. 108.
193
Alan Petersen, p. 19.
194
Susan Faludi, Stiffed, p. 6.
195
Chris Beasley, p. 179.
192
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blamed for creating social problems like drug abuse and juvenile delinquency among
others, because their jobs have caused women to abandon their roles as mothers and
nurturers of the society. 196 Men blame feminist women, the “feminazis”, for suggesting
that men’s power, particularly in the public sphere, should be shared with women.197
According to Bly’s anti-feminist stance, this has a disruptive effect on men’s social
status. 198 To men, the idea of power sharing defeats the concept of power itself, which
partly owes its strength to being exclusive and concentrated, rather than being inclusive
and dispersed.
It should be noted that the crises are not only the result of women’s attempt at gaining
more gender equality. The crises can also be the result of oppression by other men. Men
feel easily threatened if they have to share or lose their power in the name of democracy
and equality. It should not be forgotten, however, that the majority of men feel entirely
secure about their masculinity and do not experience any masculinity crises. 199 The
crises indicate the existence of an ideological divide between hegemonic and
subordinated masculinities, as observed by Connell. The men occupying hegemonic
status are in control and therefore stand on more stable ground than the subordinated
masculinities. The notion of crisis is useful to understand how despite the crises,
hegemonic power remains secure.
Apart from triggering awareness that men should be analyzed as a gender, the discourse
of masculinity crisis contributes to the realization of the fragility of the category of men.
The crisis discourse has opened a critical space in which to challenge the masculine
196
Christine Skelton and Becky Francis, Feminism and ‘The Schooling Scandal’ (Hoboken: Taylor &
Francis, 2008), p. 110.
197
Susan Faludi, Stiffed, p. 9.
198
See Robert Bly, Iron John.
199
Felix Scholsz, “Why Masculinity” in XY. Men, Masculinities and Gender Politics
http://www.xyonline.net/content/why-masculinity (date accessed 29 January 2010).
65
construction of knowledge that is phallogocentric. If the masculine category is unstable,
then other identities formed under phallogocentric knowledge (such as the
rationalization that men are superior than women) should be rendered equally
unstable. 200 Masculinity crisis is a recurring theme in the course of western history.201
What the crises inform us is that “definitions of masculinity are historically reactive
[emphasis in original] to changing definitions of femininity.” 202 The changes in
femininity and masculinity are due to the changing society. Kimmel argues, quoting
Smith-Rosenberg, that “social, not sexual, disorder lies at the heart of these [crisis]
discourses”. 203
The media and popular culture has been a potential site to observe the crisis going on in
society. Faludi gives examples of the media in the United States around the 1990s that
question the ambiguity of men’s roles. She contends that
Newspaper editors, TV pundits, fundamentalist preachers, marketeers,
legislators ... perched on the political spectrum, had a contribution to make to
the chronicles of the “masculinity crisis.” 204
McNair comments on American movies from the same era and argues that that the
femmes fatales are personifications of feminist threats to American men. The women in
these movies are symbols of feminism hounding men’s privilege in society by
outsmarting and outwitting them. 205 Similarly the new lad magazines in the United
Kingdom in the 1980s are perceived as signs of masculinity crisis due to the rise of
200
Alan Petersen, pp. 20 – 22.
Michael S. Kimmel, “The Contemporary “Crisis” in Masculinity in The Making of Masculinities. The
New Men’s Studies, ed. Harry Brod (Boston; London; Sydney; Wellington: Unwin Hyman, 1987), p. 123.
Harry Brod, “Pornography and the Alienation of Male Sexuality” p. 157.
Alan Soble, “Why Do Men Enjoy Pornography?” in Rethinking Masculinity. Philosophical Explorations
in Light of Feminism, eds. Larry May, Robert A. Strikwerda, Patrick D. Hopkins (Maryland, US:
Rowman & Littlefield Publisher, 1992), pp. 136 – 141.
202
Michael S. Kimmel, “The Contemporary “Crisis”” p. 123.
203
Michael S. Kimmel, “The Contemporary “Crisis”” p. 125.
204
Susan Faludi, Stiffed, p. 6.
205
Brian McNair, Striptease Culture, p. 152.
201
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feminist movements. 206 These examples demonstrate the sensitivity of the media with
regards to their surrounding social dynamics.
The next chapter seeks to explore the manifestation of masculinity theories in this
chapter within the Indonesian socio-political context. The issue is to see how masculine
ideologies operate at different empirical levels, particularly in regards to how these
ideologies
206
support
the
continuous
process
of
gendered
nation-building.
See Ben Crewe, Representing Men.
67
Chapter 3
Gendering Indonesian History
This chapter briefly charts the social construction of Indonesian men by using the
theoretical framework from the previous chapter. This chapter captures some of the
highlights in Indonesian social history and seeks to deconstruct the genderless history
by identifying it as a masculine body of ideology shaped by Indonesian men’s
deliberation. The purpose of this analysis is to determine the extent to which masculine
power and ideologies are embedded in the dynamics of the Indonesian social order.
Without oversimplifying the complexity of social issues in Indonesia, I demonstrate that
male domination is pervasive enough such that transitions in Indonesian society are
determined by the nature of conflicts among its men.
The basis for analyzing Indonesian history as gendered is drawn from the work of Tosh,
Dudink, and Hagemann. 207 Tosh argues that gendering western history is based, on one
hand, upon acknowledging women’s exclusion from many western historical
narratives. 208 This argument has been supported by second wave feminists since the
1970s, who are determined to include women in history. Lerner contends that
discussing western women’s history is “a compensatory strategy for offsetting male bias
of traditional history.” 209 On the other hand, Tosh also argues that gendering history is
about identifying men “not ... in their traditional guise of genderless autonomous
beings, but men in relation to the other half of humanity.” 210 This aspect resonates with
207
See John Tosh, The Pursuit of History, pp. 274 – 302 and Masculinities in Politics and War.
Gendering Modern History, eds. Stefan Dudink, Karen Hagemann, John Tosh (Manchester, UK; New
York, US: Manchester University Press, 2004).
208
John Tosh, The Pursuit of History, pp. 274 – 302.
209
Gerda Lerner, The Majority Finds its Past. Placing Women in History (New York: Oxford University
Press 1979), p. xviii.
210
John Tosh, The Pursuit of History, p. 278.
68
the principle of masculinity studies identifying men as a gender, in which I engage
myself in this thesis.
This chapter in particular and my thesis in general are more of an active debate about
gendering men in the society where they are involved as citizens, rather than recovering
missing women from the course of Indonesian history. Gendering conflicts and politics
in Indonesia is extrapolated from Dudink and Hagemann in their discussion about
gendering the history of Europe. They situate “the history of masculinity on struggles
over power.” 211 The articles in a book edited by Dudink, Hagemann, and Tosh
demonstrate that the maintenance and the pursuit of power become the driving force
behind political conflicts and wars in the west. 212
Historical narratives in Indonesia play an important part in nation-building. They recall
the past in order to construct the present national identity. Soedjatmoko argues that
Indonesian history by Indonesian leaders is politically constructed and that it is used to
sustain certain myths for the benefit of the status quo. 213 Indonesia is defined by its
glorification and condemnation of men from the past. History books and history lessons
identify these men as national heroes or villains. 214 Despite the fact that these heroes
and villains are predominantly males, they are depicted as genderless socio-political
representatives. Local narratives of Indonesian history are gender-blind. This naturalizes
the neglect of Indonesian women as a part of Indonesian history, because these men are
taken to represent both Indonesian men and women. This chapter does not aim to
provide a chronological recount of Indonesian history but rather, in light of Tosh’s
211
Stefan Dudink and Karen Hagemann, “Masculinity in Politics and War in the Age of Democratic
Revolutions, 1750 -1850”, in Masculinities in Politics and War. Gendering Modern History, eds. Stefan
Dudink, Karen Hagemann, John Tosh (Manchester, UK; New York, US: Manchester University Press,
2004), p. 6
212
Stefan Dudink, Karen Hagemann, John Tosh, eds. Masculinities in Politics and War.
213
Soedjatmoko, “The Indonesian Historian and His Time”, pp. 404 – 405.
214
Paul Alexander, Creating Indonesian Cultures (Sydney: Oceania Publications, 1989), p. i.
69
gendered history, it focuses on milestones that reflect how the masculine nature of
conflicts predispose men to take actions that change the course of Indonesian history
and the structure of Indonesian society.
The Argument and Theoretical Framework
Nordholt claims that political conflicts and violence in Indonesia follow a certain
pattern and that current conflicts have their roots in the past. 215 Based on this claim and
the masculine nature of conflicts, this means that the pattern of masculinities can be
traced into the past. Evidence from Indonesia’s past points to the perennial existence of
struggles between hegemonic and subordinated masculinities over who should be in
charge of the nation. Hegemonic masculinity is often defined as the group of men
exercising patriarchal leadership, while subordinated masculinities are perceived as a
potentially unruly mass that forms the subjects. It is this mass that I categorize as the
group of “brothers” who attempt to consolidate the fratriarchal power of their members
against the oppression of the patriarchy. I argue that it is as important to focus on the
subordinated men who form this brotherhood, as on the hegemonic ones, because
potential future leaders come from members of the previous fraternity who position
themselves in opposition to the state. I argue that brotherhood as an ideological entity
play as important a role as their patriarchal fathers in determining the fate of the nation.
This brotherhood may come in different forms and terms, such as pemuda (youth),
students, Indonesian elites, and the Indonesian middle class. What these groups have in
common is their unstable relationship with the state, which requires the state to exercise
constraint or to placate these groups in order to keep them under control.
215
See Henk Schulte Nordholt, “A Genealogy of Violence” in Roots of Violence in Indonesia.
Contemporary Violence in Historical Perspective, eds. Freek Colombijn and J. Thomas Lindblad
(Leiden: KITLV Press, 2002).
70
The theoretical framework for this chapter is borrowed and modified from Hunt’s
discussion about France around the French Revolution. Hunt contends that the “French
had a kind of political unconscious that was structured by narratives of family
relations.” 216 Actually Indonesian politics is frequently imagined in a similar filial way
and analyzed as such. Scholars from Geertz to Boellstorff have mentioned the
pervasiveness of the notion of a powerful father figure in the political imaginings of
Indonesian people. 217 Gerke argues that Indonesia has a “centralised structure of ...
administration, [with] the culture of bapakism [which means:] ... father knows best.” 218
The classic ideology of ‘fatherism’ is entrenched in Indonesian culture. This figure is
perceived to embody such power that the term often collapses the notion of
ruler/king/father into one powerful person. 219 Cederroth confirms the intensity of the
nature of fatherism and argues that
Relations between a bapak [father] and his anak buah [sons/subordinates] ...
have their roots in the old kingdoms [and] form the basis for politics and the
jostling for power and influence on the village level today ... This pattern has
put its stamp on politics not only locally but also on the national level. 220
Moertono argues that ancient Javanese kings are often acknowledged as rulers of the
universe, as reflected by their names and titles, such as Pakubowono, which literally
216
Lynn Hunt, The Family Romance of the French Revolution, p. xiii.
Clifford Geertz, The Religion of Java (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976), p. 333.
Tom Boellstorff, The Gay Archipelago. Sexuality and Nation in Indonesia (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 2005), p. 196.
218
Solvay Gerke, “Global Lifestyles Under Local Conditions: the New Indonesian Middle Class” in
Consumption in Asia. Lifestyles and Identities ed. Chua Beng-Huat (London; New York: Routledge,
2000), p. 140.
219
Given the domination of Javanese culture, bapakisme or fatherism is a very Javanese concept. For the
concept of leadership in Java see Hans Antlöv and Sven Cederroth, eds. Leadership on Java. Gentle
Hints, Authoritarian Rule (Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 1994)
See also Soemarsaid Moertono, State and Statecraft in Old Java. A Study of the Later Mataram Period,
16th to 19th Century. Monograph series (Publication no. 43) (Revised Edition) (Modern Indonesia Project.
Southeast Asia Program. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University, 1981 [1968].)
220
Sven Cederroth, “Traditional Power and Party Politics in North Lombok, 1965 – 1999” in Elections in
Indonesia. The New Order and Beyond, eds. Hans Antlöv and Sven Cederroth (London; New York;
Canada: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004), p. 105.
217
71
translates into “the nail of the universe.” 221 Newberry claims that the mention of a
Javanese king conjures up images of
the Sultan’s palace and with the Sultan as an image of and model for the
divine organization of power, an Indic-influenced conception of the universe
and the place of rulers within it. Described as an exemplary center, the seats
of royal power in Java ... impress with their power to depict the cosmos. 222
This gives the figure of a king a mythological status with somewhat incommensurable
magical power. This perception is carried over into the period after independence
during which former President Sukarno and President Suharto were often compared to
that of a king and their reign a kingdom. 223
It is at this point that Hunt’s theory of the French family is more useful because it
focuses on the French brotherhood that brought down the French monarchy. Around the
French Revolution the ideology of the common family was brought to the fore to dispel
myths of the powerful kings rather than to strengthen them. After the revolution, Hunt
claims that there were no images of individual heroes. Members of the band of brothers
were always identified together as a group. 224 The reason is clearly to denounce the idea
that power should reside in one person. Hunt supports this claim by illustrating the
execution of Louis XVI by the French people:
It was a cold and foggy morning in winter when the king of France met his
death. At 10:22 A.M. on 21 January 1793, the executioner dropped the
guillotine’s blade on the neck of Louis Capet, the former Louis XVI ... The
recently installed guillotine had been designed as the great equalizer; with it,
every death would be the same, virtually automatic, presumably painless. The
deputies hoped that by killing Louis in this way, they would prove “that great
truth which the prejudices of so many centuries had stifled; today we have
221
See Soemarsaid Moertono, State and Statecraft in Old Java.
Jan Newberry, “Women’s Ways of Walking: Gender and Urban Space in Java” in Gender in an Urban
World, Research in Urban Sociology Vol. 9, ed. Judith N. DeSena (Bingley, UK; Emerald Group
Publishing, 2008), p. 78.
223
Sukarno is often compared with a king due to his womanizing character which is reminiscent of a
king’s desire for new concubines. See Benedict Anderson, Language and Power, p. 32.
Suharto is often compared with a king due to his dictatorship which echoes the rule of an absolute
monarch. See Jusuf Wanandi, “Legacies of History, Present Challenges, and the Future” in Southeast
Asian Affairs 2009, ed. Daljit Singh (Singapore: ISEAS Publications, 2009), p. 126.
224
Lynn Hunt, The Family Romance of the French Revolution, p. 83 and p. 88.
222
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just convinced ourselves that a king is only a man and that no man is above
the laws.” 225
It is clear that the French people intended to demystify the king’s power. Execution
served as the ultimate proof that the king’s power was not absolute.
Hunt’s family theory also includes focus on the fraternity by identifying that the turn in
the trajectory of French history is the result of the band of brothers’ decision to kill the
king. Hunt draws attention to references in the local media that “refer to the brothers
who had killed [the king]” and how people were quoted by the media at the time
addressing each other as brothers. 226 This condition is similar to Indonesia during the
revolution to overturn Dutch rule, when Indonesian men addressed each other as
“bung”, which is comparable to the French version of “brother”. Shiraishi explains that
“During the revolution, the more egalitarian terms of address, saudara (brother/sister)
and bung (brother, comrade), were preferred to bapak [father].” 227 Similarly, Anderson
relates ‘bung’ to a revolutionary address that united Indonesian men as freedom
fighters. 228 Indonesia’s first president is famously referred to as “Bung Karno” as an
expression of solidarity between Sukarno and his people.
In addition to the media, Hunt argues that the French men’s representations of
themselves in art during this period were as a group of brothers:
They were romantic heroes willing to fight for virtue and the triumph of the
republic against the forces of evil and corruption ... They expected the
gratitude of the nation, but their chief reward was their sense of solidarity
with their brothers. 229
225
Lynn Hunt, The Family Romance of the French Revolution, p. 1.
Lynn Hunt, The Family Romance of the French Revolution, p. 10.
227
Saya S. Shiraishi, Young Heroes. The Indonesian Family in Politics (Ithaca, New York: Southeast
Asia Program Publication, 1997), p. 90.
228
Benedict R. O’G. Anderson, Java in Time of Revolution: Occupation and Resistance, 1944 – 1946
(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1972), p. 356.
229
Lynn Hunt, The Family Romance of the French Revolution, pp. 79 - 80.
226
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What is more interesting is that in the absence of a father figure, paintings and
engravings of heroes of the French Revolution from this era were not portrayed as old
men, in keeping with sustaining the young image of the brothers. Hunt argues that the
works of art did not have “the aura of aging wisdom.” 230 I find resonance in Hunt’s
findings with my own research into Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines and the way
these magazines idolized young professional males which I discuss in Chapter Seven. In
what follows, I identify the recurring phenomenon of this gang of brothers as a
competing force in the face of power abuse by father figures. To the ruling class
perhaps the term ‘gang’ is sometimes more apt because for men of the ruling class, this
brotherhood coalition often invokes images of an obstreperous and threatening mass
associated with gangsters, rather than as a group of fighters of injustice. 231
The History of Indonesian Masculinity
The concept of brotherhood and fraternity is manifested in the Indonesian context as the
social elites. I argue that the emergence of this group of brothers is a recurring theme in
Indonesian history. I employ the term “elite” loosely here to denote that these men are
definitely not from the lower class. As a group, they are called the “elites” due to certain
privileges they have: they may be highly educated, or they may be economically
advantaged, or both. Nevertheless, their privilege is not accompanied by political
privilege hence that is what they aspire to. Politics are in the hands of the ruling class. I
use the term “Indonesian elites” to refer to the groups which formed under the Dutch
towards the nationalist movements in the 1920s and during Sukarno’s leadership
between 1945 – 1966. This elite group consisted mostly of young men who graduated
230
Lynn Hunt, The Family Romance of the French Revolution, p. 80.
Frances Gouda, “Gender and ‘Hyper-Masculinity” as Post-Colonial Modernity during Indonesia’s
Struggle for Independence, 1945 -1949” Gender, Sexuality and Colonial Modernities (London:
Routledge, 1999), p. 164
231
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from universities in the Netherlands under the Dutch scholarship programme. McVey
describes these elites as follows:
In the 1920’s, this national elite, while growing, was very small indeed: it
centered naturally in the capital and formed a discernible social element
elsewhere only in the relatively Europeanized cities of Bandung, Surabaya,
and Medan. The new metropolitan culture was essentially mestizo, and its
members displayed the ambivalence of those balancing psychologically
between two worlds. Moreover, the culture contained the seeds of political
rebellion [emphasis added], for colonial rule justified itself by its possession
of modern administrative and technical expertise: those Indonesians who had
been introduced into these Western mysteries and who also had traditional
claims to a ruling position inevitably felt they could and should take the
Europeans’ place. 232
Since almost all of the elites were men, McVey’s recognition of the rising Indonesian
elites echoes the notion that nationalism is a masculine initiative and the nation is a
masculine sphere. Nationalism is acted out not only as a demonstration of loyalty to
one’s nation but also as a resistance from one group of men against another. The elites
expressed their nationalism to the ruling class (the Dutch) as a group of men rather than
as individuals because resistance is usually embodied in a group, whereas leadership is
embodied in an individual: a father figure. Hunt, in her discussion about the French
Revolution, illustrates a comparable condition with the French people. She argues that
The French in a sense did wish to get free from the political parents of whom
they had developed a low opinion, but they did not imagine replacing them
with others who were of a higher social standing. They imagined replacing
them — the king and the queen —with a different kind of family, one in
which the parents were effaced and the children, especially the brothers
[emphasis added], acted autonomously. 233
Indonesian nationalism during the Dutch colonial period operated with a similar
mentality, particularly the part about taking over as leaders of the nation, as described
by McVey earlier. In fact, the name Indonesia itself connotes nationalism because of the
way it was agreed upon by Indonesian men to replace the name ‘the Netherlands Indies’
used by the Dutch.
232
233
Ruth McVey, “Introduction,” p. 3.
Lynn Hunt, The Family Romance of the French Revolution, p. xiv.
75
Indonesian men were united from scattered kingdoms and disparate ethnic groups
around the archipelago. As Austronesians they shared many aspects of their culture with
surrounding islands such as the Philippines and the Polynesian islands. 234 However,
what united these men as members of a nation under the name Indonesia was Dutch
colonization, which started with the arrival of the Dutch in the 16th century. It was then
that Indonesia emerged gradually as a Dutch geopolitical invention. 235 Some of the
people shared the Indonesian language as their lingua franca. Closer to independence,
men from nationalist movements used the word ‘Indonesia’ politically to symbolize
their resistance against the Dutch. 236 Apart from uniting to break free from Dutch
colonization and using Indonesian as a unifying language, there were not many aspects
of ‘Indonesian culture’ that these men could share. Due to the fragility of this unity,
Indonesia as a society must continuously produce and reproduce itself. Every leader of
this nation tries to construct an identity that can unite the whole archipelago and support
their leadership. A brief look into the past and present creation of Indonesia
demonstrates continuing efforts to maintain the notion of Indonesia as a viable identity
for its citizens.
Indonesian elites started to constitute a political threat to the Dutch authorities when
these Indonesian men realized that their well-being and social status were undermined
by Dutch hegemonic masculinity. An identity crisis drove the Indonesian elites to fight
for their freedom from the Dutch. Elson points out that during the Dutch colonization,
the Indonesian elites felt that Indonesia “was their home, and yet it was ruled by
234
See Peter Bellwood, James Fox and Darrell Tyron, eds. The Austronesians. Historical and
Comparative Perspectives (Canberra: Department of Anthropology, Australian National University,
1995).
235
Adrian Vickers, A History of Modern Indonesia (Cambridge, UK; New York, 2005), p. 9.
236
Benedict Anderson, Language and Power. Exploring Political Cultures in Indonesia (New York:
Cornell University Press. 1990), p. 139.
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foreigners who treated them as subjects and, worse, aliens.” 237 Recognizing the sense of
alienation of a group of men within their own home is important here because it
becomes a recurring theme and a key aspect in much social unrest in Indonesia. Home
symbolically stands for a territory or an ideological space where men can exercise their
power. Conversely, men do not feel ‘at home’ when they are rendered powerless. An
instance of this alienation is the repeated expressions of discontent among Islamic
groups because of their treatment by Suharto’s administration as a minority despite
being the religion of the majority of the population. 238 Since leaders of Islamic groups
are mostly males, the marginalization of their groups by the state reflects a masculine
friction between a group of brothers and the “political father”. 239
Another example is the marginalized feeling of people in regions outside Java during
the Suharto era, due to the Javanese domination within their own local government. Bäk
argues that “Through the Javanization of the centralized institutions and mechanisms of
governance ... local indigenous structures were systematically emasculated.”240
Although Bäk does not engage in gender analysis, his choice of the word ‘emasculated’
imparts the necessity for men to be masters of their own homes. In this case, Javanese
men who are sent out to the regions represent Javanese domination over other
ethnicities. By contrast, Javanese women do not invoke images of domination. This
means that images of Javanese ethnic domination are embodied in Javanese men.
Newberry compares stereotypes of Javanese men and women, and argues that a
stereotype of Javanese women “is their association with the dirty world of trade and
237
Robert Edward Elson, The Idea of Indonesia (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008), p.
43.
238
See W.F. Wertheim, “Indonesian Moslems under Sukarno and Suharto: Majority with Minority
Mentality” Studies on Indonesian Islam, Ocassional Paper No. 19 (Queensland, Australia: University of
North Queensland, 1986).
239
The term “political father” taken from Lynn Hunt, The Family Romance of the French Revolution, p.
67.
240
Michael L. Bäk, “Slouching Towards Democracy: Social Violence and Elite Failure in Indonesia.” in
Indonesia Matters. Diversity, Unity, and Stability in Fragile Times, eds. Thang D. Nguyen and FrankJürgen Richter (Singapore: Times Media, 2003), p. 79.
77
money and the mundane, necessary, but denigrated, work of provisioning households
and families” whereas one of the stereotypes of a Javanese man is that “of the Javanese
king.” 241 Understanding these stereotypes is useful because they are often used as
vehicles of gender ideologies which attempt to naturalize certain conditions, such as the
domination of Javanese men in the Indonesian government. The common explanation is
that afterall, they were already involved in running the country since the period of the
Dutch administration.
Before the arrival of the Dutch, an earlier type of hegemonic-subordinate masculine
relation was between men of the local aristocracy and men of common lineage. 242 This
relation lasted through the period of Dutch colonization with some modifications. The
Dutch ruled different regions through the local aristocrats. Since the Dutch started their
colonization in Java, most of the local aristocrats involved in the Dutch’s administration
were from Javanese aristocracy. Later on, a second group of elite native men emerged.
They were called the priyayi. They were Javanese men employed by the Dutch to help
with administrative work in the colony. These men were educated and selected from
“good families”. 243 Access to the Dutch circle had created a new form of masculine
privilege for the priyayi. After the independence this group of priyayi was transformed
into government officers and bureaucrats of the new Republic of Indonesia.
Closer to independence another group of educated men emerged as the result of the
Dutch scholarship programme under the scheme of Ethical Policy. They were the elite
group identified by McVey. The men in this group were Dutch educated, fluent in
241
Jan Newberry, p. 78.
For details of relationships between Javanese kings and their subjects see, Soemarsaid. Moertono,
State and Statecraft in Old Java.
243
Benedict Anderson, Language and Power, p. 132.
242
78
modern critical thinking and conversant with the political discourse of revolution. 244
They were men who were active in independence movements to establish the Republic
of Indonesia. The rising number of priyayi in the Dutch administration and the
escalating nationalist movements of the elite group gave the impression of Indonesian
men fighting against other Indonesian men, which reflected the Dutch politics of divide
and conquer. Since members of the nationalist elites were of mixed ethnicities and the
priyayi group consisted of Javanese men, this historical background explains, although
it does not justify, current Javanese men’s domination in the Indonesian government
and the frictions that ensued. The nationalist elites stood for the band of brothers
attempting to replace their Dutch “political father” while the Javanese priyayi were
ambivalent with their in-between status.
The Youth Pledge (Sumpah Pemuda) in 1928 was one of the events where ethnic
differences, especially between Javanese and non-Javanese, was set aside. The Youth
Pledge established the united identity of the men: that they were Indonesians, and
Indonesia belonged to them. It organized the brotherhood of Indonesian men under the
category of pemuda (young men). Ryter claims that
The pemuda had already long been hailed as the driving force of Indonesian
nationalism ... [They] were considered as the authors of the nascent notion of
“Indonesia” by 1928 ... and also as shapers of the character of the nationalist
revolution against the Dutch (1945 – 49). 245
The Pledge gave a sense of clarity to the men in regards to their relationship with their
motherland: that Indonesia was their nation but unfortunately it was not under their rule
yet. Indonesia as a language, a nation, and a motherland, acquired a political status
244
Benedict Anderson, Language and Power, p. 137.
Loren Ryter, “Pemuda Pancasila: The Last Loyalist Free Men of Suharto’s Order?” in Violence and
the State in Suharto’s Indonesia, ed. Benedict Richard O’Gorman Anderson (Ithaca, NY Cornell
Southeast Asia Program Publications, 2002), p. 137.
245
79
because of this Pledge. 246 The young men declaring their Indonesian identity for The
Pledge reflected the Indonesian public’s opinion that they had the capacity and were
entitled to govern their own nation. To compare with the French brothers of the French
Revolution, Hunt claims that the Enlightenment had brought “the maturation of the
king’s subjects/children into autonomous men/citizens.
247
Similarly, The Pledge was a
symbol of political maturity of the Indonesian youth that transformed the infantilized
relationship between the Dutch father and the Netherlands Indies’ children into a more
independent one between the Dutch father and Indonesian young men. The Pledge
communicated the message that the Dutch political father was matched by his political
equal, embodied in the fraternity of these young men.
The war and battles of the revolution that ensued after independence (1945 – 1949) was
an attempt to seize the government from the Dutch. Connell notes that British
masculinity is founded on the history of the British empire. 248 British masculine identity
is strongly linked to imperialism and colonialism. Early masculine identities for native
men of the Netherlands Indies were constructed in the same way: by colonization.
These identities were fused with wars and struggles for independence. A man’s rite of
initiation was to enter the battlefield or join a nationalist movement. Anderson says that
during the revolution “the once innocent word pemuda (young men) rapidly acquired an
aura of remorseless terrorism.” 249 In a similar vein, Ryter contends that “youth had been
designated as the embodiment of radical change.” 250 The word pemuda which literally
means young man, reflects the masculine nature of the revolution. History of the
revolution only recounts the bravery of male heroes although women were definitely
246
Ian Chalmers, Indonesia. An Introduction to Contemporary Tradition (Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford
University Press, 2006), pp. 159 – 160.
247
Lynn Hunt, The Family Romance of the French Revolution, p. 18.
248
R.W. Connell, “Globalization, Imperialism, and Masculinities” in Handbook of Studies on Men and
Masculinities, Michael S. Kimmel Jeff Hearn, and R.W. Connell, eds. (Thousand Oaks; London; New
Delhi: Sage Publication, 2005), p. 72.
249
Benedict Anderson, Java in a Time of Revolution, p. 1.
250
Loren Ryter, “Pemuda Pancasila,” p. 137.
80
involved. 251 The popular slogan on posters during the Indonesian revolution, which
said “Boeng Ayo Boeng” (“Brother, Come on, Brother”), also suggests gendered
interpellation. 252 The sentence beckons Indonesian males. The brotherhood or the
fraternity of these Indonesian men is embodied within these pemuda who rebelled
against their colonial patriarchy.
Smith-Rosenberg argues that the United States was formed as a “counter-distinction” to
England as their “mother country”. 253 Similarly Indonesia was formed as a counterdistinction to the Dutch colonial rule. Since identity relies on difference as much as on
commonality, 254 the idea of Indonesia serves a dual function. Internally, it aims to unite
its men (sic) under a common identity. 255 Externally, it serves as a difference from their
Dutch oppressors. The identity is masculine because men created it. Indonesian women
share this identity through their fathers or husbands.
Prestigious masculine identity after independence became identified with westernized
attitudes and appearance. This was demonstrated by elite Indonesian men’s ability to
speak both Dutch and Indonesian and by wearing western attire. It is ironic that this
masculine identity was inspired by Dutch men, whom Indonesian men had previously
resisted in their fight for freedom and independence. McVey notes that images of the
Dutch men in this case played a dual role:
251
Kathryn Robinson, Gender, Islam and Democracy in Indonesia (London and New York: Routledge,
2009), p. 50.
252
Enin Supriyanto, Setengah Abad Seni Grafis Indonesia. Half a Century of Indonesian Printmaking
(Jakarta: Bentara Budaya Jakarta, 2000), p. 9.
253
Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, “The Republican Gentleman: the Race to Rhetorical Stability in the New
United States” in Masculinities in Politics and War. Gendering Modern History, eds. Stefan Dudink,
Karen Hagemann, John Tosh (Manchester, UK; New York, US: Manchester University Press, 2004), pp.
65 – 67.
254
John Tosh, The Pursuit of History, p. 299.
255
This is similar to Josephine Donovan’s observation, that I mentioned in the previous chapter, about the
American Declaration of Independence, particularly the passage that says that “all men are created
equal.” Josephine Donovan, Feminist Theory, pp. 1 – 30.
81
The Dutch represented both foreign oppression and a goal – in terms of
modern culture and ruling position – which the members of the metropolitan
elite sought to attain for themselves. 256
Sukarno, Indonesia’s first president (1945 – 1966), contributed to the gendered identity
of this new nation. The gendered roles for Indonesian citizens defined women’s roles as
oriented in the past and men’s roles directed to the future. Women were to ensure the
continuance of tradition and to embody the ‘national’ culture. Tradition became the
anti-thesis of the masculine identity constructed by Sukarno. It became a feminine realm
and the masculine’s Other.
One of the ways of gendering the national identity was through fashion and dress code.
Bemmelen and Grijns claim that, “President Soekarno revived the wearing of kain
kebaya and it then acquired more or less the status of the national dress for women.” 257
Men, on the other hand should show their nationalism by being modern and
westernized. 258 This was displayed by elite men who shunned traditional attire in public
and adopted the western style. Elson points out that Sukarno hated the idea of
Indonesian men wearing sarongs and associated it with the lower class, despite the fact
that it used to be a common attire for men and even male members of Javanese royalty.
Elson quotes Sukarno saying, “we must be divested of that influence which chains us to
the cringing past as nameless, faceless servants and houseboys and peasants.” 259 To
Sukarno, masculinity was a class-based identity. Indonesian masculinity was associated
with the elites. Lower class men were infantilized and feminized because of their
256
Ruth McVey, “Introduction,” p. 3.
Sita van Bemmelen and Mies Grijns, “What has Become of the Slendang? Changing Images of
Women and Java” in The Java that Never was: Academic Theories and Political Practices, eds. Hans
Antlov and Jorgen Hellman (Münster: Lit Verlag, c2005), p. 98.
258
See Jean Gelman Taylor, “Official Photography, Costume and the Indonesian Revolution” in Women
Creating Indonesia, Jean Gelman Taylor, ed., (Clayton, Victoria: Monash Asia Institute, 1997), p. 92 and
Kathryn Robinson, Gender, Islam and Democracy in Indonesia (London and New York: Routledge,
2009), p. 50.
259
Robert Edward Elson, The Idea of Indonesia, p. 56.
257
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association with the past and immature individuals (such as the way he identified sarong
wearers as “houseboys”).
Imitating the Dutch’s dress code symbolized Indonesian men’s wish to demonstrate
their equal ability to rule their own nation. In short, the way Indonesian elites dressed
reflected their readiness to be in charge of the nation’s journey towards a better future
under the scheme of national development and progress. 260 Under Sukarno,
westernization had a gendered effect. Westernized Indonesian women were seen as
culturally contaminated, while westernized Indonesian men were perceived as modern.
Ouzgane argues that “modernization itself [is] actually a form of masculinity.” 261
Apart from gendering Indonesian citizens’ appearance in public space, Sukarno’s
leadership provided a showcase for the cycle of hegemonic-subordinated masculinity
struggle, which reached full a circle during his presidential term. Before independence,
Sukarno was a part of an Indonesian fraternity under the name pemuda. He was a
member of the Indonesian Nationalist Party. Nationalist groups and nationalist
movements stood for an Indonesian fraternity who fought for Indonesia’s independence.
They were the subordinated masculinity who struggled against the hegemonic
masculinity represented by the Dutch patriarchy. After independence, not all men from
the fraternity groups could rule since there was only one vacancy for the president of the
new Republic of Indonesia. As the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno transformed
into a member of the hegemonic group by replacing the former Dutch political father.
Following Beynon’s theory of the continuous struggle between subordinated and
hegemonic masculinities, Sukarno’s rise to the hegemonic position invited fresh
260
Jean Gelman Taylor, pp. 118 – 122.
Lahoucine Ouzgane, “Islamic Masculinities: an Introduction” in Islamic Masculinities, ed. Lahoucine
Ouzgane (London; New York: Zed Books, 2006), p. 3.
261
83
oppositions from newly constructed brotherhood, formed by burgeoning political parties
of the era and university students. 262
The three major ‘fraternities’ in Sukarno’s era were the Nationalist movements, Islamic
groups and Marxist parties. Weinstein says that Sukarno was an improviser.263
Although Weinstein refers to Sukarno’s foreign policy, Sukarno’s improvisation could
be extended to the way he managed to contain the three groups. Sukarno’s popular
strategy to control these three major forces was to unite them under the name
NASAKOM (‘Nationalis, Agama, Komunis’ which literally means ‘Nationalist,
Religion, Communism’). 264 This was a risky union: there were irreconcilable principles,
for example, between the religious groups and the communist members. Anderson
claims that Sukarno’s amalgamation of the three groups was a sign of his own power.
Anderson argues that
Sukarno’s formula could be interpreted not as a compromise or stratagem,
but as a powerful claim to the possession of Power by the ruler. By its terms
all other political actors were condemned to subordinate roles as parts of the
system: Sukarno alone was whole, ... absorbing all within himself, making
the syncretic conquest. 265
Sukarno’s strategy was exemplary of the way hegemonic masculinity remains in power.
Apart from political dynamics represented by NASAKOM, other crises emerged during
the Sukarno era that became the driving force for other fraternities to emerge and to
fight for their rights: they were the university students and Indonesian middle class. The
middle class during the Sukarno era was the result of transformation of the elites under
the Dutch. The students (often referred to as Angkatan 66 or ‘Class of 66’) were the first
262
John Beynon, p. 16.
Franklin B. Weinstein, Indonesian Foreign Policy and the Dilemma of Dependence. From Sukarno to
Soeharto (Jakarta; Kuala Lumpur: Equinox Publishing, 2007), p. 317.
264
Benedict Anderson, Language and Power, p. 29.
265
Benedict Anderson, Language and Power, p. 30.
263
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generation of educated men under the Indonesian system. 266 The dire economic
situation together with inflation and Sukarno’s relationship with the Indonesian
Communist Party which was not popular with the Indonesian public, had caused social
unrest. Tarrant describes the student demonstration in 1966 as comprised of the
“children of the educated middle class, [so] the movement acquired broad support
among the elite and influential.” 267 This demonstrates how Sukarno had stood for and
taken the role of the oppressive hegemonic masculinity. In turn he was under political
attack from the groups that he subordinated. In 1966 he stood down from power and
Suharto took over. In the following I describe how Suharto curbed any resistance from
different groups of Indonesian men, in an attempt to hamper the cycle of hegemonicsubordinated masculinity struggles from continuing. Nevertheless, Indonesian history
has proven that the masculinity cycle continues.
Indonesian Masculinity under Suharto
For Indonesian authorities during the Suharto era, the purpose of constructing
Indonesian history is political. 268 Indonesian men entered a period of intellectual
humiliation and ideological stagnation under Suharto. He learned his lesson from the
past that encouraging Indonesian young men to be critical would cost him his position.
Images of politically involved young men quickly disappeared and were replaced with
complacent ones. 269
Suharto became Indonesia’s second president and his rise to power was marked by
bloodshed that would haunt Indonesian people for next three decades. The birth of the
266
Daniel S. Lev, “Intermediate Classes and Change in Indonesia” in The Politics of Middle Class
Indonesia, eds. Richard Tanter and Kenneth Young (Clayton, Australia: Centre of Southeast Asian
Studies, No. 19, Monash University, 1990), p. 29.
267
Bill Tarrant, Reporting Indonesia. The Jakarta Post Story 1983 – 2008 (Singapore: Equinox
Publishing, 2008), p. 38.
268
Soedjatmoko, “The Indonesian Historian and His Time,” pp. 404 – 405.
269
See Saya S. Shiraishi, Young Heroes, p. 90.
85
New Order entailed mass killings between 1965 – 1966 that would terrorize Indonesian
people into silence. 270 Suharto spread the notion that the Indonesian Communist Party
was behind the 1965 mass killings. He incited fear of communism to justify his use of
violence on people and groups who posed political threats to his power. Suharto argued
that violence was necessary in order to protect Indonesia from the threat of
communism. 271
Suharto served the longest term as Indonesia’s president despite sporadic resistance to
his dictatorial leadership. His influence on the mentality of Indonesian people in general
and on Indonesian men in particular, was significant. The contrast between Sukarno’s
inclusivism, symbolized by NASAKOM, and the lack of it under Soeharto’s regime was
jarring. During Sukarno there were more than one hundred political parties. Suharto
only allowed three.
According to the rule of a patriarchal society, a man has to rule and lead, at least in his
own private space as the head of the family. 272 In public space, men are expected to
establish solidarity or build a fraternity with other men to monitor the hegemonic
power. 273 However, Suharto was highly suspicious of any organization unsanctioned by
the state. Any organization that was not endorsed by the state was treated as a
dangerous opposition. Fraternity in the form of any organization was viewed as a threat.
During this time, ordinary Indonesian men became apolitical. Suryakusuma calls this
the period of “stupidisation” when Indonesians were not allowed to exercise their
270
Ariel Heryanto, State Terrorism and Political Identity in Indonesia. Fatally Belonging (London and
New York: Routledge, 2006), pp. 17 – 18.
271
See Ariel Heryanto, State Terrorism, p. 194.
272
Catherine Hall, White, Male Middle Class. Exploration in Feminism and History (Cambridge, UK:
Polity Press in Association with Blackwell Publishers), pp. 15 – 16.
273
John Horne, pp. 26 – 27.
John Remy, pp. 43 – 54.
86
ideological and intellectual capacity freely but were treated as an apolitical “floating
mass”. 274 Frustration was running high for those who could not express their political
opposition. Men who risked demonstrating their resistance were dealt with severely,
both physically and mentally, individually and collectively (their family members,
relatives, friends, would suffer as well). 275 The most commonly used accusation of
dissenters or protesters was that they were “communists”. Anybody who did not agree
with the government was a “communist”. This is akin to practices under McCarthyism
in post-World War II USA.
Authority and power in Indonesian society are not distributed equally among its men. 276
A great majority of Indonesian civilian men occupied a subordinated position during
Suharto’s rule because of the concentrated power within Suharto’s circle. The stark
contrast between men’s authority at home and their submission in the public sphere
during Suharto’s New Order had an undignified effect on the majority of Indonesian
men who were not in high positions of power. Since men’s identity arises from their
involvement in the public sphere, the denial of this privilege had an emasculating effect
on these men. They were present in the public sphere but their freedom of speech was
severely restricted.
During this period, Indonesia men and women had very controlled roles in their relation
to the state. The state segregated the public and private spheres for men and women
respectively. Nilan says that “Smoothing out regional and cultural gender variations in
acceptable maleness and femaleness was part of this nationalizing process.” 277 Utilizing
274
Julia I. Suryakusuma, Sex, Power and Nation. An Anthology of Writings, 1979 – 2003 (Jakarta:
Metafor Publishing, 2004), p. 28.
275
Ariel Heryanto, State Terrorism, p. 18.
276
R.W. Connell, Masculinity, p. 37.
277
Pam Nilan, “Contemporary Masculinities and Young Men in Indonesia,” p. 330.
87
government-controlled media, Suharto promoted this gender divide. 278 Through the
media Suharto promoted the notion of fatherhood as a metaphor for his own leadership.
Indonesia was perceived as one big family and Suharto was the head of the family.
Indonesian people were his children who should obey the father. 279 He raised himself to
the level of the omnipotent father of Indonesia. This was made semi-official in his title,
“Bapak Pembangunan Indonesia” [Indonesia’s Father of Development], popularized by
the media.
A type of masculinity that became almost synonymous with Suharto’s leadership was
military masculinity. Suharto was a senior military general and had firm support from
the military. He dispatched them to the provinces as governors. Indonesia was
practically governed by the military under the scheme of the “dual function of the
military”. The scheme allowed men from the army (who were mostly Javanese) to be
given positions in the government. Suharto also constructed the hierarchy of the
government to parallel a military structure. As Schwarz explains,
Dwi fungsi or dual function…provided the theoretical backing for the military to
expand its influence throughout the government apparatus, including reserved
allocation of seats in the parliament and top posts in civil service. 280
The presence of Javanese military in every aspect of Indonesian social life created the
inevitable association that power during the New Order was male, military and
Javanese. Even Islam as the religion of the majority of the population did not enter into
278
See Philip Kitley, Television, Nation, and Culture in Indonesia (Athens, OH: Ohio University Center
for International Studies, 2000).
279
Arief Budiman, “Mythology and Ideology in Indonesia” in Indonesian in the Soeharto Years: Issues,
Incidents and Images (Singapore: The Lontar Foundation in Association with Ridge Books; Leiden:
KILTV, 2005), p. 377.
280
Adam Schwarz, A Nation in Waiting. Indonesia in the 1990s (St Leonards, Australia: Westview Press,
1994).
88
the equation of power. Suharto was known to surround himself with trusted army
generals who were Catholics such as LB Moerdani, JB Soemarlin, and Soedomo. 281
With his men all over Indonesia, Suharto’s pattern of leadership and also his method of
political thuggery were emulated. Local governments were smaller versions of
Suharto’s rule in their regions. Suharto’s method of leadership became entrenched in
society. Suharto maintained his followers’ loyalty by turning a blind eye to their wealth
 accumulated through tax and business privileges. Chinese businessmen particularly,
were economically privileged but politically discriminated against. Magnis-Suseno
maintains that
corruption was not rampant during the first 14 years of Indonesian
independence. It only became really pervasive under the total, paternalistic
power system of the New Order. The sources of the corruption of the New
Order government must be sought in its total monopoly of power. 282
During the first years of his term, Suharto’s children were still young. It was after
Suharto’s children started to become ‘independent’ that his ‘fatherly role’ became
overpowering. 283 He gave privileges to his children and relatives in running their
businesses. His men were ready to protect him because they were actually protecting
their own interests. This network was maintained through many aspects of Indonesian
social and political life. It created an intricate web of public offence that became the
norm. In Indonesia this acute and chronic phenomenon is named with the acronym
‘KKN’, which stands for corruption, collusion and nepotism (Korupsi, Kolusi dan
Nepotisme).
281
See Adam Schwarz, A Nation in Waiting.
Franz Magnis-Suseno, “Langsir Keprabon: New Order Leadership, Javanese Culture, and the Prospect
for Democracy in Indonesia.” Post-Soeharto Indonesia. Renewal or Chaos? Geoff Forrester, ed.
(Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1999), p. 225 – 6.
283
Franz Magnis-Suseno, “Langsir Keprabon,” p. 217.
282
89
Under Suharto’s leadership (1966 – 1998) a group of elite men emerged under a
different name. Linked with Suharto’s developmentalism, there was a new group of
Indonesian elites which emerged as Indonesia’s new middle class. This middle class
which started during the Suharto era was unique in that they were not only identified by
their high level of education but also by their pattern of consumption associated with
their education. Levels of education and educational institutions were intended as a
display of a person’s financial capacity and economic status, which eventually
determined a person’s social class. Gerke claims that
Education was another element of lifestyling. This is perhaps ironic but not
surprising, as the first step of being defined as ‘modern’ is to possess the
symbols of ‘modernity’, of which ‘education’ is an important icon. Thus, in
pre-crisis Indonesia, symbols of education defined middle-class membership
and the collection of these symbols reflected aspects of consumption. 284
Just like the elites from the Dutch and the Sukarno era, the New Order’s middle class
is also identified by their interest in politics due to their marginalization in this field.
Ariel Heryanto contends that
If middle-class activists appear to have played a leading role in the struggle
for demokratisasi, it is partly thanks to specific cultural and political histories.
Culturally, middle-class intellectuals in many Third World and former
socialist bloc countries enjoy the popular myth of moral superiority. 285
Towards the end of the twentieth century, the nation-wide corruption became
entrenched: the format of corruption in the central government was copied in the
regions. In 1998, massive student demonstrations demanded Suharto’s resignation.
Mass riots, anti-Chinese sentiment, and incessant student demonstrations finally forced
Suharto to step down from power. Previously, young Indonesian men united in fighting
against the Dutch; later, they protested against President Sukarno. A later generation
demanded that President Suharto step down. These young men have become political
icons that signify regime change and signal progress within the dynamics of Indonesian
284
285
90
Solvay Gerke, p. 148.
Ariel Heryanto, “Indonesian Middle-Class Opposition in the 1990s,” p. 263.
society. These students are examples of fratriarchal forces toppling an unwanted
patriarchal regime. Although Ariel Heryanto argues that the role of these young men
may have been heavily “romanticized” by attributing the fall of the regime to “largely
unorganized and voluntary masses” of students, their anti-authority attitude was a
trademark in Indonesian history up until 1998. 286 It should be noted as well that the
student protests stood for a middle class movement not only because these students
were identified by the media as middle class, but they also gained nation-wide support
from Indonesian middle class professionals who felt that the crisis under Suharto would
eventually affect them.
Post-Suharto
When Suharto passed away on 27 January 2008, Indonesians were divided between
condemning and forgiving him. 287 The death of Suharto and the arguments that
followed show that his demise was not necessarily the demise of his regime. Analyzing
the debates that followed Suharto’s death is important if we are to gauge his power and
its impact on the succeeding era. His legacy of corruption and collusion is difficult to
dismantle. It is proof of his continuing widespread influence and also explains the
continuing criticism of his legacy. Witoelar wrote in 2008:
During his nearly 33 years in power, Suharto seemed to have forged a
paternalistic pact with the people of Indonesia that went like this: I will build
infrastructure, raise income levels, reduce poverty, battle disease and
illiteracy and provide stability, and you will let me run the country as my
personal fiefdom. Other strongmen have made that same deal, but no one
286
Ariel Heryanto, State Terrorism, p. 166.
“Mantan Presiden Soeharto Meninggal”[Former President Soeharto Died], Tempointeraktif, Sunday,
27 Januari 2008.
http://www.tempointeraktif.com/hg/nasional/2008/01/27/brk,20080127-116268,id.html (date accessed 26
February 2008).
“Mahasiswa Sesalkan Toleransi Pemerintah pada Soeharto” [Students Regret Government’s Tolerance
over Soeharto’s Case] Tempointeraktif
http://www.tempointeraktif.com/hg/jakarta/2008/01/12/brk,20080112-115289,id.html (date accessed 26
February 2008).
“Sebanyak 67 Persen Masyarakat Maafkan Soeharto” [Sixty Seven Per Cent in Society Forgive
Soeharto] Gatra, 17 January 2008 http://www.gatra.com/artikel.php?pil=23&id=111386 (date accessed
26 February 2008).
287
91
ever implemented it on such a large scale — Indonesia is the world’s fourth
most populous nation — for so long.
Suharto was not forgotten for another reason: the attempts at political reform
since he left power have not produced a tangible improvement in the daily
lives of Indonesians. Corruption, cronyism, a lack of transparency and
accountability — they are all still around. 288
By this time most Indonesians felt that they had been left stranded to pick up the pieces
of political ruin after three decades of dictatorship.
Comments in the media after Suharto stepped down lamented the lack of leadership in
Indonesia. The general public who were unhappy with Suharto’s successors,
complained that Indonesia had been going through a leadership crisis. Since most
leaders are men, the leadership crisis may be interpreted as a masculinity crisis. Jusuf
Wanandi comments that “He [Suharto] was unwilling to prepare a new generation of
leaders, and as a result all the four presidents after him were not up to the task.” 289
Decentralization during the Reformasi decentralizes the hegemonic masculinity of the
central government. Decentralization marks a transition from a kind of patriarchy that
resided heavily in one man, to a more dispersed patriarchy localized in the regions. The
implication of this phenomenon is that now there are more intense struggles for power
because there are more opportunities at the lower level of the power hierarchy, and the
opportunities are more spread out. Escalating regional conflicts after the end of
Suharto’s era may show civilian men’s increasing involvement in politics and
governance, which was previously discouraged. The chain of regional conflicts after
288
Wimar Witoelar, “The Suharto Effect” Time Thursday, 31 January 2008
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1708576,00.html (date accessed 26 February 2008).
289
Jusuf Wanandi “Soeharto Era Comes to a Close” Jakarta Post, 28 January 2008.
http://beta.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/01/27/soeharto-era-comes-close.html (date accessed 26
February 2008).
92
1998 is one of the legacies of Suharto’s leadership that did not tolerate opposition and
difference.
After being oppressed politically and intellectually for so long, Indonesian men did not
know how to be a good opposition, to assert disagreement and to seek power peacefully.
Differences of opinion, or differences in religion and ethnicity seemed to incite physical
conflicts rather than a celebration of heterogeneity. Regional conflicts in Ambon, Poso,
and Kalimantan are just some of the examples of conflicts emanating from differences
of ethnicities and religions. 290 For so long Indonesians had had no experience of other
styles of leadership because any proposal for improvement on leadership during
Suharto’s time was ruthlessly dismissed.
The divided opinions on whether or not to forgive Suharto echoed the fragmentation of
Indonesian society, not only in responding to the social damage after his death but also
in terms of viewing their identity and unity as Indonesians. This is due to the fact that
during his reign of power, under the pretext of unity and despite the heterogeneity of
Indonesia, Suharto imposed his own idea of Indonesian-ness for fear of opposition.
Mackie observes that
He created a long-lived phase of political order and relative tranquillity such
as the country had not known since the height of Dutch colonialism. Yet that
order came at a great cost. It was created by the imposition of an artificial
and repressive set of ideas that abolished pluralism and by the engineering of
a paternalistic political framework that could not accommodate change. 291
His idea of Indonesia and his preferred version of Indonesian citizens were
disseminated through the state-owned television station, TVRI. 292 He was omnipresent
290
See Henk Schulte Nordholt.
Jamie Mackie “Cold War Hardman Shaped a Nation” The Australian 28 January 2008
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23117556-25837,00.html (date accessed 26
February 2008).
292
See Philip Kitley, Television, Nation, and Culture in Indonesia.
291
93
through state-controlled news, spreading his authority and his ‘achievements’ into farflung parts of Indonesia.
Suharto’s version of national identity negated ethnic identities (except his own) and
other identities like religious identities. Suharto’s Javanese ethnicity became a threat to
non-Javanese during his term. The backlash against the Javanese after his regime
collapsed was strong. Ayu Sutarto comments that
Java’s position was challenged after the reform. Coincidently, President
Soeharto and his wife were Javanese and they both loved Javanese culture.
When Soeharto’s government went down, the image of Javanese-ness went
down with it. Outside Java an anti-Java attitude emerged, of not accepting
Java because they saw Java as a colonizer and an uninvited guest, stealing
their regional assets. 293
As a Javanese, Soeharto absorbed many Javanese traditions into his leadership. 294 One
of these traditions is unquestioning obedience and loyalty to the leader. 295 Surrounded
by his trusted men, who were mostly Javanese men, his government was often referred
to as a Javanese kingdom rather than a Republic. The concentration of wealth and
development in Java added to the impression that his rule was Java-centric.
Suharto was seen by Indonesian people as trying present himself as a king rather than as
president. Langenberg notes that initially the notion of Suharto as a Javanese king or
sultan began with western academics. He says that
It is ... a view that appears to have its origin outside of Indonesia, chiefly in
early academic analyses of Suharto himself and of the ‘New Order’ polity
293
Posisi Jawa digugat setelah reformasi bergulir. Kebetulan Presiden Soeharto dan istrinya adalah
orang Jawa dan keduanya sangat mencintai budaya Jawa. Ketika pemerintahan Soeharto runtuh, citra
Jawa menjadi terpuruk. Di luar Jawa kini muncul sikap tidak suka Jawa atau tidak mau menerima Jawa
karena mereka menganggap Jawa sebagai penjajah dan tamu yang tidak diundang yang menjarah
kekayaan daerahnya. Ayu Sutarto, “Menjadi Jawa Sejati” [On Becoming a True Javanese]
http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~arpsb/Non_JavaAbstracts.html (date accessed 26 February 2008).
294
Franz Magnis-Suseno, “Langsir Keprabon,” pp. 214 – 245.
295
For study on Javanese leadership see Soemarsaid Moertono, State and Statecraft in Old Java. A Study
of the Later Mataram Period, 16th to 19thCentury. Monograph series (Publication no. 43) (Revised
Edition). Modern Indonesia Project. Southeast Asis Program. Itaca, New York: Cornell University, 1981
[1968].
94
emanating from the US and Germany. The subsequent dissemination of this
view within Indonesia would itself be an interesting facet of any intellectual
history of the Suharto era. 296
Indonesians started to think of Suharto as a king with absolute power when he began
demonstrating the dire consequences of being politically oppossed to his government.
Since Suharto’s downfall there have been waves of emotional backlash from those who
feel that their freedom of speech was suppressed and their identities negated during his
reign (such as those who were non-Javanese). Budiman et al state that “there was no
longer consensus about what it meant to be Indonesian.” 297 Now that there were so
many avenues for the expression of identities, Indonesians entered a euphoric period:
everyone was entertaining alternatives to the identity that had been imposed on them by
Suharto. One of the identities that had come to predominate in the Indonesian public
sphere since the end of the New Order was Islamic identity.
Islamic Masculinity as an Alternative to the New Order Masculinity
Under Suharto’s regime, Islam and Islamic groups were marginalized due to their
perceived threats to Suharto’s rule. 298 Since Indonesia’s independence, the relationship
between Islam as a socio-political movement and the state had been quite distant and
aloof. 299 The main issue started in 1945 when Islamic groups proposed that the state
should acknowledge and implement Islamic law or Syariah by mentioning it in
296
Michael van Langenberg, “How Might the Suharto Era Conclude?” Inside Indonesia, No. 48, (October
– December 1996), 13.
297
Arief Budiman, Barbara Hatley and Damien Kingsbury, “Introduction” in Reformasi. Crisis and
Change in Indonesia Arief Budiman, Barbara Hatley and Damien Kingsbury, eds (Clayton, Australia:
Monash Institute, 1999), p. i.
298
Arskal Salim, “Muslim politics in Indonesia’s Democratisation: the Religious Majority and the Rights
of Minorities in the Post-New Order Era” Indonesia: Democracy and the Promise of Good Governance,
Ross H. McLeod and Andrew MacIntyre, eds., (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2007), p.
116.
299
See Kristin Schulze, “Radicalization of Islam in Post-Suharto Indonesia” paper presented in the 57th
Political Studies Association Annual Conference. Europe and Global Politics, 11 -13 April 2007,
University of Bath. http://www.psa.ac.uk/2007/pps/Schulze.pdf. (date accessed 17 July 2007), p. 5.
95
Pancasila, the state’s ideology. 300 The request to include Syariah as a state ideology is
known as the Jakarta Charter. The Islamic groups’ request was rejected. Sukarno
attempted to appease the Islamic groups with his NASAKOM scheme which did not
work. Under Suharto, the state evaded the issue by being diplomatic and sometimes
violent. 301 Hefner argues that “the Jakarta Charter was to be a bone of contention for
years to come.” 302 The state’s argument against the implementation of Syariah was that
being the largest Muslim country in the world did not necessarily mean that Indonesia
needed to turn into an Islamic state. 303
The revival of Islam in Indonesia was partly due to Suharto himself. Towards the end of
this term in the 1990s, Suharto felt that he was losing military support. He turned to
Islamic groups for political reinforcement. Suharto saw that tapping into the strength of
the Islamic political movements had the potential for regaining his grip on power. From
there Indonesia went through a “spiritual renaissance” 304, with Islam flourishing in the
public sphere with Suharto’s blessing. Although Suharto declined to implement
Syariah, even as he was cultivating his relationship with Islamic groups, his support
was enough to create a significant change in the way Islam was expressed in public.305
A clear indicator of the newly expressed Islamic identity was television programmes
with religious themes. 306 Public places were also evidence of burgeoning Islamic
300
Robert W. Hefner, Civil Islam. Muslims and Democratization in Indonesia (Princeton, New Jersey;
Oxfordshire, United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 2000), p. 42.
301
Robert W. Hefner, “Islamization and Democratization in Indonesia” in Politic and Religious Renewal
in Muslim Southeast Asia. Robert W. Hefner and Patricia Horvatich, eds., (USA: University of Hawai’I,
1997), p. 186.
302
Robert W. Hefner, Civil Islam, p. 42.
303
Robert W. Hefner, “Islamization,” p. 186.
304
“Spiritual renaissance” quoted from David Savran, Taking it like a Man: White Masculinity,
Masochism and Contemporary American Culture (Princeton, N.J.; Chicester: Princeton University Press,
c 1998), p. 293.
305
Richard Robison, “The Middle Class and the Bourgeoisie in Indonesia” in The New Rich in Asia.
Mobile Phones, McDonald’s and Middle-Class Revolution, Richard Robison and David S.G. Goodman,
eds., (London; New York: Routledge, 1996), pp. 87 and 91.
306
“Kisah Tayangan yang Berlebihan” [Exaggerated Programs] Republika 25 September 2005.
http://www.republika.co.id/suplemen/cetak_detail.asp?mid=5&id=214449&kat_id=105&kat_id1=147
(date accessed 27 February 2008).
96
identity. There was a significant increase in the number of women wearing headscarves
when previously they were banned from state schools and state institutions. 307 Barton
observes that “Before the mid-1980s it was considered unfashionable to be seen to be
too earnest about one’s faith.” 308 Since the 1990s, it is fashionable to exhibit piety and
religiosity in public. Schwarz observes that,
No longer is Islam seen as the opiate of the uneducated and economically
deprived. Professionals and the middle class increasingly are seeing it as a
religion which can provide for their spiritual needs in the context of
contemporary society. ‘There is a new sense of pride in being a Muslim,’ says
Umar Juoro of the Centre for Information and Development Studies, a thinktank close to modernist Muslim leaders. ‘To be a good Muslim is very
mainstream. It is now very acceptable within the elite to study the Koran and
Islamic theology. Islam is no longer seen as a backward religion. 309
Towards the end of Suharto’s reign, there was a shift in the expression of masculinity
from secular to religious. The current revival of Islam has provided Indonesian men
with an alternative masculinity. Islam is seen as the renewed force that has the potential
to empower Muslim men within Indonesian society. Muslim men who were
subordinated during the New Order seek to regain power through their religion. By
using religion as a masculine trope, Indonesian Muslim men who were subordinated
during the New Order have found that according to their religion their masculinity was
more secure. According to their masculine interpretation of the Al Qur’an, male
superiority is sanctioned by God. For them, Islam is more democratic than the New
Order. The brotherhood of Islam is similar to what Horne calls the “Fraternity [which
is] an alternative source of political legitimacy to paternalism”. 310
307
Suzanne Brenner, “Islam and Gender Politics in the Late New Order Indonesia” in Spirited Politics:
Religion and Public Life in Contemporary Southeast Asia (Ithaca, New York: Cornell Southeast Asia
Program, 2005), p. 105.
308
Greg Barton, “The Prospect for Islam” in Indonesia Today. Challenges of History (Singapore: Institute
of Southeast Asian Studies, 2001), p. 245.
309
Adam Schwarz, pp. 174 - 175.
310
John Horne, p. 23.
97
Sri Bintang Pamungkas argues in relation to men’s involvement in politics that “[y]ou
can’t do anything without political power. 311 Within Islam, men can entertain the idea
that every man is granted power, including political power. Conway-Long, in his
research on Muslim Moroccan men, found that "[a] man’s power was seen as centring
in work, in his word or his intellect, in his personal control over decision making, and in
political power and leadership [emphasis added].” 312 This is similar to Indonesian
men’s sense of power that was curtailed under Suharto. After Suharto, Muslim men saw
Islam as an alternative vehicle for their male power which had not been accommodated
under Suharto. The resurgence of Islam seems to justify male political legitimacy. It
seems to put them on an equal footing with other men in power, hence narrowing the
gap between hegemonic and subordinate masculinity. This has shaped a different type
of masculinity exercised through religion, which intersects with politics.
Polygamy illustrates how fervently Muslim men exercise their newfound power by
using Islam as their source of legitimacy vis-à-vis secular men of the New Order. 313 The
practice was discouraged under Suharto’s leadership and defined as “backward”. 314
Since the practice of polygamy was allowed in Islam, creating the notion of the practice
as “shameful” or “backward” was perceived as an attack on Islam as a backward
religion. Radjab claims that “with the more powerful positions Muslims have had in the
state’s political institutions since the 1990s, there is a tendency for polygamy to be
311
Adam Schwarz, p. 182.
Don Conway-Long, “Gender, Power and Social Change in Morocco” in Islamic Masculinities, ed.
Lahoucine Ouzgane (London; New York: Zed Books, 2006), p. 145.
313
I use the term polygamy for practicality because it is the most widely used term to identify the
phenomenon of polygyny in Indonesian context. Despite the meaning of polygamy that refers to multiple
marriages, in Indonesia it is never used to denote polyandry.
314
Sonja van Wichelen, “Reconstructing ‘Muslimness’: New Bodies in Urban Indonesia” Geographies of
Muslim Identities: Diaspora, Gender and Belonging Cara Aitchison, Peter Hopkins, Mei-po Kwan, eds.,
(Hampshire, England; Burlington, USA: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2007), p. 101.
312
98
tolerated and practised openly.” 315 After the New Order, polygamy became an ‘Islamic
men’s movement’ against the previous regime. Wichelen argues that
’acting out’ polygamous behaviour or ‘acting out’ masculinity, suggests the
need among disempowered Muslim men to assert personal masculinity
potency against the hegemonic masculinity of the authoritarian New
Order. 316
Despite the fact that the tradition of polygamy dates back to pre-colonial times, and that
it is practised by different ethnicities with non-Islamic religions, currently the word
“polygamy” seems to be exclusively associated with Muslim men.317
The practice of polygamy during the post-Suharto era is exacerbated by the media’s
exposure of prominent Indonesian men who are polygamous. 318 The media’s tendency
to sensationalize coverage of polygamous unions made polygamy a national sensation
in 2005- 2006. Three prominent Indonesian men who are frequently associated with
polygamy are Puspo Wardoyo, Hamzah Has and AA Gym. The polygamous marriages
of Puspo Wardoyo and Hamzah Haz did not jeopardize their profession as politicians.
However, AA Gym’s reputation as a pious Muslim leader was drastically harmed as a
result of his second marriage. This demonstrates that the Indonesian public can tolerate
politicians’ polygamous practice more than religious preachers’, despite the fact that
polygamy is seen as a manifestation of their religiosity.
Advocates of Islamic polygamy claimed that Suharto’s policy was undemocratic
because it did not acknowledge the fact that polygamy was allowed in Islam. Therefore,
315
“…sejalan dengan menguatnya posisi umat Islam dalam institusi-institusi politik kenegaraan sejak
awal 1990-an hingga sekarang, kecenderungan praktek poligami ini semakin ditoleransi dan terbuka.”
Budi Radjab, “Meninjau Poligami; Perspektif Antropologis dan Keharusan Merubahnya” [Dissecting
Polygamy; an Anthropological Perspective and the Obligation to Make Change] Jurnal Perempuan, No.
31, (2003), 80.
316
Sonja van Wichelen, p. 104.
317
Susan Blackburn, Women and the State in Modern Indonesia (Cambridge: The Press Syndicate of the
University of Cambridge, 2004), p. 113.
318
Nina Nurmila, Women, Islam and Everyday Life: Renegotiating Polygamy in Indonesia (Milton Park,
Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge, 2009).
99
reclaiming the right to marry polygamously was presented by polygamy advocates as a
democratizing move. The new respectability for polygamy can be regarded as a means
of symbolically seizing male power that was lost to the New Order. The debates on
whether to criminalize or legalize polygamy can be seen as masculinity struggles acted
through balancing state law and Islamic law. Wichelen argues that “the act of being
polygamous seems to reaffirm masculinity rather than a mode of Muslim identity.” 319
Regardless of religion, multiple sexual relationships with women are very important to
men’s sense of power. Suryakusuma argues that, “the ‘possession’ of women is
considered a natural attribute of power, and among bureaucrats and technocrats sexual
access symbolises success.” 320 Polygamy in this case emphasizes men’s power vis-à-vis
the state, by contesting the state’s attempt to legislate monogamous regulation. It is also
an expression of power over women. Currently, this practice also has the added
confidence of being supported by some (but not all) followers of Islam.
Romano argues that “The idea of woman as a man’s property is fundamental to
oppression and she is often the only possession that dominant men allow exploited men
to keep.” 321 Using Romano’s argument, having more wives is seen as an indicator of
more property. Men’s possession of women may be interpreted as a sign of
subordinated men’s sense of equality with more dominant men. Heterosexual
relationships allow men to exercise their power over and on women. This compensates
for the subordinated men’s lack of political power in the public sphere. Polygamy can
be seen as a metaphor for male political power by looking at each family unit as a
microcosm of the state. Hall argues that the family is the place
319
Sonja van Wichelen, p. 93.
Julia I. Suryakusuma, Sex, Power and Nation, p. 198.
321
Movimento Femminista Romano “On Prostitution. Two Broadsheets and a Statement” Feminism and
Pornography, ed. Drucilla Cornell (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 350.
320
100
where men could be patriarchs, monarchs of all they surveyed, even if their
territory was modest and their subjects few. The family was central to social
organization and central to the power relations between the sexes. 322
What subordinated men lack in the public sphere can be substituted with power in the
private sphere.
Moving on After Suharto
The transition from one period to another always involves social turmoil that destabilizes the entrenched hegemonic masculinity. Robison argues that the “pursuit of
supreme patriarchal leadership has often lead to violence and terror which is a recurring
theme every time there is a major change in leadership.” 323 In every transition,
masculine identities are reconstructed and reproduced in order to demonstrate that the
leaders from the new era are different to (and supposedly better than) their predecessors.
324
Smith-Rosenberg, in her analysis of the formation of masculinities in the United States
in the eighteenth century, argues that “Revolutions are not gentle instruments. They
disrupt societies, fracture families, decentre identities.” 325 Although the social
upheavals within Indonesian society after independence rarely, if ever, qualify as
revolutions equivalent to the American Civil War, there is always a temporary
decentring of hegemonic masculine identities in each leadership period, only to be
replaced with more oppressive leadership under a new name.
322
Catherine Hall, White, Male Middle Class, pp. 15 – 16.
Richard Robison, “The Problem of Analysing the Middle Class as a Political Force in Indonesia” in
The Politics of Middle Class Indonesia, eds. Richard Tanter and Kenneth Ray Young (Clayton, Victoria:
Monash University Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, c1990), p. 127.
324
Daniel S. Lev, “Intermediate Classes and Change in Indonesia”, p. 39.
325
Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, “The Republican Gentleman: the Race to Rhetorical Stability in the New
United States” in Masculinities in Politics and War. Gendering Modern History, eds. Stefan Dudink,
Karen Hagemann, John Tosh (Manchester, UK; New York, US: Manchester University Press, 2004), p.
61.
323
101
I have demonstrated in this chapter that although Indonesia has undergone different
periods and has multiple discourses of leadership, there are always groups of men who
place themselves in opposition to the authorities. In this thesis I focus on the men who
form the elite groups or the “intermediate” class. 326 I mentioned earlier in this chapter
that their social identity varies. They are identified as the Indonesian elites, Indonesian
youth, Indonesian students, or Indonesian middle class. What they have in common is
that these ‘bands of brothers’ are located politically in between the ruling class and the
lower class. Their unique political position allows them to combine the awareness of
hardship as seen from the lower class with the educated political strategy of the ruling
class. History shows that they are Indonesia’s hope for change. It is this group of men
that is addressed by Indonesian men’ s lifestyle magazines.
In Chapter Two, I theorized men’s status as a gender and in Chapter Three I have
demonstrated how the theories in Chapter Two are manifested within the socio-history
of Indonesian men. In Chapter Four I discuss how conditions in Chapter Two and
Chapter Three are played out in the media. Chapter Four is about the media’s role in
reflecting, responding, and mediating different dynamics of masculinities in different
socio-political periods.
326
Daniel S. Lev, “Intermediate Classes,” pp. 25 – 48.
102
CHAPTER 4
Tracing the Ideology of Resistance in Men’s Lifestyle Magazines
[T]he mass media serve as a crucial ground for ideological battles in this
country. … This is partly due to the fact that the more formal political
venues (party politics, parliament, judiciary, etc.) have been reduced
largely to mere instruments of the ruling executive power. 327
This chapter develops the theoretical and historical aspects of masculinities from
Chapter Two and Chapter Three by exploring how those aspects find expression in the
media. I argue that the domination of the mass media by hegemonic masculinity will
always generate responses from non-hegemonic masculinities. This chapter explores
how the media respond to pressures from hegemonic authorities. I provide examples
from Indonesian media and men’s lifestyle magazines in the west. In the last section I
take some articles from Playboy Indonesia as a case study of alternative media to
demonstrate my point.
The chapter is based on the notion that society and the media react to each other, and
the notion that history and the media are not actually separate categories. History is
mediated and the media have the capacity to record history. Grossberg et al argue that
The media have become an inseparable part of people’s lives, of their sense
of who they are and of their sense of history. The media provide an ever
larger part of the imagery and soundtrack of people’s memories. 328
As highlighted in previous chapters, masculinities are historical and the journey of
masculinities is a history of power. The media provide a site to explore how masculine
power is played out between different groups of men. Flood et al argue that “Journalism
327
Ariel Heryanto, “Indonesia: the Middle Class in the 1990s” in Political Oppositions in Industrialising
Asia, ed. Garry Rodan ( London; New York: Routledge, 1996), p. 247.
328
Lawrence Grossberg, Ellen Wartella, D. Charles Whitney, J. Macgregor Wise, Mediamaking. Mass
Media in a Popular Culture (California: Sage Publication, 2006), p. 3.
103
and news serve the interest of men and masculinity.” 329 So the mainstream media are
the men’s stream media. 330
Waltz argues that studies on the media often focus on the mass media or the mainstream
media and how they become an extension of power for the influential men behind them,
as a result of concentrated ownership. 331 However, Waltz notes that “it’s also true that
the media outside the mainstream has expanded to a huge extent in the past few
decades.” 332 The mainstream media usually invite reactions in the form of alternative
media, in the same way that the exercise of power invites resistance and agency. This
chapter looks into how the media function as an exercise of agency. It looks particularly
into the appropriation of the media by men who felt that their masculinities are
marginalized.
Alternative Media for Alternative Masculinities
I use the concept of alternative media in this chapter not in an effort to designate a genre
of media. I find that the ‘alternative’ concept of alternative media is useful to refer to
way the media provide different sides of the story − an alternative discourse − in an
attempt to express resistance, challenge, disagreement, or opposition to the dominant
discourse provided by the state. I use the term alternative media in this chapter not in a
radical sense. I use the word ‘alternative’ to designate how the media (both mainstream
and minority media) from time to time would respond to the dominant discourse
circulating in society by providing an alternative discourse as an alternative point of
view.
329
Michael Flood, Judith Gardiner, Bob Pease and Alan Pringle, eds. International Encyclopaedia of Men
and Masculinity (New York: Routledge, 2007), p. 351.
330
This applies not just to the media, but to many aspects in society in which the mainstream is the “male
stream”. See Inter-Parliamentary Union, Equality in Politics: A Survey of Women and Men in Parliaments
(Geneva, Switzerland: Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2008), p. 37.
331
Mitzi Waltz, Alternative and Activist Media (Edinburg, UK: Edinburg University Press, 2005), p. viii.
332
Mitzi Waltz, p. 1.
104
In applying the word ‘alternative’ to men’s lifestyle magazines I point out that men’s
lifestyle magazines as a genre can be categorized strategically as an alternative media
because of the way they express resistance to certain conditions in society. I argue that
men’s lifestyle magazines are mainstream media but they advocate alternative
masculinity, which is non-hegemonic. I elaborate this argument further in Chapter
Seven.
In media studies, particularly in Asian media, there has been a growing interest in
alternative media. This kind of media is often located in opposition to the mainstream
media. Waltz provides an all-encompassing and flexible definition of alternative media,
which is useful to define the relation of the Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines in my
research with the mainstream media. Waltz argues that
One could choose simply to deconstruct the term ‘alternative media’ to reveal
a basic definition. It describes media that are alternative to, or in opposition
to, something else: mass-media products that are widely available and widely
consumed. Even a mass-media product like CNN could constitute an
‘alternative’ in a repressive society where all outside media are banned, such
as North Korea. But in situations where a variety of mass-media products is
available, those media that provide a different point of view from that usually
expressed, that cater to communities not well served by the mass media, or
that expressly advocate social change would meet this very basic
definition. 333
Another broad definition of alternative media that particularly suits third world
countries is the promotion of democracy through inclusion and participation of people
who are excluded from the mainstream media. 334 Since dictatorial governments often
control the mainstream media in third world countries, the condition has lead to less
333
Mitzi Waltz, p. 2.
For the link between alternative media and democracy see Caroline Hughes, “Introduction:
Democratization and Communication in the Asia-Pacific Region” Pacific Affairs, Vol. 78, No. 1 (Spring
2005), 11.
For general information about alternative media, see Chris Atton, Alternative Media (London: Sage,
2002).
334
105
freedom of the press. 335 Alternative media’s role in advocating equality and
inclusiveness in terms of freedom of expression can be seen as an exercise of
democracy. Since democracy is not always welcomed in an authoritarian government,
alternative media pose a challenge to the mainstream media and, by extension, to the
authority that controls the mainstream media.
In a way, alternative media operate like citizen journalism, which means that ordinary
people have the rights to voice their opinions and evaluate issues from their own
perspectives that might be different from the authorities’ point of view. 336 Since
enforcing democracy is part of the purpose of running an alternative medium,
discussion of alternative media often relates to the process of nation-building where a
dictatorial rule is being challenged. This is particularly true in many Asian countries
where censorship, media monitoring process and monopoly of expression belie the
supposedly democratic foundation of the countries. 337
In China, for example, non-commercial video documentaries have been seen as
alternative media since they expose issues that the Chinese authorities try to silence.338
A community radio in India, which provided information about a local election in South
India in 2005, has been dubbed as an alternative media because it sided with the
people’s interest rather than with the authorities. 339 In Indonesia, Sen and Hill view the
335
Simeon Djankov, Tatiana Nenova, Caralee McLiesh and Andrei Shleifer, “Who Owns the Media?”
Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 46, No. 2 (October 2003), 373.
336
Citizen journalism refers more to bloggers and ordinary people (read: non-journalists) contributing
online. See Joseph Straubhaar, Robert LaRose, Lucinda Davenport, Media Now. Understanding Media,
Culture and Technology (Wadsworth, California: Cengage Learning, 2009), p. 109.
For more on citizen jourmalism, see, Dan Gillmor, We the Media. Grassroot Journalism by the People,
for the People (California: O’Reilly Media, 2006).
337
See Kalinga Seneviratne, ed. Media Pluralism in Asia. The Role and Impact of Alternative Media
(Singapore: Asian Media Information and Communication Centre, 2007).
338
Yingjin Zhang, Cinema, Space, and Polylocality in a Globalizing China (Honolulu: University of
Hawai’i, 2010), pp. 103 – 137.
339
Ashish Sen, “India: Regulation Need to Catch Up with Technology” in Media Pluralism in Asia. The
Role and Impact of Alternative Media, ed. Kalinga Seneviratne (Singapore: Asian Media Information and
Communication Centre, 2007), p. 38.
106
internet as an alternative media in the lead up to the collapse of the New Order in 1998,
due to the internet’s elusive nature in avoiding the regime’s censorship. 340
The highly commercialized nature of Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines may render
them unqualified to be regarded as alternative media. In their article on alternative
media in Indonesia, Shita Laksmi and Ignatius Haryanto do not include men’s lifestyle
magazines. They mention community radio, Islamic magazines, and book publishers
specializing in sensitive political topics, as examples of alternative media. 341 It is true
that as a genre, men’s lifestyle magazines may be categorized as popular media
associated with consumerism which makes them mainstream rather than alternative.
Furthermore the licensed magazines’ link with international companies may create the
image that the magazines are part of the mainstream media, rather than a channel for
non-hegemonic Indonesian men’s voice. However, following Waltz’s definition, I
propose that men’s lifestyle magazines’ status as an alternative to the mainstream media
is possible despite its popular and commercial categories suggest. One of the reasons is
that, despite its popular genre, men’s lifestyle magazines are not as mainstream as
television or newspapers. Crewe argues that the western men’s lifestyle magazine as a
genre “was widely considered only a niche market serving a minor audience at the
margins of the male public body.” 342
Another reason that qualifies Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines as an alternative
media is the way the information is delivered in the magazines that suggests a departure
from the mainstream media either through the form, the point of view, or the content of
340
See David T. Hill and Krishna Sen, The Internet in Indonesia’s New Democracy (London: Routledge,
2005).
341
Shita Laksmi and Ignatius Haryanto, “Indonesia: Alternative Media Enjoying a Fresh Breeze” in
Media Pluralism in Asia. The Role and Impact of Alternative Media, ed. Kalinga Seneviratne (Singapore:
Asian Media Information and Communication Centre, 2007), pp. 53 – 85.
342
Ben Crewe, Representing Men, p. 42.
107
the news. According to Atton, this departure is sufficient to categorize a form of media
as alternative. One of Atton’s definitions of alternative media is that they have
their own construction of news, based on alternative values and frameworks
of news-gathering and access. In short, these values proceed from a wish to
present other interpretations of stories − and to present stories not normally
considered as news − which challenge the prevailing ‘hierarchy of access’. 343
This departure creates a discrepancy between text in the mainstream media and
alternative media. According to Scott, this discrepancy is significant to identify
resistance. Wider discrepancy indicates more intense resistance.
344
According to Scott, there are narratives of obedience that are performed in public, in the
service of the dominant group by the subordinated group. The subordinated group
observes these narratives of acquiescence in public, but create different and resistant
narratives whenever the dominant group is not present. Scott defines the public
narratives as “public transcripts” and the private resistance as “hidden transcripts”.
Using Scott’s theory, I identify the mainstream media as the “public transcript” and the
alternative media as the “hidden transcript”. Scott argues that the “public transcript” as
the name suggests, is the way communication is carried out according “to the
expectations of the powerful.” 345 The hidden transcript, on the other hand,
represents discourse ... that is ordinarily excluded from the public transcript
... by the exercise of power. The practice of domination, then, creates the
hidden transcript [emphasis in original]. If the domination is particularly
severe, it is likely to produce a hidden transcript of corresponding
richness. 346
Scott’s concept allows popular magazines to be categorized as ‘hidden transcripts’
despite their public circulation. It is the way the content is ideologically removed from
343
Chris Atton, Alternative Media, p. 10.
James C. Scott, Domination and the Arts of Resistance. Hidden Transcripts (New Haven and London:
Yale University Press, 1990), p. 5.
345
James C. Scott, p. 2.
346
James C. Scott, p. 27.
344
108
the mainstream that secures the status of Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines as
‘hidden transcripts’ and alternative media.
Media as Empowerment for Subordinated Groups
Alternative media can be traced through Indonesia’s history since colonization. Bearing
in mind that Indonesia was formerly a colony of the Netherlands, it is not surprising that
the first magazine was published in Dutch in 1779. 347 Initially, the magazines published
in the colony served the purpose of promoting and justifying the Dutch colonization.
Around the 1900s, Bintang Hindia journal was a pioneer in promoting the national
language and nationalism prior to the Youth Pledge in 1928. The use of Malay language
(an earlier form of Indonesian) by Bintang Hindia was a political device to promote the
concept of Indonesia as a nation, independent of the Dutch. The language acted as a
symbolic partition that separated the Dutch from the Indonesians. The language
promoted an Indonesian identity and symbolized the unity of its people. Wherever these
people were located in the archipelago, if they spoke the language, then they were
together in the struggle for independence.
In one of the editorial pages, in 1903, the magazine says:
Language has the capacity to raise or undermine a nation; language also has
the capacity to alienate or join people together.
Are you wondering now, my readers, why I wish that anyone who thinks,
speaks, dreams and makes promises in Malay should put every effort into
honouring this language in this honoured nation...
The sooner we establish the Malay language ... as the medium in which to
explain and describe anything that we wish to define, then the sooner we will
be able to raise the dignity of our nation. 348
347
Kata Pengantar: Majalah Indonesia yang tertua adalah Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch
Genootschaap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen yang diterbitkan pada tahun 1779 di Batavia (sekarang
Jakarta). Wartini Santoso, Katalog Majalah Terbitan Indonesia 1779 – 1927. Koleksi Perpustakaan
Nasional (Jakarta: Perpustakaan Nasional. Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 1983).
348
Basa itoelah jang teroetama akan meninggikan dan merendahkan bangsa, basa itoe poelalah, jang
mendjaoehkan dan mendekatkan manoesia, jang-sorang pada jang lain.
Heran djoegakah pembatjakoe sekarang, apa sebabnja, maka saja beringin soepaja sekalian orang, jang
berpikir dan berkata, bermimpi dan berdjandji didalam Basa malajoe itoe patoet berichtiar belaka,
soepaja basa ini mendjadi moelia didalam mata sekalian bangsa jang moelia... Bertambah lekas Basa
109
Thus Bintang Hindia was an alternative media in terms of spreading the idea of
Indonesia. The periodical introduced and disseminated the idea of using Malay as a
linguistic weapon with which to fight the Dutch.
After independence, periodicals flourished under the leadership of Indonesia’s first
president, Sukarno. In the Sukarno era, these magazines became the medium through
which to promote and support the ideologies of political parties that were burgeoning.
There were more than one hundred political parties at the time. Many periodicals were
either fully owned or co-owned by the political parties. 349
Sukarno wanted to develop the political awareness and sophistication of the Indonesian
people. He wanted the people of the Republic of Indonesia to be able to make informed
decisions with regards to their own fate. According to Adrian Vickers,
National and regional newspapers, born out of the Revolution, acted as
vehicles for its ideals, and carried optimistic messages about the new nation,
even while being heavily critical of individual politicians.
Newspapers were owned by political parties, but presented a range of
common issues: solidarity between new nations, the welfare of the people,
and the importance of a unified Indonesia. 350
The political atmosphere at the time allowed for more freedom of expression through
these periodicals than the Suharto era.
malajoe itoe bolih dipakai ... akan menerangkan dan meloekiskan sekalian jang hendak kita gambarkan,
maka bertambah lekaslah tinggi pangkat bangsa kita. Bintang Hindia, 15 June 1903.
349
For a sample list of publications after independence, see Benedict Anderson, Bibliography of
Indonesian Publication: Newspapers, Non-Government periodicals and Bulletins, 1945 – 1958, at
Cornell University (Ithaca, New York: Southeast Asia Program, Dept. of Far Eastern Studies, Cornell
University, 1959).
350
Adrian Vickers, A History of Modern Indonesia, p. 126.
110
When Suharto came into power in 1966 he realized that the media was a powerful tool
that had the capacity to liberate or contain the masses. He chose to contain the masses.
The state was to have full control of the mass media because they were seen as a
dangerous tool that, in the wrong hands, could threaten the stability that Suharto
imposed. The containment of the national and regional print media was implemented
through the publishing permit. This permit, known as SIUPP (Surat Ijin Usaha
Penerbitan Pers), was a screening mechanism designed to select who should be given
the privilege to run a print media business. This mechanism involved the slow process
of screening all the people who held important positions in the editorial board. 351 This
screening was often done under the pretext of making sure that nobody had a
background linked with the Indonesian Communist Party. More importantly, it was to
make certain that nobody involved in a magazine or newspaper had a history of being
too critical of the government. Consequently, media ownership was gathered around
Suharto’s family, relatives and cronies, forming what Hill and Sen dub “The Palace
Press.” 352
Journalists from the New Order were familiar with tacit codes of conduct that they
should follow. Journalists were trained to report social injustice by revealing the facts
but disguising the criticism. 353 Sri Mustika, a former reporter for Femina, 354 mentioned
that the owner, Sofyan Alisyahbana, once briefed the staff, saying that, “I want to sleep
tight, okay. I want to sleep tight so don’t write anything outrageous.” 355 The difficulty
in following the tacit code of not reporting “anything outrageous” lay in the fact that it
351
See Janet Steele, Wars Within: the Story of Tempo, an Independent Magazine in Soeharto's Indonesia
(Jakarta: Equinox Publishing; Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2005).
352
Krishna Sen and David T. Hill. Media, Culture and Politics in Indonesia (Melbourne: Oxford
University Press, 2000), pp. 59 - 61.
353
Interview with Yosep Adi Prasetyo, journalist, on 16 June 2008.
354
For a deeper analysis of Femina, see Suzy Azeharie, “Representations of Women in Femina: An
Indonesian Women’s Magazine.” Master of Philosophy Thesis at Murdoch University, Western Australia,
1997.
355
“Saya ingin tidur nyenyak ya. Saya ingin tidur nyenyak jadi jangan bikin tulisan yang macammacam.” Interview with Sri Mustika, 1 July 2008.
111
could not be verified with the authorities. There were great inconsistencies in penalizing
any supposed code breaking. Every journalist was kept guessing. This was similar to
other law enforcement in Indonesia. 356
According to Ariel Heryanto, this kind of uncertainty and obfuscation was cultivated by
the New Order in order to maintain power. 357 If repressive regulation is exercised
randomly, it will be more difficult to fight back because the reprimand is unpredictable.
Shiraishi says that Indonesian authorities during the New Order exercised their power
arbitrarily. 358 From time to time the authorities would select cases to be set as examples
of the dire consequences of non-conformity. This resulted in extreme self-censorship on
the media’s part for fear of ‘the phone call’. The jargon ‘budaya telepon’ or ‘phone
culture’, refers to the habit of the Indonesian authorities during the New Order of calling
editors whenever they were not pleased with any articles run in the media or when they
feared that an investigative journalist was getting too close to revealing a scandal.
Apparently anticipation of random phone calls was highly effective in making
journalists wary. Mustika comments
As a journalist you were constantly haunted by deadlines and phone calls.
The atmosphere could get so intense. At that time a journalist could just get
picked up and disappear, we never know where he was taken, and when he
finally turned up he could be badly beaten up. Look at Udin’s case. Nobody
knows who were involved. 359
356
See Ariel Heryanto, State Terrorism.
See Ariel Heryanto, State Terrorism.
358
Saya Sasaki Shiraishi, Young Heroes, p. 110.
359
Jadi wartawan itu selain dikejar setan deadline itu ya telpon itu. Suasananya itu bisa mencekam gitu
ya. Karena kan ketika itu bisa aja wartawan itu dicomot, kita nggak tahu, dia dibawa ke mana tahu-tahu
udah remek kan. Nah buktinya yang kasusnya Udin itu sampai sekarang hilang kan.. Sampai sekarang
juga nggak ketahuan, siapa yang terlibat. Interview with Sri Mustika on 1 July 2008.
357
112
Udin was a journalist from Yogyakarta who reported an alleged bribery scandal
involving a head of Bantul region during a regional election. 360 The mystery of his
death has never been resolved.
However, one of the positive outcomes of this suffocating environment was that it
created resilience. Tempo was one Indonesian publication that reached an iconic status
because of its resilience. As a current affairs magazine, Tempo was willing to test the
boundaries by reporting issues that were sensitive, which the Indonesian government
preferred to be silenced. It had several critical encounters with the authorities before it
was finally banned on 21 June 1994.361 Using Scott’s definition, Tempo’s critical
reporting became “the privileged site for nonhegemonic, contrapuntal, dissident, [and]
subversive discourse.” 362
After Tempo was banned, the demonstrations from the general public that ensued
indicated the frustration of the Indonesian people with regards to their lack of freedom
of speech. These people were not just defending their magazine. They were defending
their freedom of political expression. 363 Although Tempo was not a men’s magazine, it
reflects the masculine nature of the public sphere. It represents men’s role and
contribution as citizens to the nation. Tempo had to report social injustice because it was
part of their masculine oppositional role. Tempo and its supporters stood for the
fraternal position against the political ‘father’ of the New Order.
360
“Sogok Rp. 1 Miliar, Penyunatan Dana IDT, atau the Other Man ? Apa bayaran untuk seorang
wartawan yang menuliskan kebenaran? Fuad Muhammad Syarifuddin, 35, wartawan harian Bernas
Yogyakarta, harus membayar dengan nyawanya.” [Is it 1 Billion Bribery, IDT Fund Corruption or the
Other Man? What is the reward for a journalist who tells the truth? Fuad Muhammad Syarifuddin, 35, a
journalist
from
Bernas
Daily
in
Yogyakarta
had
to
pay
with
his
life]
http://www.tempo.co.id/ang/min/01/27/nas2.htm (date accessed 2 April 2010).
361
Janet Steele, Wars Within, p. 234.
362
James C. Scott, p. 25.
363
Janet Steele, Wars Within, p. 234.
113
In the following I shift to the United States of America to the country of origin of
Playboy. My intention is to demonstrate different forms of hidden transcripts and
alternative media. The relevance to the Indonesian context is obvious: Playboy was
licensed in Indonesia, albeit for a short time, and other men’s lifestyle magazines
published in Indonesia also adopted Playboy’s formula of combining female sexuality
and serious articles.
Playboy and The New Lad Magazines
A magazine does not originate from a social vacuum. It is necessary to look briefly into
the society at the time when a magazine was first published, in order to read the
resistant message. In Playboy’s case, the magazine was a reaction to sexual
conservatism in America in the 1950s. It was the period when practices such as
premarital sex and homosexuality were frowned upon. 364 Hefner declared that his
purpose in publishing Playboy “was to break through the stifling sexual attitudes of the
1950s with an unabashed celebration of healthy heterosexuality.” 365
In publishing Playboy, Hugh Hefner is said to have been inspired by Alfred C. Kinsey’s
book and his spirit of sexual liberation. The book was entitled Sexual Behaviour in the
Human Male, written in 1948. Using statistics, the book argues that sexual practices that
were perceived as taboos were in fact more ‘normal’ than people at the time were
willing to admit. His book attempts to normalize sexual acts deemed perverse according
to the sexual morés of the time, such as homosexuality, premarital sex and
364
See, David Allyn, Make Love not War. The Sexual Revolution: an Unfettered History (Boston; New
York; London: Little, Brown and Company, 2000).
Angus McLaren, Twentieth-Century Sexuality (Oxford, UK; Massachusetts, USA: Blackwell Publishing,
1999), pp. 166 - 192.
365
History of Playboy Magazine part 1 http://www.trivia-library.com/c/history-of-playboy-magazinepart-1.htm (date accessed 12 September 2008).
114
masturbation. 366 Kinsey is thought of as one of the people that inspired the sexual
revolution in 1960s. 367 It is not an exaggeration for Reisman and Eichel to say that
No man in modern times has shaped public attitudes to, and perceptions of,
human sexuality more than the late Alfred C. Kinsey. He advocated that all
sexual behaviours considered deviant were normal.
More than any other documents in history, [Kinsey’s books] have shaped
Western society’s beliefs and understanding about what human sexuality is. 368
Playboy supported Kinsey’s research by funding an institution called the Office of
Research Services of the Sex Information and Education Council for the US (SIECUS),
that promoted a Kinseyan type of sex education. 369 Playboy also provided funding to
change the attitudes of medical students at the University of Minnesota, because
today’s medical students and practicing physicians perpetuate arbitrary
judgements about normal and abnormal sexuality... [and] are ignorant of the
variety of possible human sexual expressions. 370
Playboy and its support for a more accommodating sexual attitude, stood for the
defiance of the ideologically subordinated men against their ideological ‘father’ who
represented the sexual norm of the era.
The concept of Playboy magazine, as formulated by Hefner, combines sexual pleasures
and intellectual exploration of issues of public interest. Allyn contends that
Hefner had no interest in being branded a pornographer, so he included
enough serious material – short stories, interviews, investigative journalism,
and cultural criticism by prominent writers – to make his magazine
respectable in the eyes of middle-class Americans. 371
366
Judith A. Reisman and Edward W. Eichel, Kinsey, Sex and Fraud. The Indoctrination of a People
(Lafayette, Louisiana: Lochinvar-Huntington House Publication, 1990), p. viii and Angus McLaren,
Twentieth-Century Sexuality (Oxford, UK; Massachusetts, USA: Blackwell Publishing, 1999), p. 146.
367
Angus McLaren, Twentieth-Century Sexuality (Oxford, UK; Massachusetts, USA: Blackwell
Publishing, 1999), p. 167.
368
Judith A. Reisman and Edward W. Eichel, pp. 1- 2.
369
Judith A. Reisman and Edward W. Eichel, p. 4.
370
Judith A. Reisman and Edward W. Eichel, p. 4.
371
David Allyn, Make Love not War, p. 27.
115
This concoction of sex and intellect resonated strongly with expressions of masculinity.
Sex was viewed as men’s privilege and intelligence was perceived to belong to men.
The scantily clad women referred to the notion that men always wanted sex and women
were always ready to fulfil this need. 372 The serious columns represented men’s
association with reason and indicated that men’s position was in the public sphere.
Playboy was a rebel against the patriarchal prudery of the 1950s, but it did not
deconstruct gender ideology. Female sexuality was, and still is, used as a symbol of
rebellion. Borrowing Scott’s term, sex serves as a “symbolic resistance.” 373 In Playboy,
female sexual representations merely reflect the existing gender structure, which is
appropriated as empowerment for men who felt that their sexual expression was
repressed under the sexual conservatism of the era.
Although Playboy originated in the US, Edwards points out that “the rapid expansion of
men’s lifestyle magazines is in some ways a peculiarly English phenomenon.” 374 There
was a thirty-year gap from the first publication of Playboy in the 1950s in the United
States and the appearance of its younger counterparts in the United Kingdom in the
1980s. Crewes refers to the gap as “the ‘graveyard’ of magazine publishing” due to the
insignificance and small number of men’s publication. 375
The rise of men’s lifestyle magazines in the United Kingdom in the 1980s was often
associated with the rising discourse of masculinity crisis. The development of men’s
lifestyle magazines was seen to parallel the development of feminism that caused the
crisis. The men’s lifestyle magazines are linked to the construction of new lad
372
See Alan Soble, “Why Do Men Enjoy Pornography?” and Harry Brod, “Pornography and the
Alienation of Male Sexuality”.
373
James C. Scott, p. 184.
374
Tim Edwards, Cultures of Masculinity (London and New York: Routledge, 2006), p. 37.
375
Ben Crewe, Representing Men, p. 1.
116
masculinity. The new lad personifies English laddishness in the face of the masculinity
crisis. In men’s lifestyle magazines this new lad is translated into attitudes that are
“post-feminist (if not anti), pre-eminently concerned with beer, football and shagging
women.” 376
The widespread discourse of masculinity crisis, and the burgeoning of men’s lifestyle
magazines were indicators of the changes that men went through in terms of addressing
their masculinity. MacKinnon says that
With the gradually increasing pressure of gender equality, it seems a market
was created for representation of power in the arena men could still claim as
distinctively their own. 377
In other words, men’s lifestyle magazines acted as a virtual boys’ club for men, that
remained untouched by feminism and women’s movement for gender equality. Men’s
lifestyle magazines became the alternative public sphere for men. Unlike the workforce,
the public sphere of the magazines was not invaded by women as men’s equals. Women
in the magazines were there in the service of men and to emphasize their masculinity.
The new lad highlights the new realities of men and masculinities that express
uncertainty and restlessness. Breadwinning that used to be exclusively men’s domain is
now shared with women. The shifting pattern in hiring employees has seen a
diminishing number of tenured or permanent appointments. The insecurity of contract
jobs and the competition with women in the workforce are compensated for in the
magazines with brash and loud attitudes reflected in their cheeky and sexist articles.
376
Rosalind Gill, “Power and the Production of Subjects: a Genealogy of the New Man and New Lad” in
Masculinity and Men’s Lifestyle Magazines, ed. Bethan Benwell (Oxford; Massachusetts: Blackwell
Publishing, 2003), p. 37.
377
Kenneth MacKinnon, Representing Men. Males and Masculinity in the Media (London: Arnold; New
York: Oxford University Press, 2003), p. 12.
117
Brian McNair observed that the pleasures of the new lad were “to be pursued henceforth
without apology or guilt.” 378
The new lad is often contrasted with the new man. Both were created within the media.
They are reflections of the wider impact of feminism on men. The new man refers to the
gentlemanly response to gender equality. Gill explains that
The ‘new man’ is generally characterized as sensitive, emotionally aware,
respectful of women, and egalitarian in outlook – and, in some accounts, as
narcissistic and highly invested in his physical appearance.” 379
This attitude is represented by the more elegant men’s lifestyle magazines such as
Esquire and GQ. The new man is “overwhelmingly restricted to affluent, white, able
bodied heterosexual men.” 380 He is also perceived as older and more mature, more
intellectual and more dominant. Most importantly the new lad and the new man
correspond to class differences which are the main source of social dynamics in English
society.
The new lad represents a group of men who are resisting this domination. The new lad
reconstructs itself by seeking to occupy the opposite domain. This group is perceived as
young and coming from the working class, but they are more up-to-date on popular
culture, unlike the conservative new man. Tim Southwell, a former editor of a new lad
magazine called loaded, says that “Arena, GQ and Esquire had been around for a while
[but] they were laughably out of touch.” 381 The new lad and new man phenomenon
resonates strongly with the struggle between the hegemonic masculinity of the new man
and the subordinated masculinity of the new lad. However, the new lad phenomenon
378
Brian McNair, Striptease Culture, p. 159.
Rosalind Gill, “Power and the Production of Subjects” p. 37.
380
Jim McKay and Janine Mikosza and Brett Hutchins, ““Gentlemen, the Lunchbox has Landed”
Representations of Masculinities and Men’s Bodies in the Popular Media” in Handbook of Studies on
Men and Masculinities, Michael S. Kimmel and Jeff Hearn and R.W. Connell, eds. (California; London;
New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2005), p. 281.
381
Peter Jackson and Nick Stevenson and Kate Brooks, Making Sense of Men’s Magazines (Oxford, UK;
Malden, US: Polity Press, 2001), p. 33.
379
118
was not all coarse and rough as opposed to the refined and dignified new man.
Eventually the new lad was suffused with sophistication in keeping with demands from
advertisers.
Peter Jackson et al explain this strategic transformation by arguing that editors of the
new lad magazines construct the readers of their magazines as young men who have
access to both “high and low culture.” With this mobility, they can sneer at both sides
(the posh new man and the uncultured new lad) but nobody can accuse this
sophisticated new lad of being ignorant. This new lad group has sufficient knowledge of
both cultural sides to make fun of, resist and subvert both sides. 382 This projects the
notion of an elite batch of young men who can still have fun and be blokey without
jeopardizing their social status by pulling it down to the coarse working class:
‘FHM Man’ is constructed as young(ish), single, successful in work,
successful with the opposite sex, fit and active and concerned with his body,
yet also knowing how to have a good time with his mates. The focus is much
less a specific areas of interest but much more on general ‘maleness’...The
outcome of this is that such magazines present numerous ‘masculinities’ for
readers to consume and endless possibilities for the reflexive constructions of
the self. 383
Since these lifestyle magazines are different from current affair magazines, the
difference can be read as providing men with more venues to express their
masculinities. In the absence of the dominant discourse that usually predominates mass
media, men’s lifestyle magazines allow insight into the discourse of non-hegemonic
masculinities. In this way, the magazines provide the audience with the transcript that is
“hidden” from the mass media or current affair magazines.
382
Peter Jackson and Nick Stevenson and Kate Brooks, p. 39.
Robin Bunton and Paul Crawshaw, “Consuming Men’s Health: Risk, Ritual and Ambivalence in Men’
Lifestyle Magazines” in Consuming Health. The Commodification of Health Care, eds. Saras Henderson
and Alan Peterson, (London, New York: Routledge, 2002), p. 193.
383
119
In the following I explore Playboy Indonesia’s articles to show how discourses that do
not make their appearance in the mass media, are used by the magazine to mark their
difference as a minority media that caters to smaller audience.
New Journalism: Playboy Indonesia as a Case Study
This section discusses the art of framing information in Indonesian men’s lifestyle
magazines by using Playboy Indonesia as a case study. The section is about a method
of reporting called New Journalism that adds character to the magazines’ journalism by
differentiating it from the formal reporting style of the mainstream media such as
newspaper or current affairs magazines.
The discussion is directed to the employment of New Journalism as a form of reporting
that is appropriated by the masculine press. Despite the fact that other media may use
this method of reporting, New Journalism is often associated with men’s lifestyle
magazines. I argue that due to the somewhat rebellious nature of New Journalism, the
engagement of these magazines with New Journalism contributes further to the
construction of masculinities within the magazines. New Journalism is a method of
writing news that flows like a short story or a novel. In Indonesia, New Journalism is
often referred to as literary journalism or Jurnalisme Sastrawi. 384
This style was popularized in America in the 1970s. New Journalism is a style of
reporting that uses literary devices. It is a non-fiction style that reads like a fictional one.
Crewe argues that “New Journalism had challenged the norms and practitioners of the
American Journalists establishment” because of the way it mixes facts with fiction-like
384
Andreas Harsono, “Silabus Kursus Jurnalisme Sastrawi XII, Jakarta, 18 – 27 Juni 2007’ [Syllabus for
the 12th Literary Journalism Course, Jakarta, 18 – 27 June 2007] Andreas Harsono
http://andreasharsono.blogspot.com/2007/06/silabus-kursus-jurnalisme-sastrawi-xii.html (date accessed
13 June 2010)
120
quality. 385 The popularity of New Journalism is credited to Tom Wolfe. He compiled
New Journalistic articles in a book entitled New Journalism. This book showcases
articles that are written with the style of New Journalism. Wolfe’s definition of the New
Journalism is
to write accurate non-fiction with techniques usually associated with novels
and short stories...it was possible in non-fiction, in journalism, to use any
literary device, from the traditional dialogisms of the essay to the stream-ofconsciousness, and to use many different kinds simultaneously, or within a
relatively short space...to excite the reader both intellectually and
emotionally. 386
Fallowell observes Wolfe’s intention and argues that
Reportage was always considered an inferior occupation for a writer,
whereas Wolfe is aggressive in his believe that the new journalism is the
successor to the novel and the short story. 387
Wolfe saw a solution in using this genre to combine two professions: the reporter and
the writer.
New Journalistic articles were published in popular media like Esquire and Playboy. 388
Tom Wolfe was in fact found by Esquire in the 1960s. 389 This shows that there was
early involvement by men’s lifestyle magazines in promoting this style of journalism.
Because of its form and its association with popular print media like men’s lifestyle
magazines, New Journalism in this period was seen as a deviation from the mainstream
reporting genre.
I am interested in the ideology behind New Journalism that is useful in linking it with
the agency of subordinated masculinity in men’s lifestyle magazines. In his analysis of
385
Ben Crewe, Representing Men, p. 133.
Tom Wolfe, The New Journalism (New York, San Fransisco, London: Harper and Row, 1973), p. 15.
387
Duncan Fallowell, “Tom Wolfe” in Makers of Modern Culture (London; New York: Routledge,
2002), pp. 578 – 579.
388
Tom Wolfe, The New Journalism, pp. 7, 10, 14-15.
Ben Crewe, Representing Men, pp. 155 – 156.
389
Ben Crewe, Representing Men, p. 154.
386
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men’s lifestyle magazines in the UK, Crewe argues that New Journalism is used as a
method of expression for four reasons. The first one is that New Journalism is
Committed to undermining notions of objectivity, writers often placed
themselves at the centre of their stories, using subjectivity, first-person
narration and inner dialogue rather than the traditional journalistic style of
understated, neutral description. 390
Since the journalists of New Journalism are assumed to hold greater power in producing
the story, the New Journalism style provides a greater sense of freedom. It allows for
alternative points of view and journalists are at liberty to decide. For Indonesian
journalists, who are constantly under suspicion of subversive reporting, this idea proves
liberating, particularly in Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines where they want to
prove that they are not aligned with the state.
The second reason is a “commitment to overturning hierarchies of knowledge and
authority”. 391 In Indonesia, the state is the main source of ‘official’ knowledge. Yosep
Adi Prasetyo explains that just because a reporter witnesses an incident with their own
eyes, does not mean that they can report it. 392 The requirement to seek permission to
cover a story still applies for sensitive issues. The third reason is that New Journalism
allows journalists “[to make] the story happen ...[and to] inflect their work with a sense
of risk, action and danger, and to style themselves in the mould of the author-hero.”393
This may strike as an excuse to sell the stories by employing sensationalist means.
However, this seemingly reckless style fits into the rebelliousness and the laddishness
of men’s lifestyle magazines.
390
Ben Crewe, Representing Men, p. 133.
Ben Crewe, Representing Men, p. 133.
392
Interview with Yosep Adi Prasetyo on 16 June 2008.
393
Ben Crewe, Representing Men, p. 135.
391
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In Indonesia’s context, this is translated in Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines into a
venture into controversial topics that were previously forbidden, as I will show below.
The fourth reason is the acknowledgement of the journalists’ individuality and talent, so
they are not hidden behind the uniform style of news reporting. 394
Andreas Harsono, an Indonesian journalist and avid advocate of New Journalism,
argues that it is with New Journalism that periodicals can compete with the speed of the
internet. Harsono asserts that the literary aspect of New Journalism may lack the realtime updates of the internet, but this is compensated for with more artistic but factual
details. 395 The details may give some insight into what the characters are thinking at the
time of an incident; or it could be some detailed information that appeals to the senses,
such as how things look, smell, feel, taste and so on. However, in Indonesian men’s
lifestyle magazines, I view the use of New Journalism as symbolic of breaking free
from the conservative form of reporting associated with tight censorship.
In Indonesia this trend was confirmed during my interview with Andre Syahreza, a
former editor of Male Emporium. He said that it was very common for Indonesian
men’s lifestyle magazines to use New Journalism style in their articles. 396 Although
many journalists claim to use this style of Journalism, Syahreza added that it was very
difficult to write in a true New Journalism fashion. There is a fine line between fiction
and facts that can be easily blurred when employing this method of reporting. Perhaps
the hazy line forms part of the attraction. The fictional aspect provides an escape valve
394
Ben Crewe, Representing Men, p. 136.
Andreas Harsono, “Silabus Kursus Jurnalisme Sastrawi XII, Jakarta, 18 – 27 Juni 2007’ [Syllabus for
the 12th Literary Journalism Course, Jakarta, 18 – 27 June 2007] Andreas Harsono
http://andreasharsono.blogspot.com/2007/06/silabus-kursus-jurnalisme-sastrawi-xii.html (date accessed
13 June 2010).
396
Interview with Andre Syahreza, former editor of Male Emporium on 5 June 2008.
395
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when Indonesian journalists are pressed to abandon the truth, because the truth might
damage the authorities.
Following are articles from Playboy Indonesia that exemplify the use of New
Journalism as a new way of reporting controversial topics. This magazine occupied a
unique status within the Indonesian mediascape. This magazine shared its international
reputation and notoriety with US Playboy. However, the controversial reaction to the
introduction of Playboy Indonesia among Islamic organizations forced Playboy
Indonesia to prove that it was able to report exclusive and sensitive issues as quality
feature articles, in order to compensate for its raunchy image. 397 The style of reporting,
that reads like a short story, delivers serious issues in a more relaxed manner because of
the short story format.
In Playboy Indonesia’s first issue there was an interview with Pramoedya Ananta
Toer. 398 He was featured again in an another article that I discuss below. It was no
coincidence that Playboy Indonesia chose to feature him. Pramoedya was an icon of
political rebellion and tenacity. He was a writer who used his work to express his
protest against the political injustice of the Suharto era. Playboy Indonesia’s decision to
interview him was based on his character that defined the ultimate protest masculinity
within the New Order context. By interviewing Pramoedya, Playboy Indonesia wanted
to reflect its own image as a rebellious publication in the midst of protest from Islamic
groups.
In another issue he is featured in an article about Buru Island, the island where he spent
most of his time as a political prisoner. For Playboy Indonesia, he is a symbol of
397
398
Interview with the editor of Playboy Indonesia on 2 July 2008.
Playboy Indonesia, April 2007.
124
Indonesia’s freedom of the press and signifies its ability to deal with profound issues in
Indonesian society. Under the New Order, Pramoedya was accused of being a member
of the Indonesian Communist Party. 399 He was not allowed to exist as a citizen and
Indonesian people were not allowed to acknowledge him as such. He went through a
civic death. Since he was an enemy of the New Order, being associated with Pramoedya
during the Suharto era was seen as a treacherous act against the government with
dangerous consequences. With Pramoedya’s reputation, it is clear the kind of message
that Playboy Indonesia wanted to deliver: that the magazine is at the forefront as one of
the markers of a different era in Indonesian media.
The political drama associated with Pramoedya in Buru Island is revealed in a short
story format with several flashbacks. This story is told from the point of view of an
officer who was in charge of the prison during Pramoedya’s years in Buru Island as a
political prisoner. The result is a unique insight, with a seemingly innocent revelation,
into the injustice that many Indonesian people endured under President Suharto’s
leadership. The way the story unfolds innocently seems to have the effect of
acknowledging the power exercised by the state in Buru Island, but at the same time
exposing the exercise of power as utterly arbitrary.
The story is told by the journalist who is present in the story through the character “I”.
The reporter’s “I/eye” becomes the sidekick in the story. The main character is the
officer in charge of prisoners on the island. Wolfe explains this method:
[This is] the so-called “third-person point of view,” the technique of
presenting every scene to the reader through the eyes of a particular
character, giving the reader the feeling of being inside the character’s head
399
Keith Foulcher, “Recording Indonesia. Pramoedya’s Life and Work is a Conversation about Indonesia
and its People” Inside Indonesia, No. 88, October – December 2006,
http://www.insideindonesia.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=627&Itemid=29
(accessed 5 March 2009).
125
and experiencing the emotional reality of the scene as he experiences it...Yet
how could a journalist writing non-fiction accurately penetrate the thoughts
of another person?
The answer proved to be marvellously simple: interview him about his
thoughts and emotions, along with everything else. 400
The officer featured in the Buru Island article is Abdul Rahman. Rahman was seventyeight years old at the time of the interview. The journalist, Alfred Pasifico Ginting,
asked Rahman whether he wanted to visit Buru Island to reminisce. Rahman agreed and
they both traveled to the island and stayed for a week. Then the story unravels with
flashbacks
recording
Rahman’s
memory of
the place during
Pramoedya’s
imprisonment.
At the time the story was written, Rahman was already a retired army personnel. The
time setting of the story was in the 1970s. The article describes him as follows:
In 1975, Captain Rahman was sent to Buru Island, Maluku. He was sent as
the Assistant in the Mental Health unit and Assistant to the Commandant of
Rehabilitation. He was the second most powerful person on this island which
served as a prison for people suspected of involvement in the Indonesian
Communist Party coup. 401
Since the story is told from the position of power embodied in Rahman’s character, the
article ingeniously becomes a proud confession of the misuse and abuse of power
during the New Order. Rahman confirms people’s suspicion that army personnel often
have “side businesses”. He smuggled exotic birds out of Buru Island and sold them in
Jakarta every time he had leave of absence. He bullied his way through the local
customs whenever local officers asked him to clarify the transfer of the birds:
“This species is protected, Sir,” said the transit officer.
“You want some of these?” Rahman pointed to the guns on the left and right
sides of his waist. “Don’t mess with me, I just got back from the jungle.”
400
Tom Wolfe, The New Journalism, p. 32.
Tahun 1975, Kapten Rahman dikirim ke Pulau Buru, Maluku. Dia menjabat Asisten Pembinaan
Mental (Bintal) dan Asisten Operasi Komandan Inrehab. Dia orang yang kedua paling berkuasa di puau
pembuangan tertuduh anggota Partai komunis Indonesia (PKI). Alfred Pasifico Ginting “Kejar Pangkat
ke Pulau Buru” [Chase Your Rank to Pulau Buru] Playboy Indonesia, September 2006, p. 66.
401
126
Rahman laughed in reminiscence of his old tactic. “The same thing happened
in Kemayoran airport.”
“This bird has to be quarantined, Sir,” said the officer at the Kemayoran
airport.
“Oh, I don’t know about that. Why don’t I let these do the talking?” Rahman
pointed to his guns once again. 402
The article also divulges the capricious nature of the arrest of the people who were
accused of being involved in the Communist movement:
Prisoners in class B were people who were involved in organizations that
belonged to the Indonesian Communist Party  although a great number of
them were not members and did not know anything about the Indonesian
Communist Party. They were exiled, and getting a fair trial was just a dream
for them. 403
The random arrests illustrate the intensity of the communist phobia that the New Order
government tried to perpetuate. If innocent people were punished severely, people do
not want to imagine what happened to those who were proven to be real members of the
Indonesian Communist Party. Buru Island became one of the notorious symbols of the
New Order’s treatment of dissidents.
Pramoedya had a worldwide literary reputation. So when he was imprisoned there it
was well known that he was often denied material to write. Pramoedya said that Jean
Paul Sartre sent him a typewriter once to finish his novel, but the prison authorities
switched Sartre’s gift with a battered one. In the story, however, Rahman tried to prove
402
“Dilindungi ini Pak,” kata petugas.
“Mau ini kau?” Rahman menunjuk pinggang kanan dan kirinya. Tersemat sepucuk pistol pada keduanya.
“Jangan macam-macam kau, dari hutan aku ini, “ Rahman terbahak menceritakan tak-tik lamanya. “Di
kemayoran pun begitu.”
“Harus dikarantina in Pak,” kata petugas Bandara.
“Tak tahulah aku, ini aja yang bicara kalau begitu,” kata Rahman menunjuk pinggangnya.
Selesai melepas kangen dengan anak istrinya, Rahman pergi. Jalan Pramuka tujuannya. Di situ ada
pasar burung. Alfred Pasifico Ginting, “Kejar Pangkat ke Pulau Tefaat” [Chase your Rank to Tefaat]
,Playboy, September 2006, p. 70.
403
Tahanan kelas B untuk angota organisasi onderbouw PKI  meski banyak dari antara mereka sama
sekali bukan dan tak tahu-menahu tentang PKI serta onderbouw-nya. Mereka dibuang dan pengadilan
hanya mimpi bagi mereka. Alfred Pasifico Ginting “Kejar Pangkat ke Pulau Tefaat” [Chase your Rank to
Tefaat], Playboy, September 2006, p. 67.
127
otherwise. Rahman told of the time when he supposedly assisted Pramoedya by
searching for references for his novel in Jakarta. The journalist tried to confirm the story
with Pramoedya’s wife and friend. Unfortunately, none of them remembered
Pramoedya asking for help from an officer at the prison. Hersri, a former inmate in Buru
Island who knew Pramoedya, commented,
“I find it difficult to believe that he [Pramoedya] asked for help from the army
officer to look for references.”
“Why?”
“He’s not the easiest person to talk to, he doesn’t trust people easily, let alone be
nice to an army officer. I can say that he’s a fundamentalist in that respect,”
Hersri [Pramoedya’s friend] laughed. 404
There was no comment on whether the warden had lied or Pramoedya simply forgot.
The readers are left to form their own decision, and it was not a difficult one. The
information also hints at the notoriety of army officers and their random use of
professional power for individual purposes.
Like other Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines, Playboy Indonesia’s articles are
scattered with political nuance, either explicitly or subtly. It is no coincidence that
Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines participate in public discussion of matters that
were previously out of reach. The magazines mark the political revival of a group of
young executives from their political oppression. 405 However, in its short lifespan
Playboy Indonesia was the most pronounced in covering politically sensitive stories.
The Indonesian military holds a central position in Indonesia’s political discourse. The
military was a powerful, masculine group, and military men seemed to control the rest
404
“Mas Pram minta tolong tentara untuk mencarikan bahan kok agak sulit saya percaya.”
“Kenapa?”
“Dia bukan orang yang mudah diajak bicara, tidak mudah percaya pada orang lain, apalagi bermanismanis dengan tentara. Bisa dibilang dia itu fundamentalis lah,” Hersri tertawa. Alfred Pasicifico
Ginting, “Kejar Pangkat ke Pulau Tefaat” [Chase your Rank to Tefaat], Playboy Indonesia, September
2006, p. 69.
405
Sonja van Wichelen, “Reconstructing ‘Muslimness’,” p. 104.
128
of the population under the New Order. An article entitled “Deaths in the Morning” in
Playboy Indonesia reveals the Indonesian military’s “conquest” in West Papua. 406 The
reporter for this article narrates the story through a military officer, like the Buru Island
report. Presenting the story from the point of view of an army officer gives the effect of
higher credibility because of its confessional nature.
Disintegration was something that the media were not allowed to cover easily and
truthfully during the New Order. Movements of dissent were muted in a manner that
provoked human rights issues. Kingsbury and Aveling explain that, “under Suharto,
disintegration was not tolerated, and the armed forces, in particular the army felt little
constraint in exercising often brutal control over the archipelago.” 407
In “Deaths in the Morning”, the story was told from the point of view of a retired army
lieutenant called Hanafiah. Unlike Rahman from Buru, Hanafiah was not a man of
power. Instead, he was the person who carried out orders from people of higher rank.
Hanafiah went back and forth between his subordinated status within the military and
his superordinate status vis-à-vis civilians. He was subordinated within the military, but
to Indonesian civilians he was part of the hegemonic group. This allowed the story to
have a different nuance because it was not told from a high position – a highly ranked
army officer would have tried to cover up military violence in West Papua. Hanafiah’s
point of view as a “little man” in the middle of a major conflict was used in the story as
a form of revelation of military operations which inflict social injustice during their
occupation of an area.
406
Agus Sopian, “Deaths in the Morning” Playboy Indonesia, June 2006.
Damien Kingsbury and Harry Aveling, “Introduction” in Autonomy and Disintegration in Indonesia,
p. 1.
407
129
Hanafiah told of the time he met Tadeus Yogi, the leader of the Free West Papua
Organization (Organisasi Papua Merdeka). Hanafiah recalled Tadeus Yogi angrily
saying,
“Where are the jobs for Papuans? All officials are from Java. The highest
positions we can get are teachers or grass-cutters.” 408
When Tadeus Yogi continued, saying to Hanafiah, “The Javanese army has killed a lot
of our men here,” Hanafiah was sure that Tadeus Yogi was going to kill him. Hanafiah
recounted the story by adding in defence that he was just carrying out orders, and that
he too had suffered from injustice perpetrated by the military in West Papua.
In two other examples below, Playboy Indonesia is still obsessed with communist
issues and the long-term impact of the way the New Order handled this problem. Since
Playboy Indonesia struggled with its stigma as a pornographic magazine, it used
controversial issues such as communism in an effort to get their readers on side. These
serious articles are a means to show that Playboy is not just a collection of pornographic
material. The former editor confidently said that, “We are better than the other men’s
lifestyle magazines like FHM and Maxim. They have nothing of significance in their
content.” 409
In its November 2006 issue, Playboy Indonesia features Ibaruri, DN Aidit’s daughter. 410
DN Aidit was the last leader of the Indonesian Communist Party before it was
disbanded and declared an illegal organization in 1966. Ibaruri was in exile overseas for
forty years because the Indonesian government did not let her enter Indonesia after the
408
The position of teachers was pulled down to grass-cutter level because of the bad working conditions
of teachers in remote areas of West Papua. “Mana jabatan untuk orang Irian. Semua pejabat dari Jawa.
Kami paling tinggi jadi guru atau tukang babat rumput. Agus Sopian, “Deaths in the Morning” Playboy
Indonesia, June 2006, p. 156.
409
Interview with former editor of Playboy Indonesia, on 4 June and 2 July 2008.
410
“Lawatan Ibaruri” [Ibaruri’s Vist] Playboy Indonesia, November 2006.
130
so-called “communist coup” attempt in 1965. The stigma of communism runs parallel
with Playboy Indonesia’s stigma in terms of facing unreasonable fear from the public
who see Playboy Indonesia as a ‘porn threat’. Ibaruri’s legacy seems to echo Playboy
Indonesia’s condition:
Iba does not want to give up and she is cursed by her own country inheriting
a big name [her father’s name]. 411
Playboy Indonesia inherits its big name from its licensor, the American Playboy, and it
is cursed in Indonesia for inheriting such a formidable reputation. Communism in
Playboy Indonesia’s case becomes a metaphor for a misunderstood identity, like
Playboy’s pornography status.
Another Playboy Indonesia article reports a raid on a Marxist discussion group called
Ultimus. The discussion group wanted to revive the status of Marxism as an official
branch of knowledge denied to the Indonesian public because it was associated with
communism. One of the organizers, Bilven Rivaldo Gultom, says that
My friends and I just want to put Marxist ideology back in its respectable
position as a branch of knowledge that is worth studying....All this time
Marxism has been discriminated against by people who manipulated it to
seize power. I do not agree. Because of them Marxism was muzzled. 412
The article reveals society’s phobia (and ignorance) of Marxism and communism.
Again, this is the result of the New Order’s legacy of fear for over thirty years under
Suharto. The New Order collapsed but the communist phobia lingers.
411
Iba tidak menyerah dan putus asa untuk mewarisi sebuah nama besar yang dikutuk tanah air. Ahmad
Yunus “Lawatan Ibaruri” [Ibaruri’s Vist] Playboy Indonesia, November 2006, p. 83.
412
“Saya dan kawan-kawan hanya ingin mengembalikan filsafat Marx pada posisi terhormat sebagai
ilmu filsafat yang layak dipelajari....Selama ini, ajaran Marx banyak digunakan oleh kelompok-kelompok
tertentu untuk merebut kekuasaan. Karena itu akhirnya ajaran Marx ikut diberangus.” Mulyani Hasan,
“Memburu Marxis di Ladang Buku” [Hunting for Marxism in a Bookshop] Playboy Indonesia, June
2007, pp. 114 – 115.
131
The article about the raid on the Ultimus discussion group resonates with the public’s
ignorance of the “communist threats” that they are supposed to be rid of. Ultimus was
the name of a bookshop whose owners took the initiative to conduct the Marxist
discussion. The anti communist group that interrupted and raided the discussion was
called Permak (Persatuan Masyarakat Antikomunis = Union of Anti Communist
Community) which consisted of people from the surrounding neighbourhood.
A Playboy Indonesia reporter, Mulyani Hasan, was invited to the discussion and she
witnessed the leader of the Permak group snatch the microphone from a speaker from
Ultimus and end the discussion. The speaker was later taken into custody. The
subjective and emotional tone of the reporter is evident:
Half an hour later, a middle-aged man seized the microphone from Marhaen [the
speaker]. How rude. No manners at all. 413
It is interesting to note that the name of the speaker is Marhaen. Marhaen is a term
created by Sukarno to designate the majority of Indonesian people during Sukarno’s
time who were very poor but still owned land and tools. 414 Marhaen was the term
created by Sukarno as a result of his engagement with Marxism and communism.
To return to the story: Mulyani Hasan let her feelings of contempt show in her
reporting. She allowed her opinions to surface rather than being a distant bystander. By
siding with the organizer of the discussion, Mulyani Hasan’s article became a protest
against public violence based on ignorance. Her disdain was made apparent when she
413
Tetapi belum setengah jam acara berlangsung, seorang lelaki separuh baya merampas mikrofon dari
genggaman Marhaen. Kasar. Tanpa sopan santun. Mulyani Hasan, “Memburu Marxis di Ladang Buku
[Hunting for Marxism in a Bookshop], Playboy Indonesia, June 2007, p. 123.
414
Stefan Eklof, Power and Political Culture in Suharto’s Indonesia. The Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI) and Decline of the New Order (1986 – 98) (Denmark: NIAS Press, 2003), p. 28.
132
questioned Adang further about his motives for interrupting the discussion. Adang
replied:
“Ultimus is a pure communist movement,” he argued seriously.
Oh, for God’s sake! How could you equate a bookstore with an ideology. 415
Mulyani Hasan challenged Adang again:
“What do you know about communism?” I asked.
“Communism was initiated by Karl Marx in Moskow. They are deceptive
and they disrupt Pancasila.”
Adang doesn’t even know who Karl Marx is. He mentions that the German
philosopher is from Moscow, the former Soviet capital. 416
Once again the article sides with the ideological underdogs, disseminating a message
that resonates strongly with Playboy Indonesia’s condition – that it has to suffer
prejudice and ignorance from the general public. The article’s mission parallels Playboy
Indonesia’s message that the general public, particularly the Islamic fundamentalists,
are not adequately informed to make a consistent judgement on Playboy Indonesia
within the context of Indonesian media. The public’s judgement is clouded by
intimidation from Islamic fundamentalist groups which seem to speak for the public.
This resembles the Indonesian public’s misunderstanding of Marxist ideology as the
result of intense indoctrination under the New Order.
Playboy Indonesia’s content not only reflects the society in which it is published and
circulated, but is also a response to society’s reaction to the magazine. The raid on the
bookshop is reminiscent of the FPI’s rampage at the Playboy Indonesia’s headquarters,
only five days after the first issue came out in April 2006. Coincidentally, Mulyani
415
“Ultimus itu gerakan komunis murni,” tegasnya, serius.
Alamak! Ia menyetarakan nama sebuah toko buku dengan ideology tertentu. Mulyani Hasan, “Memburu
Marxis di Ladang Buku [Hunting for Marxism in a Bookshop], Playboy Indonesia, June 2007, p. 125.
416
“Apa yang anda tahu soal komunis?” tanya saya.
“Komunis itu didirikan Karl Marx di Moskow. Mereka itu penipu dan akan mengganggu Pancasila,”kata
Adang.
Adang bahkan tak tahu siapa Karl Marx. Filsuf Jerman itu disebutnya berasal dari Moskow, ibukota Uni
Sovyet. Mulyani Hasan, “Memburu Marxis di Ladang Buku” [Hunting for Marxism in a Bookshop]
Playboy Indonesia, June 2007, p. 124.
133
Hasan’s article was published in the last issue of Playboy Indonesia in June 2007. The
Marxism discussion did not survive, and neither did Playboy Indonesia.
This section about the feature articles in Playboy Indonesia reveal how men’s lifestyle
magazines become a forum of political expression. In the magazines, Indonesian men
are represented as Indonesian citizens, unlike the women who are represented as
‘women’. This is not to say that the magazines are engrossed in this theme. They are,
after all, a form of entertainment media. However, the magazines’ involvement in social
and political discourse confirms the notion that men consider the public space as their
space of empowerment. They might be respected in the private sphere, ruling their wife
and children. Nevertheless, it is their contribution in the public sphere that matters.
In this chapter I demonstrate that popular entertainment media have the potential to
provide alternative discourses that undermine the dominant discourse provided by the
mainstream media. In the next chapter I look into the pornography debate which
illustrates how narratives of power and resistance are constructed around the debate.
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CHAPTER 5
Negotiating Pornography and Power with Magazine Editors
“From the start, “pornography” named a battlefield, a place where
no assertion could be made without at once summoning up its
denial”. 417
As I mentioned in the Introduction, the Indonesian public’s attention to men’s lifestyle
magazines was partly drawn by the pornography debate. Most of the debate in the
media feverishly covered the opinions of outspoken Islamic groups and those who
outspokenly disagreed with them. This chapter is devoted to analyzing the pornography
debate from the perspective of the editors of Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines. This
chapter seeks to accommodate the editors’ defence and explore how they define their
magazines in the face of accusations of producing pornographic material. From the
editors’ comments in responding to the random nature of the accusations, this chapter
confirms Kendrick’s argument that pornography is “an argument, not a thing.” 418
I argue that the pornography debate provides an illustration of the masculinity struggle
discussed in previous chapters. Without smoothing over the complexity of the issue and
undermining the many voices (which includes women’s voices) that contribute to the
pornography debate, I argue that the debate predominantly reflects a male-to-male
confrontation. Female bodies and women’s representations are the objects of this
conflict. In other words, control over women is used to define each group’s patriarchal
dominance. I argue that women’s bodies stand as a nation and the pornography debate
stands for a larger political conflict at the national level over leadership to govern the
417
Walter Kendrick, The Secret Museum. Pornography in Modern Culture (Berkeley, California:
University of California Press, 1996), p. 31.
418
Walter Kendrick, p. 31.
135
nation. 419 I am building on Weintraub’s argument that the pornography debate is a site
where Indonesians can exercise their democratic rights and express their opinions. 420 In
this context, pornography is better understood as a discourse of power and agency rather
than merely a scheme of censorship.
Each editor’s rationale for producing certain images in their respective magazine reveals
that the definition of pornography in Indonesia is elusive. The elusiveness is not unique
to Indonesia. In the United States, Baird and Rosenbaum argue that, “No issue more
poignantly elicits ambivalence within ourselves and within our culture than that of
pornography.” 421 This chapter, however, does not concern itself chiefly with the
definition of pornography. This chapter proposes to read the elusive nature of
pornography as a reflection of the complications and complexity of Indonesians in
seeking avenues to channel their opinions. I argue that the chaos created by the
pornography debate, such as the Islamic groups’ attacks on the magazines, are evidence
of the recurring competition between subordinate groups to take over the hegemonic
status. This competition creates continual disruption and challenge to the hegemony of
the state’s power.
I argue that the discourse of the editors’ defence echoes the ideology of the Indonesian
middle class. Bodden argues that the Indonesian middle class are “concerned to reshape
Indonesian society along more egalitarian, inclusive, and democratic lines.” 422 By
defending their magazines these editors are exercising their democratic right to free
press. The flourishing of Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines can be seen as one of the
419
The idea of women as representations of a nation is taken from Michael H. Bodden, “Woman as
Nation in Mangunwijaya’s ‘”Durga Umayi”” Indonesia, Vol. 62 (October 1996), pp. 53 – 82.
420
Andrew N.Weintraub, “’Dance Drills, Faith Spills’: Islam, Body Politics, and Popular Music in PostSuharto Indonesia.” Popular Music, Vol. 27, (2008), 367 – 392.
421
Robert M. Baird and Stuart E. Rosenbaum, “Introduction” in Pornography. Private Right of Public
Menace? (New York: Promtheus Books, 1998), p. 11.
422
Michael H. Bodden, p. 54.
136
rites of passage into media democracy after the oppressive censorship of the New
Order. The sexual content of the magazines is used to test the boundaries of the new
freedom. Similarly, modern western pornography discussed by McNair also points out
the democratic aspects of material categorized as pornographic. Elmer-Dewitt, quoted
in McNair, argues that “The history of pornography and efforts to suppress it … are
inextricably bound up with the rise of the new media and the emergence of
democracy.” 423
Media deregulation and less strict censorship are not the only significant socio-political
changes during the Reform era in Indonesia. The notion of freedom of speech was
quickly seized by the general public As I mentioned earlier, Islamic groups are
beginning to be more vocal in expressing their oppositional stance, as if to catch up
after being left marginalized for three decades under Suharto. Consequently, during the
Reform era the master narrative of democracy is open to challenge because oppositions
are more recognized. This is far removed from the New Order era when, according to
Liddle, “Indonesian-style democracy [did not] include the idea of opposition.” 424
Immediately after Suharto stepped down, there was a pronounced attitude that
democracy was considered to be available to everyone. Both formal political parties and
informal apolitical groups in Indonesian society were seizing the opportunity to be
democratic citizens. The “floating mass” was gaining its ground. Contrasting opinions
during the pornography debate symbolize contending discourses which attempt to
redefine democracy in the post-Suharto era. It is within this social context that I wish to
ground my discussion of the editors’ defence of their magazines. In the following it is
423
Brian McNair, Mediated Sex. Pornography and Postmodern Culture (London; New York; Sydney;
Auckland: Arnold, 1996), p. 43.
424
R. William Liddle, “Indonesia is Indonesia” in The Politics of Middle Class Indonesia, eds. Richard
Tanter and Kenneth Young (Clayton, Australia: Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, No. 19, Monash
University, 1990), p. 57.
137
necessary to visit briefly the pornography debate at its earlier stage before it impacted
on the magazine editors in 2006.
Social Background of the Pornography Debate
The pornography debate was triggered by an anti-pornography bill proposed by an
Islamic party called the Democratic Party (Partai Demokrat) in 2000. 425 The bill was
instigated at the height of the euphoria celebrating the freedom from Suharto’s rule after
1998. 426 The anti-pornography debate represents the shifting of masculine power from
the New Order rule to the rising force of Islamic socio-political groups. Tensions
emerged when the content of the bill was made public around 2004-2005. Jakarta was
inundated with demonstrations and rallies by those who were against and for the
passing of the bill. 427 The media amplified the issue by relaying the news to the regions.
The tensions culminated in 2006 with the vandalizing of the Playboy Indonesia
headquarters in Jakarta by FPI.
The popular name for this anti-pornography draft is RUU-APP. It is the acronym from
Rancangan Undang-Undang Anti Pornografi dan Pornoaksi 428 which means literally
“draft law against pornography and porno-action”. Pornography refers to pornographic
material in the media. Porno-action refers to something akin to indecency, which is
related to corporeal control. Witoelar comments that “This last word [porno-action] is
awkward because it does not have any content. It is like an html link that leads you into
425
Arskal Salim, “Muslim politics in Indonesia’s Democratisation: the Religious Majority and the Rights
of Minorities in the Post-New Order Era” in Indonesia: Democracy and the Promise of Good
Governance, Ross H. McLeod and Andrew MacIntyre, eds., (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian
Studies, 2007), p. 122.
426
Arskal Salim, p. 122.
427
Pam Allen, “Challenging Diversity?: Indonesia’s Anti-Pornography Bill” Asian Studies Review, Vol.
31, No. 2 (June 2007), 105 – 106.
428
To view the full draft see http://www.lbh-apik.or.id/ruu-pornografi.htm (date accessed 29 February
2008).
138
nothingness.” 429 His comment hints at the creative aspect of law making, which
involves the construction of a new concept or definition to accommodate the interest of
a group. The main ideological (and eventually physical) altercation that ensued after the
initial introduction of the draft revolved around the definition of pornography and
decency which aroused suspicion of subtle induction of Syariah (Islamic law). Kitley
argues that the pornography debate was “about frustrated political ambitions and the
interest some conservative Islamic groups had in … establishing the rule of Sharia
law.” 430
Islamic groups outside the Democratic Party were quick to support the bill. FPI became
the spearhead of the anti-pornography movement.
Other than the Islamic
fundamentalist groups, people’s opinions were largely divided between those who
agreed, disagreed and those who were silent regarding the issue. Although Islam is the
religion of the majority of the population, the pornography debate seemed to require
people to choose whether they identify with their religion, nationality or ethnicity.
Jamhari argues that there was a “psychological split among Muslims, creating a
dichotomy between being a Muslim and being an Indonesian” or identifying with their
ethnicity. 431
Protests from ethnic and religious minorities were protests against the religious and
ethnic domination the bill would implement. Protests from Balinese Hindus represented
ethnic and religious minorities in Indonesia. The Balinese felt that their ethnicity was
429
Wimar Witoelar, “The Soeharto issue and the Porn Laws – Dark clouds above Indonesia” Perspektif
On-line 24 May 2006 http://www.perspektif.net/article/article.php?article_id=336 (date accessed 28
February 2008).
430
Philip Kitley, “Playboy Indonesia and the Media: Commerce and the Islamic Public Sphere on Trial in
Indonesia” South East Asia Research, Vol. 16, No.1 (March 2008), 85.
431
Jamhari, “Islamic Political Parties: Threats or Prospects?” in Post-Soeharto Indonesia. Renewal or
Chaos? ed. Geoff Forrester (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1999), p. 182.
139
being ignored and their contribution to Indonesian culture undermined. 432 Gadis Arivia
argues that, “Women have always dressed sexily and in tight clothes; this law is
something very alien to us, [since] we have bare breasted women in Bali and Papua
[and] this is part of our culture.” 433 To the minorities, the bill was an example of the
domination of Java, where the bill came from.
As Gadis Arivia argues above, the bill was also deemed not gender friendly. The
definition of pornography was punitively imbalanced against women. Indonesian
feminists, like Gadis Arivia, argued that the bill gave the impression that women were
the source of moral vice. Article 4 of the draft says: “What is meant by sensual body
parts are, among others, genital, thighs, hips, buttocks, navel, female breasts, either
partly or fully exposed.” 434 Considering women’s fashion and attire, the body parts
mentioned above were more likely to be exposed from a female body. Since the
discussions surrounding the pornography debate were heavily focused on women’s
bodies, the draft read like male authority exercised on women. 435 The penalty for
breaking the pornography law was also deemed atrocious. For example, kissing on the
lips in public was categorized as ‘porno-action’ (indecent) and would incur a Rp.
500,000,000 fine (approximately AUD 72,000) or up to five years imprisonment. An
obvious act of indecency such as public nudity would cost Rp. 2,000,000,000
(approximately AUD 288,000) in fine or up to twelve years in prison. 436
432
Douglas E. Ramage, “Indonesia: Democracy First, Good Governance Later” Southeast Asian Affiars
2007 (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2007), pp. 148 – 149.
433
Katrien Jacobs, Netporn, DIY Web Culture and Sexual Politics (Maryland, USA: Rowman &
Littlefield Publisher, Inc., 2007), p. 36.
434
“Yang dimaksud dengan bagian tubuh tertentu yang sensual antara lain adalah alat kelamin, paha,
pinggul, pantat, pusar, dan payudara perempuan, baik terlihat sebagian maupun seluruhnya”
“Penjelasan Rancangan Undang-Undang Anti-Pornografi dan Pornoaksi” LBH-APIK Jakarta
http://www.lbh-apik.or.id/ruu-porno-penjelasan.htm (date accessed 29 February 2008).
435
Arskal Salim, p. 125.
436
Pam Allen, “Challenging Diversity” p. 102.
140
Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines were relatively safe when the pornography debate
started. They were immediately perched on precarious ground when Playboy Indonesia
announced its launch. The Islamic groups reacted swiftly to Playboy Indonesia’s
publication. To a certain extent this demonstrated the inconsistency of the Islamic
groups in framing their anti-pornography support, because nothing happened when
FHM Indonesia and Maxim Indonesia were published in Indonesia several years earlier.
It justifies the argument from Weintraub that pornography debate was not about
pornography per se. 437 There was an anti-west attitude present in the anti-pornography
movement. Wilson argues regarding FPI who was at the forefront of the indecency raid
that “FPI’s choice of targets is calculated and highly selective. FPI gives serious
considerations to the …connections of its target as well as the potential symbolic
values.” 438 Playboy’s origin was strongly associated with America and the west,
therefore protesting against Playboy Indonesia delivered a strong anti-America and antiwest message from the Islamic groups. Before long, other men’s lifestyle magazines
had to bear the ripple effects due to the arrival of Playboy Indonesia.
The next short section deals with the concept of pornography from the western
perspective. The purpose of this juxtaposition is to demonstrate the discrepancy and
commonality between the earlier concept of pornography in the west and the version
that was highlighted during the pornography debate in Indonesia. This is to prove the
argument that the appropriation of the word ‘pornography’ by the Islamic groups is in
the interests of promoting their own ideology and expressing their power, rather than
about pornography per se.
437
Andrew N. Weintraub, pp. 367 – 392.
Ian Douglas Wilson, “As Long as it’s Halal” in Expressing Islam, eds. Greg Fealy and Sally White
(Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, c2008), p. 202.
438
141
So What is Pornography?
The concept of nudity has existed since humans started covering their body. Barcan
argues that “Nudity is fundamental to our unconscious assumption about humanness ...
[N]aked ... body signifies ... humanness.” 439 Nudity becomes a concept in contrast with
clothed body. Similarly, sexually explicit material has existed ever since society
differentiated the public space from the private one. 440 Sexually explicit material or acts
are relegated to the realm of the private. When they enter the public space they become
obscene.
Pornography is a modern word for something that long preceded its newfound label.
Kendrick claims that “before the nineteenth [century] ... obscenity existed in plenty but
did not yet go by its modern name.” 441 Kendrick traces the origin of the early use of the
word “pornography” which was in nineteenth century Europe. The word was used to
label artefacts of various sexual depictions which were uncovered during the excavation
project in Pompeii. Without getting into the details of this excavation, in short,
pornography entered the English vocabulary to denote sexually explicit material of the
“other”. At the time it was an English word to label something outside the English
speaking realm, such as Pompeii. 442 Kendrick quotes the Webster’s dictionary in 1864
in which pornography is defined as “Licentious painting employed to decorate the walls
of rooms sacred to bacchanalian orgies, examples of which exist in Pompeii”.443
“Otherness” is an important concept of pornography here, since the term is more often
used to label “other” people’s work rather than self-proclaim a piece of work. It
becomes a word tinged with accusations.
439
Ruth Barcan, “Home on the Rage: Nudity, Celebrity and Ordinariness in the Home Girls/Blokes
Pages” Continuum: Journal of Media &Cultural Studies, Vol. 14, No. 2 (2000), 145.
440
Walter Kendrick, p. 31.
441
Walter Kendrick, p. 31.
442
Walter Kendrick, pp. 1 – 32.
443
Walter Kendrick, p. 13.
142
Hunt argues that the concept of pornography is a western creation. She argues that
“Pornography as a legal and artistic category seems to be an especially Western
idea”. 444 Pornography basically denotes material which is intended solely to sexually
arouse, and nothing else. This definition creates grey areas: is sexual arousal blameable
on other parties? If a person is sexually aroused regardless of the intention of the
material, does it make the material pornographic? If sexually explicit material is
incorporated into other things, will that make it less pornographic? Hence the arguments
arise.
From Pompeii, we shift to Europe and England during the Victorian era where sexually
explicit material was the privilege of upper class males. 445 Here Hunt observes other
aspects of pornography which are relevant to this chapter. Hunt argues that the concept
of pornography was invented as a regulatory means. At that time access and circulation
of sexually explicit material were limited to upper class men. Women, children and poor
men could not access this material. However, the Industrial Revolution brought about
cheap printed material. Coupled with increasing literacy this condition allowed sexually
explicit material to be circulated among the masses, particularly the lower class. It was
during this period when the concept of pornography was summoned to maintain the
privilege of sexually explicit material within the circle of upper class men. Women and
children were non-negotiable. The tension occurred between men of the upper and
lower class. The argument was that only educated men could handle the material. Men
from the lower class were not deemed eligible because they were not educated enough.
Sexually explicit material that leaked to the general public was then categorized as
444
Lynn Hunt, “Introduction” in The Invention of Pornography. Obscenity and the Origins of Modernity,
1500 – 1800, ed. Lynn Hunt (New York: Zone Books, 1993), p. 10.
445
Walter Kendrick, p. 6.
143
pornography. The term became related to censorship and any material categorized as
such was subject to restrictions or banning. 446 I will demonstrate later that such an
opinion from the nineteenth century survived in the twenty-first century and is used to
defend Playboy Indonesia in court.
This section does not provide a definite depiction of pornography because there is no
such thing. The concept of pornography arises spatially and temporally depending on
who has the power to define the word. In the next section I look into the effects of the
pornography debate on the magazines. Since the quest for the supreme masculine status
is the main theme of my thesis, I parallel the problems that the editors encountered to
ideological conflicts existing between groups of non-hegemonic men.
Surviving the Threats from FPI
At the time of the interview, Popular’s office was recently relocated from a different
suburb of Jakarta. It was rumoured that Popular had had their share of FPI’s wrath.
Later I asked P Suryo R, the editor, whether occupying the new office without a sign
was a precaution taken in anticipation of further attacks from FPI. 447 He did not provide
any definite answers. However, something in his gesture indicated there was an element
of precaution by not advertising Popular’s logo in front of the office. When asked
regarding FPI’s threat to his magazine, he was disappointed that FPI had to attack others
to further their own agenda. He replied “kita kan sama-sama cari makan” (we’re all just
earning a living). He appealed to men’s role as breadwinners to argue his reason for
men to support each other. His comment also reflected that these two groups, the
magazines and the Islamic fundamentalists, were actually on the same side in
expressing their agency against the state. They were just using different strategies. His
446
447
Lynn Hunt, “Introduction” in The Invention of Pornography. pp. 10 – 12.
Interview with P Suryo R, editor of Popular on 24 June 2008.
144
statement of “kita sama-sama” implies an interpretation that “after all, we are all in this
together.”
Suryo could not fathom the standard of pornography that was used against his
magazine. Popular had been around for a long time and suddenly it was seen as
breaking the law. The same thing happened to Maxim Indonesia. Titan Galantri
Harinda, the editor for Maxim Indonesia at the time, received a letter from the Metro
Police of Jakarta asking him to come to the police station for questioning. 448 He said
that the policewoman at the police station ended up asking questions such as “Do you
have a girlfriend?” of which Harinda said was “a silly question.” He assumed it was
because they did not know what else to ask him. The request for questioning by the
police was the result of confusion on how to react to the pornography charge.
The police department did not have any problems with men’s lifestyle magazines prior
to the arrival of Playboy Indonesia. From Suryo’s and Harinda’s account, the police felt
they had to follow up complaints from moral crusader groups who claimed to speak on
behalf of the general public. They had to respond to the demands of the Islamic groups,
but there was no consensus as to what charges could be made against the magazines
(Yes, it was pornography, but what constitutes pornography?).
Harinda commented that under these circumstances, a magazine had to be aware that
their publication might affect not only the magazine itself, but other magazines as well.
He seemed to imply that editors of Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines should not be
selfish. They should look after each other, because what happened to one magazine
sooner or later would affect others, as exemplified by the chain reaction in the Playboy
448
Interview with Titan Galantri Harinda, editor of Maxim Indonesia on 20 June 2008.
145
Indonesia case. Harinda said that whenever a magazine wanted to do something
provocative, it had to consider the fate of other magazines that might be affected.
Male Emporium also had their share of threats. Aryo Kresnadi, the business
development manager, said that during the pornography debate, uncertainty hovered
over the publication of Male Emporium. The Islamic groups threatened Male
Emporium’s distributors, so they were too afraid to sell the magazine. Although Male
Emporium never received any official warning letter reprimanding the magazine for
being pornographic, Kresnadi heard rumours of some Islamic groups’ plan to attack
Male Emporium’s headquarters. However, they were saved due to their proximity to the
logistics building across the street that belonged to the American Embassy. Responding
to the attack rumours, a squad of Indonesian army blocked the entrances to the
neighbourhood.
FHM Indonesia was the least affected by the pornography issue. They did not suffer
from attacks or receive threats like other magazines. Arvero Irwantra, the editor, said
that FHM Indonesia had to tone down their images as a preventive measure. What all
the magazines experienced equally was that their sales dropped substantially at the
climax of the pornography debate in 2006. Needless to say, Playboy Indonesia suffered
the most.
On 7 April 2006, the first edition of Playboy Indonesia came out. Five days later, on 12
April 2007, FPI stormed into the compound of Asean Aceh Fertilizer building where
Playboy Indonesia heaquarters was located. After the incident, the office was quickly
relocated to an office building in Fatmawati. Although still operating from Jakarta, the
second edition of the magazine mentioned that Playboy Indonesia headquarters had
146
relocated to Bali in order to divert attention from their Jakarta office. In the second
edition of the magazine there were blank pages dedicated to advertisers who pulled out
because they had been threatened by the FPI.
The threats were also extended to
Playboy Indonesia’s models and family members of its editor. Not long after the attack,
Erwin Arnada, the editor, had to face trial. He was charged with indecency. Although
Arnada was finally declared innocent, Playboy Indonesia closed down in July 2007. 449
From the above description, it is clear that the anti-pornography campaign was carried
out by the Islamic groups as a show of force. The Islamic fundamentalists led by the
FPI, wanted to demonstrate that they were the new socio-political force to be reckoned
with. The pornography issue became irrelevant since these magazines were not
pornographic according to the western definition of the term. The Islamic groups
redefined pornography and used the word against anything that they did not like.
Pornography became shorthand for anything that the Islamic groups defined as moral
decay. They created a moral panic in order to be the rescuer. The FPI harassed and
attacked the men’s lifestyle magazines because they could. These magazines were easy
targets. The more obvious pornographic material, such as pornographic DVDs and CDs,
was left untouched because as Wilson argues “... the lucrative local pornographic video
industry has escaped FPI’s wrath due to the involvement of high-raking military
figures.” 450 In the following I explore how editors justify images that they produce for
their magazines through their construction of pornography versus erotica.
449
However, in 2010 he was arrested and jailed because the Islamic groups appealed the 2007 court’s
decision. “Indonesian Playboy Arrested to Serve Sentence” BBC News Asia-Pacific.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11507376 (date accessed 14 December 2010).
450
Ian Douglas Wilson, p. 202
147
The Editors’ Defence
In this section I argue that the way editors defend and define their magazines is based
on the conventional narratives between pornography and erotica. I mentioned earlier
that pornography is not an essence in itself, but it is a reaction to certain conditions of
excess that warrant restrictions. Hence the popular culture expression of pornography
which is not limited to sex, such as the ‘pornography of violence’ or ‘food porn’.
Similarly, the word erotica does not have a legitimate definition. I argue that the
concept of erotica is developed and employed by these editors for the sake of creating
difference from pornography. Although these magazines are not pornographic
according to western standard because they do not contain nudity, the editors need to
defend the sexually charged tone of their magazines. Erotica is a concept that is
convenient. These editors did not use the word ‘erotica’ to define representations of
their models. However, the notion of erotica is present from the way they described the
images that they produced as ‘good’. I argue further that the notion of erotica is tied in
to the idea of race, ethnicity, status/class and gender.
I base my argument on Kappeler’s discussion about pornography and erotica. She
argues that erotica is a label that is used when one wishes to justify sexually explicit
material as acceptable. She claims that the definitions of pornography and erotica are
based on the dichotomy of bad sex/good sex, illegitimate sex/legitimate sex, low
brow/high brow and art/porn. 451 It is irrelevant here to argue what constitutes bad sex
and good sex, or art and porn. What matters is the way erotica is employed as a strategy
of ‘othering’ pornography while still maintaining the sexual nature of the
representations. McNair summarizes this perfectly when he contends that
451
Susanne Kappeler, The Pornography of Representation (Oxford, UK: Polity Press, 1986), pp. 35 – 48.
148
If pornography and obscenity are, as it were, the ‘evil twins’ of the sexuality
debate, the word erotice is frequently deployed as a positive counterweight,
connoting the healthy, legitimate representation of sex. 452
Since Popular is the oldest men’s lifestyle magazine still circulating in Indonesia, it is
apt to start with Popular to demonstrate my argument. Popular was used a benchmark
for other magazines that aspired to exceed its reputation. Popular started as a sports
magazine. Taking its cue from the magazine’s very popular swimsuit section, in 1980 it
departed from its sporty content and shifted to the genre of men’s lifestyle magazine
with more swimsuits. 453
The first celebrity on the cover of the new Popular was Camelia Malik, a well known
dangdut singer and jaipong dancer. 454 Dangdut and jaipong effectively imparted
sensuality due to their signature gyrating moves. This was a strategic move to signal the
different direction that the magazine was taking. The influence of the American Playboy
was confirmed by P Suryo R, who was Popular’s editor at the time of interview. He
said that the font of the magazine title on the cover was made to resemble the font of the
American Playboy. The shift from sports magazine to male entertainment genre brought
Popular its fame and iconic status as Indonesia’s leading men’s lifestyle magazine, even
after the arrival of other local and licensed men’s lifestyle magazines.
Although Popular admitted to being inspired by the American Playboy, the models in
Popular (and other Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines for that matter) were far more
covered. According to P Suryo R, the standard of decency in his magazine was strictly
not showing females’ nipples, genital, and pubic hair. There was obviously a localizing
452
Brian McNair, Mediated Sex, p. 41.
Interview with P Suryo R, editor of Popular on 24 June 2008.
454
Dangdut is a music genre associated with middle-to-lower class entertainment. Jaipong is a traditional
dance from West Java.
453
149
process in the adaptation of Playboy’s concept of male entertainment. The first cover of
Popular that featured a traditional jaipong dancer was testimony to the localizing
process. Popular brought together the symbolic meaning of sensuality with the notion
of nationality and locality.
In the midst of competition from licensed magazines, Suryo was proud of Popular’s
consistency in using Indonesian models. Popular, as an icon, had become identical with
exposure of Indonesian females’ exotic beauty. “You can see white females in skimpy
outfits on the internet, but sexy Indonesian women are scarce and we can provide that,”
Suryo contends. 455 His argument constructed an intense but ambiguous assumption
regarding the notion of local sexuality in his magazine. The Indonesian-ness of the
models took the role as identification that Popular was local and more decent, not like
its westernized counterparts. However, the local identity of the models seemed to add
more erotic value due to their scarcity. The shortage was based on the assumption that it
was more difficult to get Indonesian women to strip, unlike western women. In short,
the Indonesian models gave the reputation that Popular was more decent but more
erotic at the same time.
A similar opinion was expressed by Cynthia Limanouw, the branding director for Male
Emporium. As a local magazine, Limanouw was proud that Male Emporium showcased
the beauty of Indonesian women. She argued that Indonesian female models offered
more variety because they came from different ethnicities and the eclectic mix of their
ethnicities made them exotic. Limanouw said that the pictures of Indonesian women in
her magazine had artistic value as the result of careful application of photographic
techniques, selection of locations and an exotic array of models. 456 They used this
455
456
Interview with P Suryo R, editor of Popular on 24 June 2008.
Interview with Cynthia Limanouw, branding director of Male Emporium on 20 June 2008.
150
formula to reject allegations that they were producing indecent pictures. Aryo Kresnadi,
the business development manager, added that Male Emporium’s slogan is “providing
beautiful photographs, in beautiful locations, with beautiful women.” 457 To justify these
three elements, and also as a part of their publicity campaigns, the magazine conducted
photography courses on how to create the pictures that they published in Male
Emporium. The emphasis on the models as a part of art and photography removes the
notion of the objectification of these women and their role to incite readers’ fantasy.
Here, the aspects of erotica are invoked through references to photography as a
production of work that should be seen as an artistic endeavour. Figure 2 shows one of
Male Emporium’s photography courses that was conducted in Bali. 458 It is interesting
that one of the participants of the course wears a head scarf. The picture seems to
declare Male Emporium’s innocence: how can the photographs be categorized as
pornographic or smutty when there is a supposedly religious person taking part in the
photo session?
To analyze the comments from P Suryo R and Cynthia Limanouw, I argue that they are
distancing themselves from the pornography accusations by resorting to the aesthetics
of the erotica of the Indonesian models. Here beauty is associated with ethnicity and
race. However, the other of side of the comments implies that western models are
inexorably tied to the notion of loose western morality, which these two magazines try
to shun. I expand Toni Morrison’s argument that race is a metaphor. She claims that
“Race has become metaphorical − as way of referring to and disguising forces, events,
classes, and expressions of social decay”. 459 Indonesian-ness and its ethnicities have
457
Interview with Aryo Kresnadi, business development manager of Male Emporium on 9 June 2008.
Male Emporium, No. 82, November 2007, p. 106.
459
Toni Morrison, Playing in the Dark. Whiteness and the Literary Imagination (Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1992), p. 63.
458
151
become a metaphor for beauty and at the same they are used to express the standard of
morality that these magazines adhere to.
For FHM Indonesia, western models are a part of their brand that signals modernity.
Arvero Iwantra, the editor, said that FHM Indonesia was known as a western magazine.
So they tried to sell the western-ness through their models who were predominantly
western celebrities. However, Iwantra also added regarding the reason they did not have
many Indonesian models on the cover of their magazine: they did not have many
Indonesian celebrities who were willing to be photographed in alluring poses. Those
who were willing to do so were mostly not class A celebrities. To a certain extent
Iwantra’s explanation seems to support Suryo’s comment about the stereotype that it is
easier to get western women to pose in a revealing outfit.
Iwantra’s explanation about FHM Indonesia’s policy to use class A celebrities
illustrates the idea of constructing erotica as high class consumption reminiscent of high
brow art. According to these editors, the reputation of the models determined the
reputation of the magazines. P Suryo R from Popular explained in a similar vein that
the models have to be ‘clean’. Popular had to check the background of the models to
make sure they did not work as prostitutes or anything of a dubious nature. Cynthia
Limanouw of Male Emporium also required her models to have the right “personality”.
She argued that beauty would not take a model very far if not supported with a proper
professional attitude. She gave an example of a model’s involvement with drugs, which
saw the end of her modelling career. Harinda similarly said that Maxim Indonesia only
employed class A models for their cover and main features. These requirements created
a paradox for the models. They had to have a pristine background in order to qualify as
models who did raunchy poses.
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Figure 2. Photographers wearing jilbab at training sessions
However, to the editors, this was not a paradox at all. These requirements carry a strong
resonance with Hugh Hefner’s policy regarding his Playboy bunnies:
Hefner said that Playboy looked for “young, healthy, simple girls” who
“belong to good respectable families from every point of view. Financial,
social. No, madam, we never choose poor girls. Poverty brings sadness with
it, a sort of dirtiness that becomes evident on a naked body. And the
Playboy girls have a very high morality. After all, if the Bunnies accept a
date, they lose their job. Private detectives find out if they accept a date.” 460
The rhetoric from the editors indicates that the social status of the models has a stake in
affecting the social status of the magazines. Proletarian images have no place in men’s
lifestyle magazines.
This upscale look in male entertainment was maintained in Popular where readers were
lulled into thinking that the types of entertainments featured were not prostitution
simply because they were expensive. Prostitution became a word for cheap and lower
class prostitutes. For the upscale market, these were simply ‘entertainments’ or ‘night
life’. Suryo took great pride in two of Popular’s regular features entitled Special
Coverage (Liputan Khusus) and Night Coverage (Liputan Malam). According to Suryo,
the two columns provided information on sexual phenomena in big cities in Indonesia
(mainly in Jakarta). He defended Popular by claiming that the magazine was only
reporting them as facts. How people used the information from the magazine was none
of his business. He dismissed accusations that Special Coverage and Night Coverage
were guides to sexual entertainments akin to glossy sex tourism brochures. A cynical
informant whom I interviewed about Popular referred to it as a monthly “prostitution
catalogue” because the sexual phenomena featured in Special Coverage and Night
Coverage were mostly services that men can obtain from escorts.
460
Susan Bordo, The Male Body. A New Look at Men in Public and in Private (New York: Farrar, Straus
and Gioux, 1999), p. 120.
153
Suryo cherished Special Coverage and Night Coverage as the trademark of Popular. He
referred to them as investigative reporting. He emphasized the difficulties in gaining the
trust of the informants in order to gain access to the places that they covered. “Those
reports are Popular’s trademark. They sell. Reporters from other magazines can’t go as
deep [as our reporters],” he remarked. 461 Although Popular is associated with all sorts
of sexual entertainment, Suryo adamantly argued that those were not the only
entertainments featured in the magazine, because Popular also provided good quality
photographs as well as good articles. There was a combination of aesthetics, intellect
and sex.
Male Emporium also had this formula. Cynthia Limanouw said men’s magazines that
primarily focused on women should not define themselves as lifestyle magazines but
entertainment magazines instead. According to her men’s lifestyle magazines should
provide eclectic information including articles that were challenging and made the
readers think (“membuat orang mikir”).462 In essence, this was similar to what Popular
claimed to provide. The editor for Playboy Indonesia even made up his mind to be the
editor for the magazine because he claimed that Playboy’s standard of journalism was
very outstanding despite its preoccupation with half naked women. 463 Unsurprisingly,
the genealogy of the seriousness in handling men’s entertainment and lifestyle that
influenced Male Emporium, Popular and Playboy Indonesia could be traced back to the
American Playboy. Watts comments in his biography of Hugh Hefner and Playboy
magazine that Hefner wanted a magazine that was perfect and filled with
features ... that are in themselves entertaining, but also service features on
such things as food, drink, fashion, and travel that help make life
461
“Itu ciri khas Popular..itu yang paling menjual dan wartawan lain belum bisa seperti itu. Menembus
nara sumber sampai ke dalam-dalamnya.” Interview with P Suryo R, editor of Popular on 24 June 2008.
462
Interview with Cynthia Limanouw, branding director of Male Emporium on 20 June 2008.
463
Interview with the editor of Playboy Indonesia on 4 June 2008 and 2 July 2008.
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entertaining. ... In our critical columns, where more than anywhere else we
give some definition to our point of view, we offer opinions on music,
classical as well as popular and jazz, on books and plays and theatre and
films, and we often try to say rather important things about all this ... Our
non fiction can sometimes have something to say just a bit deeper than it is
fun to pinch girls in crowds. 464
The above mission quoted from Hefner in 1956 proved to be a projection into the
future. It became the formulation of content that Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines
adhere to.
All of this editors’ rhetoric to construct and define men’s lifestyle magazines
emphasizes that they are catering to a sophisticated group of male readers. These
targeted male readers or the way the magazines imagine their readers are important in
constructing the magazines’ status. Sophisticated group of targeted readers would
elevate the magazines’ status to highbrow entertainment. The male entertainment genre
would qualify as erotica rather than ‘pornography’. The significance of the readers’
social class in determining whether the status of an Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazine
was pornographic or not, was proven during the Playboy Indonesia trial. Atmakusumah,
an expert witness at the trial, proposed that the pornographic category would depend on
whether the audience was entitled to view the material or not. Kitley claims that,
Atmakusumah drew the court’s attention to the subjective and classcontingent nature of pornography, noting that a ‘family’ magazine such as
Femina, marketed to middle class and upper class readers, frequently
published images that at times were more sexual then those in PI. But
because Femina targeted upper class readers, Atmakusumah suggested, it
was not considered pornographic. If the same images were published in a
tabloid, then, he argued, they would be. Atma also took up the reception of
literary works, arguing that explicit sexual content in artistic works was not
pornographic, introducing into the debate the distribution of critical literary
skills in society, and arguing that what was or was not pornography
depended on the competencies and social status of audiences. The
references to class and critical competencies derived from formal education
464
Steven Watts, Mr. Playboy. Hugh Hefner and the American Dream (Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, In,
2009), p. 101.
155
foreground the issue of the uneven distribution of ethical and sexual
competencies and pedagogical opportunity across the community. 465
Atmakusumah’s defence of Playboy Indonesia resonates with the justification of
pornography restriction in the Victorian era I mentioned earlier.
On separate occasions Atmakusumah’s logic was also articulated by other editors such
as Harinda from Maxim Indonesia and Aryo Kresnadi from Male Emporium. Kresnadi
was concerned about the pornography raids on his distributors, and complained that the
threats were inconsistent. He pointed out to the circulation of cheap pornographic
tabloids produced on low quality paper which were sold for between Rp. 3,000 and Rp.
5,000 (less than AUD 1). These tabloids escaped the scrutiny of the Islamic groups. He
claimed to know a publisher who published six pornographic tabloids and they were
always sold out and he escaped the pornography raid. Due to the low price, Kresnadi
expressed his concern regarding children and teenagers getting access to the tabloids.
He compared this with his magazine, which was relatively expensive, and argued that
the high price would minimize underage access. Harinda, from Maxim Indonesia, was
worried that the content of these cheap tabloids might offend some Islamic groups and
then the authorities might take indiscriminate action against all publications, including
men’s lifestyle magazines, in order to appease the complainants. This similar concern
from different editors reflects a consistent pattern in arguing that Indonesian men’s
lifestyle magazines were not contributing to the society’s immorality because they
catered to upper-class consumption. The editors argued that they produced an exclusive
genre that circulated among men who were educated enough to control their sexual
conducts. Their readers’ education supposedly allowed them to behave responsibly. The
uneducated lower class, on the other hand, was perceived as morally weak. Kitley
argues that
465
Philip Kitley, “Playboy Indonesia and the Media,” p. 101.
156
The lower classes, it seems, were vulnerable in the same way as minors, as
they lacked the social status and educational background that would enable
them to be discriminating in reading indecent material and avoid the excess
of emotion it would introduce into their lives. 466
In this case the elitist nature of the men’s lifestyle magazines was invoked to testify to
the erotic spirit of the magazines rather than the pornographic aspects.
Another bias that these magazines suffered was sex discrimination. Considering the
Islamic groups’ standard of pornography, Kresnadi wondered why only men’s
magazines were accused of pornography. He said that Cosmopolitan Indonesia
contained pictures of Indonesian men in provocative poses. He gave an example of a
nude male model in Cosmopolitan Indonesia, holding a big ball to cover his genital. But
nobody commented on the inappropriateness of the picture. Atmakusumah’s defence of
Playboy Indonesia above also mentioned Femina, an Indonesian women’s magazine.
Atmakusumah’s argument mentioned that some pictures in Femina would qualify as
pornographic (such as bra catalogues), if they were removed to men’s magazines. There
was the notion that pornography only existed in men’s magazines by objectifying
women, while the reverse was nonexistent. Kappeler argues that pornography is a
language of masculine power. Kappeler’s book demonstrates that definitions to
differentiate pornography from erotica are unstable. Pornography is a discourse of
power and domination, while erotica is not. 467 But whose power? Presumably men. If a
woman is objectified in a sexually implicit production, there is a tendency to call it
pornography. If the woman seems to be in control, then there is the tendency to
categorize it as erotica. 468 In short there is no clear boundaries to separate the two
categories.
466
Philip Kitley, “Playboy Indonesia and the Media,” pp. 101 – 102.
Susanne Kappeler, p. 41.
468
Susanne Kappeler, pp. 35 – 48.
467
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The Post-Pornography Era
After several more attacks and rampages, the leader of FPI was finally arrested in early
2008. The anti-pornography bill was passed on 30 October 2008 with very low response
from the general public. It did not even make the headlines on Indonesia’s major dailies.
Apart from Playboy Indonesia, other magazines were still around. There were several
arrests made to demonstrate that the anti-pornography law was enforced.
In this chapter I have explored the pornography debate in Indonesia, the western
definition of pornography, and the magazines’ editors defence of their publication.
From the examination above it is clear that these three aspects do not relate very much
to one another. The Islamic fundamentalists operated from their own perspective of
what constituted pornography. The magazine editors’ were left perplexed arguing
against inconsistent accusations.
From a western definition of pornography there
seemed to be no ground to threaten these magazines. The editor for Playboy Indonesia
summed up the situation as highly political. It was not a pornography debate. It was a
political debate.
In this chapter, women’s representations were manipulated to create conflicts between
different groups of men as a way to exchange strong political messages. Conflicts are
seen as necessary in order to express power in the face of oppositions. In the next
chapter I look into the representations of women as metaphors for subordinated men’s
resistance. Earlier I used Morrison’s theory to argue that race is a metaphor for moral
decay. In the next chapter I expand Morrison’s claim and argue that gender is a
metaphor for social oppression and resistance.
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CHAPTER 6
Girlfriends and Mistresses:
Representations of Sexualized Women in Men’s Magazines
The main attraction of Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines is the sexy female models.
Although the editors of these magazines argue that their magazines are not just about
half-naked women, the presence of the women defines the genre. In the public eye,
these women are the essence of the magazines. However, it needs to be acknowledged
that sexualized images of women are not only visible in men’s lifestyle magazines. In
the west, these images saturate the media as part of a marketing scheme that posits
women as endorsers of products. 469 In western men’s lifestyle magazines, in addition to
the products that these women endorse, they also advertise their magazines and
themselves. Women’s sexuality is commodified. This condition can be extended to the
Indonesian media and to Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines where women’s
sexuality becomes the product itself.
I begin this chapter, by stating the questions that I raise and the arguments that I
propose. After that I describe the theoretical underpinnings of my argument in the
section about Foucault’s theory of sexuality. I focus particularly on his argument that
sexuality can be used as power. Following this theory section, I provide two sections on
the cultural context of Indonesian men’s perception of women’s sexuality as power and
469
See, Elizabeth Monk-Turner, Kristy Wren, Leanne McGill, Chris Matthiae, Stephan Brown and
Derrick Brooks, “Who is Gazing at Whom? A Look at How Sex is Used in Magazine Advertisements”
Journal of Gender Studies, Vol. 17, No. 3 (September 2008), 201- 209 and
Jacqueline Lambiase and Tom Reichert, “Sex and the Marketing of Contemporary Consumer Magazines:
How Men’s Magazines Sexualized Their Covers to Compete with Maxim” Sex in Consumer Culture: the
Erotic Content of Media and Marketing, eds. Jacqueline Lambiase and Tom Reichert (New York,
London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2006), pp. 67 – 105.
159
threat in gender relations. This perception warrants constant monitoring and control
from men, which is manifested in the magazines. The last section is a discussion about
gender discourse from the content of the magazines set within the context of Indonesian
socio-cultural gender relations.
Questions and Arguments
This chapter aims to explore how women are sexualized in order to represent
masculinities in these magazines. It also aims to understand the significance of the
sexualities of these women within the Indonesian social context. These questions are
asked to support the main task of this thesis, which is to examine representations of
masculinities in the magazines. This chapter shows how women are used as indicators
of masculinities. It is in contrast with Chapter Seven, on representations of Indonesian
men in the magazines, which examines how men themselves express their masculinities.
I argue that, apart from the generic formulation of men’s lifestyle magazines that says
“sex sells”, representations of sexualized women in these magazines contribute to a
discourse of male agency in the Indonesian socio-political context. Male agency in this
case is a reaction from a subordinated group of men to express their male power by
using women as the tokens of their power. This is done within the context of struggle
over the contesting claims for masculinities − a struggle among men. 470 Male agency
within the tradition of North American masculinity studies is often associated with the
effort of black men to resist the paradigm of masculinity associated with white men, that
is used to emasculate black men. 471 In the Indonesian context, this understanding of
male agency is useful to describe how a politically marginalized group of men try to
470
John Beynon, Masculinity and Culture, p. 16.
See Michael Flood et al eds. International Encyclopedia of Men and Masculinity, pp. 14 -15 and
Rudolph P. Byrd and Beverly Guy-Sheftall, eds. African American Men on Gender and Sexuality
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001).
471
160
accommodate their masculinities through available means, such as men’s lifestyle
magazines.
When they display their sexuality, the female models in the magazines also endorse the
masculine ideology of the magazines. This chapter focuses on the appropriation of the
sexuality and femininity of these female models as a means to construct a competing
masculinity within the Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines, against the socio-political
hegemony of Indonesian men in the society. As Hatley argues
In Indonesia, as in other colonised and post-colonial nations, images of
women have long been a site of political contestation between coloniser and
colonised, and among competing local groups. 472
I propose to view the magazines as a microcosm of heterosexual gender relations in
Indonesia. Anderson has argued that sexual discourses in the media can reveal dynamics
of social stratification in terms of domination, subordination, complicity and
alienation. 473 I shall be drawing on his analysis to demonstrate that.
The discourse of male empowerment that the magazines represent is identified at three
different levels. The first level is the empowerment signified by publishing the genre
itself. Sen argues that in analyzing media in Asia in the twenty-first century, content and
agency are important. Sen speaks of the internet and she argues that, contrary to
Marshall Mcluhan, “the medium is not the message.” 474 In my research, however, the
genre of men’s lifestyle magazine itself conveys a message. In other words, the medium
is the message. This is due to the nature of the genre and its reception in a particular
472
Barbara Hatley, “Subverting the Stereotypes: Women Performers Contest Gender Images, Old and
New” [online]. Review of Indonesian and Malayan Affairs, Vol. 41, No. 2, (2007), 173-204.
http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=200802841;res=APAFT (date accessed 2 April 2009).
473
Benedict Anderson, Language and Power, pp. 171-172.
474
Krishna Sen, “Mediating Political Transition in Asia” in Political Regimes and the Media in Asia, eds.
Krishna Sen and Terence Lee (London; New York: Routledge, 2008), p. 2.
Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media. The Extensions of Man (London: Routledge, c1994).
161
socio-political context − these two combined aspects spark arguments about
pornography and indecency. The publication of the genre could be read as testing the
new boundaries created by the Indonesian authorities and the Indonesian public after the
fall of Suharto in 1998. Crossing or negotiating these boundaries can be seen as an
exercise of agency.
The second level is the sense of male empowerment obtained through publishing
sexualized images of women that are not sanctioned by the state. The state endorses
polite and tame images of women which echo the notion of self-sacrificing motherhood
and good wives. Blackwood asserts that in Indonesia, “the state glorifies women as
moral guardians and domestic managers”. 475 By presenting images of sexually wild
women that are totally the opposite of state-sanctioned images, the magazines express
their symbolic noncompliance. The male state stands for the hegemonic masculinity in
Indonesian society and here the magazines are exercising their agency vis-à-vis the
state.
The third level of empowerment is achieved through the exploitation of the local gender
discourse of men vis-à-vis women, to construct a set of sexualized images that promote
male domination. Although the sexualized women in these magazines do not promote
proper motherhood and housewifery, they still promote proper womanhood. They
support the ideals of good womanhood by not threatening men’s position as the
dominant gender.
475
Evelyn Blackwood, “Senior Women. Model Mothers, and Dutiful Wives: Managing Gender
Contradictions in Minangkabau Village” in Bewitching Women, Pious Men: Gender and Body Politics in
Southeast Asia, eds. Aihwa Ong, Michael G. Peletz (Berkeley, California: University of California Press,
1995), p. 126.
162
Theory: Foucault’s History of Sexuality
Michel Foucault’s theory of sexuality and power is relevant to this chapter, particularly
his vision of sexuality as an expression of power. According to Foucault, power is
fluid. Any move that is tactical or spontaneous qualifies as an exercise of power. Since
power is everywhere, it does not have to reside within the dominant group in any given
society. Everyone has power. The difference is that power exercised by a dominant
group in a society is recognized as such (that is, as being powerful). The exercise of
power by subordinated or marginalized social groups is identified using terms such as
resistance, challenge, struggle or agency. The point is that these other less dominant
groups are not necessarily powerless. They are exercising their power in different ways.
Submission to a greater and more dominant group may seem like a powerless act of
surrender. However, considering the pervasiveness of power, within any submission
there is always an exercise of power no matter how small. The simplest expression of
resentment is power because it is an act of agency. Foucault contends that
[T]here is plurality of resistances, each of them a special case: resistances
that are possible, necessary, improbable, others that are spontaneous, savage,
solitary, concerted, rampant, or violent: still others that are quick to
compromise, interested, sacrificial; by definition, they can only exist in the
strategic field of power relations. 476
Sexuality, according to Foucault, is not an essence in itself, but is a discourse.
According to Foucault’s post-structuralist point of view, things do not have an essence
in themselves but are given meanings in relation to others. This also applies to
sexuality. The discourse of sexuality is a social construction. Since there is no essence
in sexuality, it all depends on who has a say about sexuality at any given time.
Discourses on sexuality will not uncover the essence of sexuality itself. Instead, they
reveal the construction of knowledge surrounding sexuality and the contribution of
476
Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, Volume 1 (Camberwell, Victoria, Australia: Penguin
Books, 2008 [trans. Originally published 1976]), p. 96.
163
power that helps to sustain that particular knowledge of sexuality. The power that
predominates will dominate the discourses of sexuality in a society at a particular time
in history. In this way, a discourse of sexuality may be used to trace the power that
supports it.
To link sexuality and power, Foucault starts his argument with the “repressive
hypothesis”. Although he later extends from this, the idea of a “repressive hypothesis”
is still useful for this chapter. The repressive hypothesis is the way sexuality is
presented as something that needs to be contained and controlled. Foucault argues that
[T]here may be another reason that makes it so gratifying for us to define the
relationship between sex and power in terms of repression: something that
one might call the speaker’s benefit. If sex is repressed, that is, condemned
to prohibition, non-existence, and silence, then the mere fact that one is
speaking about it has the appearance of a deliberate transgression. 477
The reason for containing and controlling sexuality lies in the discourse of sexuality that
gives the privilege of ‘safe’ or ‘normal’ sex only to people within the closed circle of a
heterosexual conjugal relationship. Any kind of sexuality that exists outside this circle
is subject to medical examination or law enforcement. Medical and legal authorities
then define the terms and boundaries of abnormality or transgression. The discourse of
sexuality becomes a discourse of abnormality and transgression. Sexuality is discussed
not in terms of the pleasure it provides, but is brought up only when sexuality is
perceived to be out of control.
Foucault expands on this hypothesis to suggest that sexuality itself is an expression of
power, rather than being repressed by power as in the repressive hypothesis. The power
within these discourses rests on how each one differs from the others and how these
477
Foucault, p. 6.
164
discourses challenge one another, even as they employ the same action. Foucault argues
that
[T]here can exist different and even contradictory discourses within the same
strategy, [and they] circulate without changing their form from one strategy
to another, opposing strategy. 478
Foucault gives the example of the bourgeoisie during the Victorian era who exercised
strict control over their sexuality even though they were not repressed. The strict control
was an exercise of power to define their class in terms of constructing a supposedly
more civilized sexuality vis-à-vis the lower class.
Since there is more than one discourse of sexuality in a society, these different
discourses exercise their power against one another. Foucault’s theory of sexuality is
useful in analyzing how different groups of men exercise control over women’s
sexuality (both the corporeal women and their representations) to advance their own
ideology of masculinity. Indonesian men use the same strategy − controlling women’s
sexuality − as a benchmark of their male power. Hatley argues that
Female sexuality and fecundity, celebrated in early, small-scale South-east
Asian societies in their association with forces of natural fertility essential
to human survival, were seen to have been tamed and contained with the
establishment of large-scale political states dominated by men. 479
In the next two sections, I explore the discourses of fearing and controlling female
sexuality through sexual relationships in Indonesian society, to throw light on the
discourse of female sexuality in Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines.
478
Foucault, p. 102.
Barbara Hatley, “New Directions in Indonesian Women’s Writing? The Novel Saman” Asian Studies
Review, Vol. 23, No. 4 (December 1999), 451.
479
165
Concubines, Co-wives, and Mistresses
One of the exercises of power is the ability to control others. In gender relations,
control over women is often used as an indication of male power. This control is often
used to testify to the degree of power attributed to men. Since sexuality is seen as
power, female sexuality has been the subject of male control. Women in the magazines
are images that refer to male success. Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines appropriate
these images as a token of their own power and control.
Although by western standard the representations of women in these magazines are very
tame compared with their western counterparts, the intended sexual nature of
Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines can be read as a symbolic harem. Men can
exercise their masculinity by consuming images of women in the magazines. Stern’s
analysis of women’s objectification in advertising in the United States defines these
men as “eye-fucking” the women. 480 The abundance of representations of women in the
magazines means that the “eye-fucking” is equivalent to a visual orgy and demonstrates
how the magazines incite male readers into “mass eroticism”. 481 The acts of purchasing
and consuming the magazines render the male buyers owners of the women’s images.
There is a parallel between representing women in the magazines to be consumed by
male readers and the discourse that assigns women as part of men’s possession.
Hirschon proposes that women’s service in a household that is appropriated by men
becomes men’s property. 482 Similarly, female sexuality appropriated by men through
the magazine becomes men’s property.
480
Barbara B. Stern, “Masculinism(s) and the Male Image: What Does It Mean To Be a Man?” in Sex in
Advertising. Perspectives on the Erotic Appeal, eds. Tom Reichert and Jacqueline Lambiase (New Jersey:
Lawrence Erlbaum, 2003), p. 224.
481
Paul Rutherford, A World Made Sexy. Freud to Madonna (Toronto; Buffalo; London: University of
Toronto Press, 2007), p. 9.
482
Renée Hirschon, “Introduction: Property, Power and Gender Relations” in Women and Property –
Women as Property, ed. Renée Hirschon (New York: St Martin’s Press, 1984), p. 3.
166
There is also a parallel between power and sex in Indonesian political culture. The
parallel is not just in an abstract Foucauldian sense that power is everywhere, but also in
the way sex is blatantly used as an indicator of power. Anderson and Suryakusuma have
shown that in Indonesia, sexual discourse merges with political discourse. These
discourses share a vocabulary of conquering women. 483 In sexual discourse, women are
sexual targets of men’s heterosexual desire. In political discourse, women are the social
and political targets of regulation from the masculine state.
This attitude can be traced back to the pre-colonial period when women were used as
forms of gift exchange or as symbols of regional ties through the institution of
concubinage. There is a tacit acknowledgement that relationships with women link in
direct proportion to ranks of power. 484 Utarti-Miller argues that traditionally Indonesian
men’s greatest achievement and simultaneously most sinful temptations in life are
summarized in the expression “wealth, position, and women” (harta, tahta, wanita, or
the 3Ta). 485 With regards to the sexual adventures of Indonesian men, especially those
with great power, Suryakusuma asserts that men’s success is expressed through sexual
conquest. 486
Barbara Andaya’s research indicates that before the seventeenth century, “Female rulers
are more evident in island Southeast Asia, although the nature of their authority is not
always clear.” 487 Along with the power accorded to female rulers, female sexuality was
seen as a threat, due to the power it had upon men. This is still true in contemporary
483
Benedict Anderson, Language and Power, p. 32 and Julia I. Suryakusuma, Sex, Power and Nation. An
Anthology of Writings, 1979 – 2003 (Jakarta: Metafor Publishing, 2004).
484
See Julia I. Suryakusuma, Sex, Power and Nation.
485
Hediana Utarti-Miller, “Constructing the Guardian Mothers: A Note on the Representation of Women
in Indonesia’s New Order” in Constructions and Confrontations: Changing Representations of Women in
the East and West, eds. Christina Bacchilega and Cornelia N. Moore (Honolulu, Hawaii: University of
Hawaii Press, 1996), p. 30.
486
Julia I. Suryakusuma, Sex, Power and Nation, p. 198.
487
Barbara Watson Andaya, The Flaming Womb. Repositioning Women in Early Modern Southeast Asia
(Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2006), p. 167.
167
Indonesian society, as expressed in a popular song lyric that says, “women are the
poison of the world, because they blind us all.” 488 The lyric refers to women as
dangerous because of their ability to blind men’s judgements with their sexual allure.
Andaya argues that myths about female sexuality which arose from the seventeenth
century incited fear and awe. She gives an example from the legend of Ken Dedes, the
wife of a local governor in Java. Due to her sexual power, according to the local legend,
“the man who obtains her is destined to be king.” 489 As the legend goes, men fought
because of her. The conflicts caused by her sexuality supposedly changed the course of
Javanese history. This legend seems to provide a rationale for men’s confrontation with
other men by blaming women as the ground for their conflicts. It also shows the extent
of the perceived threat posed by female sexuality. The legend justifies men’s
conquering attitude towards women in order to harness the women’s potential and
mystical power which resides in their sexuality. In this context, there is a notion of
sexual politics between men vis-à-vis women: that men have to conquer female
sexuality before that sexuality conquers them.
The practice of having multiple sexual relationships with women has been a part of
Indonesian culture for a long time. This practice is a display of masculinity but also
serves as a cultural mechanism to control female sexuality through the conjugal
relationship. The practice was reflected in and reinforced by myths and legends in
Indonesian archipelago of male heroes surrounded by their wives. In her research on
ancient Javanese and Balinese court literary tradition called kakawin, Creese argues that
In the kakawin world, polygamy is the norm. Nearly every hero has more
than one wife ... World-conquering heroes have large harems as a sign of
488
“Wanita racun dunia. Karena dia butakan semua” A song by Changcuters
http://www.liriklagumusik.com/racun-dunia-by-the-changcuters.html (date accessed 1 May 2010).
489
Barbara Watson Andaya, p. 1.
168
their status and prowess. 490
During the pre-colonial and colonial kingdoms, aristocrats and wealthy men practiced
polygamy. At the time, such women were called concubines (selir). A king usually had
one queen but many concubines. Having multiple wives was a symbol of strength and
wealth. A king’s sexual prowess symbolized his ability to rule. Anderson argues that
“The fertility of the ruler was seen as simultaneously invoking and guaranteeing the
fertility of the land, the prosperity of the society, and the expansionist vitality of the
empire.” 491 Anderson’s remarks place women’s bodies as metaphors for regions or
territory. On a more practical level, marrying women from different regions was partly
seen as an effort to keep the kingdom together through family ties. Creese argues that,
“marriageable daughters were pawns in the politics of dynastic marriage.” 492
After independence, the political entities of the colonial kingdoms dissolved, and were
replaced by the Republic of Indonesia. The practice of concubinage diminished
significantly. Blackburn argues that
Since independence … the power, status and resources of the aristocracy
have dwindled and with them the willingness of young women to enter
polygamous marriages. 493
However, the tradition of concubinage was replaced by the practice of taking young
wives or istri muda. It was a new term for a similar practice. President Sukarno himself
had nine wives. 494 As the head of state, Sukarno’s polygamy was tolerated because
490
Helen Creese, Women of the Kakawin World. Marriage and Sexuality in the Indic Courts of Java and
Bali (Armonk, New York; London, England: East Gate Book, 2004), p. 119.
491
Benedict Anderson, Language and Power, p. 32.
492
Helen Creese, Women of the Kakawin World, p. 228.
493
Susan Blackburn, Women and the State in Modern Indonesia (Cambridge: The Press Syndicate of the
University of Cambridge, 2004), p. 135.
494
Sonja van Wichelen “Reconstructing ‘Muslimness’: New Bodies in Urban Indonesia” in Geographies
of Muslim Identities: Diaspora, Gender and Belonging, eds. Cara Aitchison, Peter Hopkins, Mei-po
Kwan (Hampshire, England; Burlington, USA: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2007), p. 103.
169
people at the time still had some expectations of him as a king. 495 Anderson argues that
“Sukarno’s personal life is overlooked, ... for signs of the ruler’s virility are political
indicators that he still has the power.” 496
During Suharto’s New Order, the practice of polygamy was covert due to the 1974
Marriage Law that made polygamous practice difficult. That is why the term used at the
time was istri simpanan or literally, hidden wife. The term indicates that the public
acknowledges only the first wife. Minza contends that
A woman who was a second wife couldn’t be out in the open because of the
sense of shame and embarrassment arising out of her position. Society
despised those involved in polygamous marriages. 497
However, the end of the New Order ended the era of the hidden mistresses. The term
poligami became popular not long after the end of the New Order. There were
differences between having mistresses and polygamy. The terms “unofficial wives” and
“mistresses” focus on the women, and impose stigma on this kind of relationship
because of the restrictions under the New Order. The term “polygamy” does not bear
the same embarrassing stigma. It does not contain the connotation of a clandestine
relationship. In the Reform era polygamy became a proud label for Muslim men with
more than one wife.
The practice of polygamy, which used to be a tradition in the era of concubinage, has
become religiously sanctioned in modern day Indonesia. 498 The different terms indicate
how the practice of having multiple sexual relationships with women is perceived
495
Although the term polygyny is more accurate in defining the marriage of one man with more than one
woman, I use the word polygamy due to the more common usage of the word ‘polygamy’ to denote
polygyny in Indonesia.
496
Benedict Anderson, Language and Power, p. 32.
497
Wenty Marina Minza, Perspective on Polygamy in Post-Reform Indonesia (Chiangmai, Thailand:
Silkworm Books, 2009), p. 25.
498
Susan Blackburn, Women and the State in Modern Indonesia, p. 113.
170
differently by society in different times. Despite different names for the practice, the
phenomena of concubinage, young wives, mistresses and polygamy seem to be
constantly used as indicators of male status. What links these different terms together is
the notion of male power and wealth expressed through the possession of women.
To link this condition with the flourishing Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines, I
borrow and modify McNair’s term “Striptease Culture”. McNair claims that
Striptease Culture is my label of convenience for the media of sexual
revelation and exhibitionism which proliferated in the capitalist societies of
the late twentieth century and continue to be among their most visible and
controversial features in the early years of the twenty-first.
‘Striptease’ in this context has both literal and metaphorical meanings,
embracing a range of texts and images including… confessional talk
shows.” [emphasis added] 499
To bring the “striptease culture” into the post-Suharto context, both polygamy and
Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines are similar in exhibiting women as badges of
male power. The “exhibitionism” of Muslim polygamists in parading their practice is
comparable to Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines parading women in their content.
Representations of Sexualized Women as a Statement of Challenge
Female sexuality constructed by women should be perceived differently from female
sexuality constructed by men. Marching’s article on the burgeoning of Indonesian
women writers after the collapse of the New Order indicates that there is a sense of
empowerment if women depict their own sexuality. 500 It becomes problematic when
men depict women’s sexuality. Questions arise in terms of whose empowerment is
represented and then there is the issue of appropriation. What is similar in both of these
depictions of female sexuality by men’s magazines and women writers is that they
499
Brian McNair, Striptease Culture, p. ix.
Soe Tjen Marching, “Descriptions of Female Sexuality in Ayu Utami’s Saman” Journal of Southeast
Asian Studies, Vol. 38, No. 1 (February 2007), 133–146.
500
171
refuse to obey the convention of sexual taboo in depicting women sexually, so they are
rebelling against the power that imposes that convention. 501
Under the New Order, women were meant to serve the state as an extension of their
own family. Suryakusuma condensed this ideology into what she calls “State Ibuism” or
“State Motherhood”. 502 In a family, Suryakusuma argues, the “father is the primary
source of power and mother is one medium of that power”. 503 In viewing the state as a
big family, men are the people who hold the power and women (and children) are the
people on whom power is exercised. 504
Under Suharto, the Indonesian media helped promote the ideal women sanctioned by
the state. 505 Indonesian women’s magazines were equally saturated with images
complicit with “State Ibuism”. Brenner observes that
the popular women’s magazines of the New Order period reinforced the
Suharto regime’s unceasing efforts to create an image of a stable,
harmonious, prosperous society built on a foundation of the moral, apolitical,
middle class family. 506
The concept of motherhood was more useful to the state than the concept of wifehood.
This was because a mother’s role lacks the sexual aspect of a wife. In this way,
women’s ideological role became asexual. Curbing female sexuality was necessary
because female sexuality initiated by women themselves was seen as a menace. Female
sexuality should only be exercised in the service of men. Bain argues that this attitude is
501
Soe Tjen Marching, 135.
Julia I. Suryakusuma, “The State and Sexuality in New Order Indonesia” in Fantasizing the Feminine
in Indonesia, ed. Laurie J. Sears (Durham: Duke University Press, 1996), pp. 101 – 102.
503
Julia I. Suryakusuma, “The State and Sexuality in New Order Indonesia,” pp. 101 – 102.
504
See Julia I. Suryakusuma, “The State and Sexuality in New Order Indonesia,” pp. 101 – 102.
505
Saraswati Sunindyo, “Gender Discourse on Television” in Culture and Society in New Order
Indonesia, ed. Virginia Matheson Hooker (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1993), pp. 134 – 48.
506
Suzanne Brenner, “On the Intimacy of the New Order: Images of Women in the Popular Indonesian
Print Media” Indonesia, Vol. 67 (April 1999), 14.
502
172
reflected in Indonesian theatre in which unruly women are characterized as unattractive
and undesirable. 507
Under the New Order, the masculine ideological battles that employed female sexuality
as the medium, were practised differently by different groups of men. Hatley comments
on how two Indonesian male writers of the New Order, Pramoedya Ananta Toer and
Romo Mangunwijaya, depict women who do not fit the mould of sacrificial
motherhood. By portraying forceful women, these writers refuse to yield to the New
Order gender ideology. 508 Hatley describes female characters in Pramoedya’s and
Mangunwijaya’s work as “strong, assertive” and “resistant”. By providing different and
empowered female characters, these male writers are seen as challenging the New
Order. 509 Additionally, Bodden argues that Mangunwijaya uses a woman as a metaphor
of a nation, since the gender represents the marginalized group of people in Indonesia
by the New Order regime. 510 There is an obvious parallel between nation-state and
female-male relationships.
Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines provide different types of women from the
stereotypes provided by the state. These women in the magazines are not the
independent types presented by Pramoedya and Mangunwijaya. As I argued at the
beginning of this chapter, the women in these magazines are there to reinforce the
masculine ideology of the magazines. The general task of sexy women in men’s
lifestyle magazines is to endorse heterosexuality. In Indonesian men’s lifestyle
magazines the sexy images indicate that these women are not the types sanctioned by
507
Lauren Bain, “Women’s Agency in Contemporary Indonesian Theatre” in The Agency of Women in
Asia, ed. Lyn Parker (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish International, 2005), pp. 107 – 117.
508
Barbara Hatley, “New Directions in Indonesian Women’s Writing? The Novel Saman” Asian Studies
Review, Vol. 23, No. 4 (December 1999), 453.
509
Barbara Hatley, “New Directions in Indonesian Women’s Writing? The Novel Saman,” p. 453.
510
Michael H. Bodden, “Woman as Nation in Mangunwijaya’s “Durga Umayi”” Indonesia, Vol. 62
(October 1996), 55.
173
the state, but they are still there to serve the interest of men. In order to challenge the
male hegemony of the state, the magazines challenge the demure images of women
created by the state. Therefore, women in the magazines are sexually charged although
they still have to adhere to the convention of submission to men.
I view this ‘image controlling’ as a struggle between hegemonic groups of men
represented by the state and a subordinated group of men represented by the magazines.
Part of the struggle is to use women as markers of masculinities, especially for
subordinated men. If they do not have power over other men, these men can at least
exercise their power over other women. 511 Therefore the women in the magazines are
constructed with two considerations in mind: to replace tame images of women from the
mainstream media, and simultaneously still embrace the traditional notion of male
superiority. This results in contradictions and paradox in the representations of the
women. The women in the magazines regain their sexuality but maintain their
subservience.
The intention of the strategy remains consistent: to reinforce male
control.
Women use their own sexuality as empowerment. Why do men not use their own
sexuality to express their empowerment? Why do they have to mediate their sexuality
through representations of women’s bodies? The answer partly lies in Mulvey’s
argument that “men cannot bear the burden of objectification.” 512 Mulvey’s theory of
the gaze has been developed by other scholars to explain women’s decorative presence
in the media. Stern argues that objectifying men is an ideological taboo. She asserts this
taboo in her research about advertising in the west in which men are reluctant to be the
511
Movimento Femminista Romano “On Prostitution. Two Broadsheets and a Statement” in Feminism
and Pornography, ed. Drucilla Cornell, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 350.
512
Laura Mulvey, Visual and other Pleasures, p. 12.
174
objects of gaze. 513 The reluctance is related to idea that the gaze is part of a process of
gender identity construction. 514 The hierarchy of the gaze is rooted within the
convention that accords men the power to look. Women should surrender, to be the
objects of the male gaze. 515 Reversing the convention will have a feminising effect on
men. Neale argues about the male gaze in film production that “Women are a problem,
a source of anxiety, of obsessive inquiry; men are not. Whereas women are investigated,
men are tested.” 516 Stern and Neale support Mulvey’s argument that the gender of the
gaze in the media is male. The representations in these magazines conform to the
convention by displaying women to be “investigated” by the male gaze.
In the following I explain the sexual politics behind the female models’ representations
and provide examples from the magazines to demonstrate my argument that the
sexualized women of the magazines are reflections of men’s ‘show of force’.
Indonesian Women for Indonesian Men
Reichert and Lambiase argue that research on sexual images in the west usually links
the images with
cultural myths, power, iconographies, relationships, development of gender
identities and stereotypes, people’s fantasies, ethics, and shared grammars of
the body as commodity. 517
In this section I cover the topics mentioned by Reichert and Lambiase above and
locate them within the Indonesian context.
513
Barbara B. Stern, “Masculinism(s) and the Male Image: What Does It Mean To Be a Man?” in Sex in
Advertising. Perspectives on the Erotic Appeal, eds. Tom Reichert and Jacqueline Lambiase (New Jersey:
Lawrence Erlbaum, 2003), pp. 223 – 224.
514
Nicholas Mirzoeff, An Introduction to Visual Culture (London; New York: Routledge, 1999), p. 164.
515
John Berger, Ways of Seeing. Based on the BBC Television Series with John Berger. (London: British
Broadcasting Corporation; Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972), p. 47.
516
Steve Neale, “Masculinity as Spectacle” Screen, Vol. 24 No. 6 (1983), 15 – 16.
517
Tom Reichert and Jacqueline J. Lambiase, “One Phenomenon, Multiple Lenses: Bridging Perspectives
to Examine Sex in Advertising” in Sex in Advertising. Perspectives on the Erotic Appeal, eds. Tom
Reichert and Jacqueline Lambiase (New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2003), p. 3.
175
In the 1970s, Keys argued that many advertisements in the US hide sexual messages
within the advertisements to lure consumers. 518 Consumers are supposedly seduced by
the hidden sexual messages without realizing their presence. Regardless of the
controversy surrounding Keys’ classic argument, I am interested in his idea of reading
subliminal messages and the idea that sex is everywhere in the media. Extending Keys’
argument further, I argue that it is not about revealing sexual messages in the
magazines (which are quite obvious), but what those sexual message ultimately signify.
Rutherford uses the phrase the “erotics of power” to describe the sexualization of the
American media. 519 He contends that women are eroticized to symbolize men’s
power. 520
Sexual imagery in the magazines I surveyed is produced visually and verbally. There
are photographs of and interviews with female models. Their abundance invokes ideas
of a sexual menagerie, and the owner of this menagerie is each male reader through his
purchase of the magazine. The male readers engage in safe sexual voyeurism provided
by the magazines. 521 It is safe because the act of gazing at women in these magazines
does not risk of rejection and precludes accusations of sexual harassment, unlike in the
real world. The magazines provide a safe space in which to exercise the male gaze
because there is a discrepancy between the gaze (or non-marital sexual practice) in
public life, which is perceived as lecherous, and the gaze within the private discourse of
the magazines which is normalized.
518
See Wilson Bryan Keys, Subliminal Seduction. Ad Media’s Manipulation of a Not So Innocent
America (New York: Signet, 1973).
519
Paul Rutherford, A World Made Sexy, pp. 155 – 189.
520
Paul Rutherford, A World Made Sexy, p. 156.
521
Jim McKay and Janine Mikosza and Brett Hutchins, ““Gentlemen, the Lunchbox has Landed”
Representations of Masculinities and Men’s Bodies in the Popular Media” in Handbook of Studies on
Men and Masculinities, eds. Michael S. Kimmel and Jeff Hearn and R.W. Connell (California; London;
New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2005), p. 282.
176
The magazines therefore provide a sense of power that male readers exercise through
consuming the images. To create the notion of privileged access and privileged viewing
of exclusive images, the sexual and physical features of these women are displayed,
most often focusing on the breasts. Maxim Indonesia published an article entitled the
“Boob Test” in which men were asked to guess the models’ sex lives from their breasts
(see Figure 4). The article says, “Maxim tries to check men’s ability to get information
about a woman just by checking out her breasts.” 522 The information includes what
sexually excites a woman and how she demonstrates her sexual arousal.
Bra size represents the privacy of female models, which is invaded for the tantalizing
thrill of male readers. In the magazines, bra size has also become the barometer of
women’s success with men. Grogan, in her research about western body image,
maintains that ideals of beauty in western society and western men’s magazines are still
preoccupied with large breasts and slim waists.523 Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines
have the same ideals. P Suryo R, the editor of Popular, mentioned that one of the
requirements to be a model for the magazine is ample breast size. The importance of
breast size was emphasized when Suryo mentioned that his eyes were trained to gauge
bra sizes just by taking a quick glance at the busts of potential models. 524 In a way,
these women’s qualities are reduced to their breasts.
Scutt, in her discussion of pornographic material in Australia, argues that
Through the ... ownership of the bodies of women depicted on the screen, is
derived (and reinforced) the notion that all women’s bodies are there for the
taking ... commodities to be bought. 525
522
“Maxim mencoba mengecek kemampuan pria menilai data seseorang wanita hanya dari melihat
payudaranya.” “Boob Test” Maxim Indonesia, No. 15, February 2007, p. 56.
523
Sarah Grogan, Body Image. Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Men, Women and Children
(Sussex, UK: Routledge, 2008), p. 174.
524
Interview with P Suryo R, the editor of Popular on 24 June 2008.
525
Jocelynne A. Scutt, The Sexual Gerrymander. Women and the Economics of Power (North Melbourne:
Spinifex Press, 1994), p. 170.
177
Describing the vital statistics of women’s bodies is a way of commodifying women.
It reflects the masculine tendency to assess women quantitatively (how big, how
slim, how tall, how heavy, and so on) − an action that presumes men have the
authority and knowledge to assess women. It is as act of appropriation that places
men in the position of judge. Quantifying women in the magazines posits men as the
ones with qualities. Men in the magazines are chosen based on their success,
integrity and individual uniqueness, as mentioned by Andre Syahreza, former editor
of Male Emporium. 526 These are the qualities that cannot be measured in the ways
the female models are measured.
The tradition of displaying women’s physical aspects is also described by Creese in
her research about the depiction of women in ancient Javanese and Balinese poems.
She maintains that
Again and again poets draw attention to the female body — the bride’s
breasts and waist, her wan face ... her eyebrows arched in a frown ... her
clothing in disarray; but that of the male is barely described. His role is,
instead, one of action. 527
The prevailing notion of women as the body and men as the mind is also argued by
Berger, who asserts that in the western media “men act and women appear.” 528 Women
in these magazines are judged based on their appearance, which mirrors the way women
are judged in contemporary society.
Female models in the magazines are almost always represented as single women. It is
interesting to note that these women are never identified in relation to their families.
526
Interview with Andre Syahreza, former editor of Male Emporium on 5 June 2008.
Helen Creese, Women of the Kakawin World, p. 174.
528
John Berger, Ways of Seeing, p. 47.
527
178
They are never a daughter nor a niece, a sister, and never a wife. 529 Their single status
not only suggests their marital status, which of course has nothing to do with real life,
but also ties in with the notion of being alone. This condition does not signify
independence on the women’s part, but rather, emphasizes the vulnerability and
availability of these women. Constable mentions that an industrialized city in China
called Shenzen, “had a reputation for being wild and loose.” 530 She said that the city
gained this reputation because “Shenzen ... is where all the beautiful women from all
over China go with no family to watch over them”. 531 This logic can be extended to the
models in the magazines, where detachment from family has the effect of making
women seem vulnerable and unprotected, or sexually available and uncontrollable.
These perceptions are left open for men to fantasize their roles as potential partners.
In her research about single women in Lombok, an island in Indonesia, Bennett asserts
that women never achieve the same social and sexual autonomy as men. 532 A young
woman’s social life is always under the supervision of the eldest male member of the
family (the father, an uncle or a big brother) which is transferred to her husband upon
her wedding. 533 Parker similarly claims that in West Sumatra the “father, brothers,
husband, and uncles” form a protective wall called the muhrim. Parker argues that
women are “not allowed to be alone with any males who are not muhrim.” 534 This
condition or rather, its opposite is echoed in the magazines. Since the female models
are not portrayed as a daughter or a niece or a sister or a wife, this indicates a lack of
529
So far I have only found two models who were married. She was Femmy Permatasari, the cover for
Popular in February 2007 and Lusy Rahmawaty the cover for Maxim Indonesia in February 2007.
530
Nicole Constable, “Women’s Agency and the Gendered Geography of Marriage” in Romance on a
Global Stage. Pen Pals, Virtual Ethnography, and “Mail-Order” Marriages (Berkeley: University of
California University Press, 2003), p. 147.
531
Nicole Constable, p. 147.
532
Linda Rae Bennett, Women, Islam and Modernity. Single Women, Sexuality and Reproductive in
Contemporary Indonesia (London; New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2005), p. 28.
533
Laura J. Bellows, “Like the West. New Sexual Practices and Modern Threats to Balinese-ness” Review
of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs, Vol. 37, No. 1, (2003), 83.
534
Lyn Parker, “Religion, Class and Schooled Sexuality among Minangkabau Teenage Girls” Bijdragen
tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (BKI) Vol. 165, No. 1 (2009), 68.
179
control from the father or an elderly male figure. This condition by default constructs
them as having uncurbed sexuality due to lack of male supervision. Because they are
perceived as wild and sexually willing and out of control, they are symbolically open to
sexual advances from men.
The following excerpt from an interview with Nadila Ernesta, a model in Maxim
Indonesia, exemplifies the construction of the uncontrollable woman :
Maxim:
Nadila:
Maxim:
Nadila:
What is the worst thing that can happen when you are in bed
with a man?
If he gets my name wrong!
What turns you on?
[When the guy] compliments me on my look and gives
me a warm kiss, that turns me on right away, hahaha. But if I’m
really drunk it only takes a slight touch and I’m gone, hahaha.535
The interview alludes to pre-marital sex, casual sex (He gets my name wrong!) and
alcohol consumption, which play into the image of unregulated and unsanctioned
female sexuality.
Women’s sexuality and their single status are an invitation for male readers to fantasize
their eligibility as the women’s sexual partners. That is the reason that one of the
ubiquitous interview questions for these models is their dream guy. This is an
omnipresent enquiry. Although male celebrities in the magazines are sometimes asked
the same question regarding their ideal woman, the dream-girl/dream-guy questions are
rooted in gendered motivations. For female models, stating their ideal man indicates
that they are waiting for that ideal man. For the men in the magazines, mentioning their
535
Momen yang paling kamu tidak suka saat bermesraan bersamanya di tempat tidur tapi tiba-tiba dia
melakukannya?
Salah menyebut nama saya!
Apa yang membuat kamu turn-on? [English Original]
Dipuji cantik oleh pasangan dilanjutkan dengan ciuman hangat, langsung deh turn-on, hahaha.. Tapi
kalau sudah mabuk banget, dicolek dikit juga langsung, hahaha.
Ronald Hutagalung, “Nadila Ernesta. Grown Up and Sexy” in Maxim Indonesia, No, 28/III, March 2008,
p. 104.
180
ideal woman means that they are looking for that particular woman rather than waiting
to be chosen by her. There is a clear distinction between active and passive when
comparing the dream-girl/dream-guy discourse in these magazines. Jennaway’s research
about courtship in Bali supports this notion. She asserts that
Although not universal, the gendered opposition between female passivity
and male activity in connection with sexuality and marriage is pervasive both
in western societies and in cultures historically constituted in western
discourse as ‘Other’... In Bali, the passive female/active male dichotomy is
encountered again in a different ideological guise. In both cases, the ideal of
woman is as the passive object of male desire. 536
The active/passive discourse is not expressed verbally in the magazines, but it is made
obvious by the way the women are put on display, as if to wait for potential suitors. The
men are not on display in the magazines. So when these men mention their criteria for a
partner, it is implied that they are the ones who are going to search for her. Women
cannot ‘hunt’ these men because the men’s representations in the magazines indicate
that men are not putting themselves on offer like the women.
The search for a male partner is linked to the cultural convention in Indonesia which
says that women need a man in their lives to rescue them from the stigma associated
with spinsterhood. 537 Men, on the other hand, want to be surrounded by these women
simply to celebrate their desire. Bellows argues of Balinese men, which can be applied
to Indonesian men in general, that “men are deemed continually to seek sexual
encounters”. 538 Women are granted desire if it is used to please the men in these
encounters, but in public discourse they are discouraged from utilizing their desire to
empower themselves.
536
Megan Jennaway, “Inflatable Bodies and the Breath of Life. Courtship and Desire among Young
Women in Rural North Bali” in Coming of Age in South and Southeast Asia. Youth, Courtship and
Sexuality. eds. Lenore Manderson and Pranee Liamputtong (Richmond: Curzon, 2001), p. 76.
537
Megan Jennaway, “Bitter Honey: Female Agency and the Polygynous Household, North Bali” in
Women and Households in Indonesia. Cultural Notions and Social Practices., eds. Juliette Koning,
Marleen Nolten, Janet Rodenburg and Ratna Saptari, (Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 2000), p. 156.
538
Laura J. Bellows, “Like the West”, p. 81.
181
The incessant questions about the ideal man and ideal sex subtly function as manuals on
how men should be and what is expected of them romantically and sexually. The
criteria of an ideal man vary greatly according to the interviews with the models. Some
of the criteria are:
–
–
–
–
–
wealthy, understand modelling profession, thirty something or older
(Wenny) 539
loving and wealthy (Dewi Aida) 540
loving and caring person (Catherine) 541
faithful (Tyas Mirasih) 542
smart, good sense of humour (Atikah Hasiholan) 543
The criteria serve as benchmarks for male readers to gauge their own potential and
entertain their compatibility with these models. The different criteria contribute to the
notion that every woman has different taste that might match the male readers’ types.
The sexual innuendo in the interviews does not only fulfil the fantasy of male readers. It
also serves as a set of instructions for men that is equivalent to the “how to” pages of
women’s magazines, such as the following example:
Q:
What is the one thing that you think is strictly forbidden to ask when it
comes to sex?
Selvi: Nothing is off limit when it comes to sex. You have to talk about it to be
able to get satisfaction from it.
Intan: Don’t talk about whether or not you’re satisfied.
Yulie: Don’t talk about your partner’s weakness in sex. That is strictly not
allowed. 544
539
“Wenny. Wanita Sematre-Matrenya” [Wenny. The Material Girl] Popular, No. 238, November 2007,
p. 24.
540
“Dewi Aida. Fantasi Sex Bersama Sang Idola” [Dewi Aida. Sex Fantasy with Her Idol] Popular, July
2007, No. 234, p. 22.
541
“Catherine Olivia. Bercinta di Tepi Laut” [Catherine Olivia. Making Love on the Beach] Popular, No.
240, January 2008, p. 13.
542
“Tyas Mirasih. Full of Grace” Popular, No. 245, June 2008, p. 103.
543
“Atikah Hasiholan. Art, Psikologi dan Mata Pria” [Atikah Hasiholan, Arts, Psychology, and Men’s
Eyes], Male Emporium, No. 83, December 2007, p. 21
544
Menurut kalian dalam hal seks, apa yang paling tabu untuk dibicarakan?
Selvi: Tidak ada yang tabu untuk urusan seks. Semuanya harus terbuka agar puas.
Intan: Tentang puas atau tidak puas, sebaiknya jangan dibicarakan.
Yulie: Kelemahan pasangan saat make love [English words original]. Itu dilarang keras. “Sex
Confidential. Girls on the Sofa” FHM Indonesia, No. 51, November 2007, p. 53.
182
The necessity for subtlety in conveying the information about sexual performance is due
to the masculine ego, as described by Gauntlett: “male readers seem to be extremely
wary of being told what to do − they like to feel they know best already.” 545 This is
why the method of exploring wishes and fantasy is deployed through interviews.
The ideal portrayal of a single woman in Indonesia is that of a sexually inexperienced
virgin. Single men, however, are not expected to be virgins. 546 Since the virgin woman
is highly idealized in patriarchal sexual discourse in Indonesia, images of non-virgins
are often perceived as wild and unruly. 547 They are seen as rebelling against the
patriarchal tradition which insists on sexual chastity prior to marriage.
Waldby argues that sexual intercourse is an ideology rather than a bodily response to
sexual stimuli.548 In a similar vein, virginity may be viewed as an ideology that goes
beyond a woman’s physical boundary marked by her hymen. Bennett argues that a
woman’s virginity symbolizes not only her honour but also her family’s. 549 The chastity
of daughters correlates with their family’s reputation and also with their father’s honour
as their male guardian. Bellows argues that this means that women do not own their
own body, but
rather [are] arbitrated by male relatives, fathers, brothers, and finally
husbands. Women are not at liberty, in this position, to use their bodies and
sexualities for their own purposes. 550
545
David Gauntlett, Media, Gender and Identity (London and New York: Routledge, 2002), p. 154.
For discussions on virginity see, Iwu Dwisetyani Utomo, “Women’s Lives: Fifty Years of Change and
Continuity” in People, Population and Policy in Indonesia, ed. Terence H. Hull (Jakarta; Singapore:
Equinox, 2005), pp. 102-103.
Jill Forshee, Culture and Customs of Indonesia, pp. 154 - 158.
Linda Rae Bennett, Women, Islam and Modernity, p. 38.
547
Linda Rae Bennett, Women, Islam and Modernity. p. 48.
548
Catherine Waldby, “Destruction. Boundary Erotics and Refigurations of the Heterosexual Male Body”
in Sexy Bodies. The Strange Carnalities of Feminism, eds. Elizabeth Grosz and Elspeth Probyn, (London
and New York: Routledge, 1995), p. 268.
549
Linda Rae Bennett, Women, Islam and Modernity. p. 48.
550
Laura J. Bellows, “Like the West,” p. 83.
546
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Since ideologically a woman’s virginity does not belong to her, the act of losing her
virginity outside a conjugal relationship undermines control from male family members
and destabilizes gender ideology.
Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines are aware of this convention and intentionally
flaunt the supposedly non-virginal qualities of the female models. If the state stands for
the father who protects the virginity of his women, the magazines stand for boisterous
young men who are visually busy stripping these women with their eyes, and
symbolically deflowering them through the process of “eye-fucking” which I mentioned
earlier.
Hatley provides a parallel case with these men’s lifestyle magazines in her writing about
an Indonesian novel entitled Saman. Hatley asserts that
Appearing in May 1998, right at the end of the Soeharto era, this first novel
by a young woman writer, awarded a prestigious literary prize, stirred
enormous controversy because of its explicit sexual themes. Saman simply
assumes [emphasis in original] women’s equality and autonomy — in work
life, in political activism, and in love and sex. The four elite, affluent,
personally liberated young women who constitute the main female
protagonists of the text express their sexuality frankly, and love as they
please. The concept of female fidelity seems quite irrelevant to the lifestyle
of the free-wheeling, libidinous Cok. Her friend Shakuntala, meanwhile,
subverts the myth of priceless female virginity by deliberately breaking the
‘precious porcelain’ of her hymen with a spoon. 551
In Saman, a man’s position as a husband − the person granted the legal right to deflower
a virgin wife − is replaced by a spoon. A simple object, the spoon penetrates the fortress
of protection guarded by the male-state/father. The insignificance of the spoon stands in
contrast to the ideological barrier that protects the virginity and it simultaneously mocks
the barrier through the penetration. By the same token, the magazines construct a
551
Barbara Hatley, “Literature, Mythology and Regime Change: Some Observations on Recent
Indonesian Women’s Writing” in Women in Indonesia. Gender, Equity and Development, eds. Kathryn
May Robinson and Sharon Bessell (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2002), p. 134.
184
fantasy world full of sexually charged women who do not follow instructions from the
male-state/father. The women allow themselves to be penetrated by the eyes of the male
reader. This posits the magazines as unsupportive of the conventions guarded by the
male-state and the father. In this way, the magazines’ transgressions can be understood
in terms of resisting the hegemonic social order organized by the state, by providing
images that challenge the social norms.
Below is a sample interview from a regular column in FHM Indonesia entitled Girls on
the Sofa, which exemplifies how virginity as the local norm is ignored. The article
represents the models as sexual adventurers:
Q:
What were your sexual fantasies that came true?
Rika: My fantasy was to do it with a public figure that I liked. I finally got to
know him, we became close and we made love.
Lala: Made love on the beach. It came true.
Giska: Had a quickie in a car. Turns out that you can do it and it felt so good. 552
In the magazines, husbands are non-existent for these women. Boyfriends are the norm
since they imply the potential for casual or extra-marital sex, unlike the responsible
husband. This is not to say that all the women are introduced as single and never
married. Sometimes the models are introduced as divorcees. The Indonesian word for
“female divorcee” is janda, which has a derogatory connotation. Divorcees’ stigma is
made worse, as Dube argues, because in South and Southeast Asia, “In divorces, very
often it is the woman who is held to have been at fault”. 553 There is ambivalence
regarding female divorcees: on the one hand they are seen as sexually alluring and
552
Apa khayalan kalian tentang fantasi seks yang pernah menjadi kenyataan?
Rika: Dengan seorang public figure [English words original] yang saya idolakan. Setelah berkenalan
saya jadi dekat dengannya dan kami bercinta.
Lala: Make love [English words original] di pantai menjadi kenyataan
Giska: Bercinta tergesa-gesa di mobil. Ternyata bisa juga dan sungguh nikmat. “Sex Confidential. Girls
on the Sofa” FHM Indonesia, No. 52, December 2007, p. 48.
553
Leela Dube, Women and Kinship. Comparative Perspectives in South and South-East Asia (Tokyo;
New York; Paris: United Nations University Press, 1997), p. 118.
185
inviting to other men (and hence seen as malevolent competition by wives), but on the
other hand they are not good enough to have kept their own husband.
An example of the appropriation of this local sexual metaphor regarding female
divorcees, is in Popular’s issue in February 2008. The theme of this issue is female
celebrity divorcees. The magazine scrutinizes the marital status (or lack of) of these
women. The scrutiny silently hovers over their unfulfilled sexual needs. The magazine
exploits the notion of sexual experience of these celebrities. Married women are under
the control of their husbands and unmarried women are under the care of their fathers.
Female divorcees are neither. Like single women, divorcees are perceived as ‘loose’
and threatening because they are not under the supervision of men. However, female
divorcees are perceived to be more sexually dangerous than single women who have
never been married. There is a perception that once women are sexually active, they are
unstoppable in their effort to fulfil their sexual needs. O’Shaughnessy observes that the
“image of the janda genit (flirtatious female divorcee) is one that is strongly entrenched
within the public discourse on divorcees.” 554
The exposure of the divorced status of female celebrities in Popular is a method to
appease men’s fear of women’s sexual freedom, which Jill Forshee describes as
“predatory”. 555 By commodifying/consuming these women in Popular, men gain a
sense of control over the divorcees’ assumed predatory sexual nature. The exercise of
power is mediated through articles analyzing the status of divorcees from both medical
and social perspectives, as if to equip male readers with sufficient knowledge of janda
so as not to be overwhelmed. An article quotes the statement of a physician:
554
Kate O’Shaughnessy, Gender, State and Social Power in Contemporary Indonesia: Divorce and
Marriage Law (Abingdon, Oxon: New York: Taylor and Francis, 2009), p. 86.
555
Jill Forshee, Culture and Customs of Indonesia, p. 160.
186
Dr Mulyadi says that the sexual experience of a female divorcee can
make her attractive. “This is because generally men think that “janda”
are experienced (they have high flying hours) in all sorts of sexual
activities,” Dr Mulyadi comments. Therefore men fantasize that if they
have sex with “janda” they will get more variations. 556
The above endorsement from a medical doctor serves as an explanation for Indonesian
men’s ambivalent attitude towards janda. The “wildness” of the janda is threatening but
at the same time enticing.
In this magazine, celebrity divorcees have their sexualities commodified through media
exposure of their failed marriages. There seems to be a fascination with representations
of female divorcees in Indonesian show business. Wallach’s explanation of this
phenomenon in the entertainment industry rests on the divide of “good woman – bad
woman” which is determined by their marital status. According to Wallach, the division
is made so that male consumers of popular entertainment can have it both ways: to be
able to objectify a group of women but still be politically correct by paying respect to
another group of women. “Janda” is the solution: by opposing janda to married
women, men can respect their own wives and mothers and still legitimately gaze at
women as sexual beings. 557 Wallach explains that
[p]atriarchal capitalism and the commodification of female sexuality coexist
uneasily with an older (equally patriarchal) discourse of complementarity and
respect for women’s power. [T]he resulting tension is partially resolved through
the figure of janda, the widow or divorcee. Janda, the women who did not have
husbands but were once married, were seen as vulnerable and sexually available,
and in everyday male parlance they contrasted with “virgins” (perawan) or
“maidens” (gadis), never married women whose virtue must be respected and
guarded. Young janda without children were “flower divorcees/widows” (janda
kembang) and were considered desirable but of questionable morality. Thus it was
regarded as permissible to exploit those women who defied normative
556
Dr. Mulyadi menuturkan, pengalaman seks seorang janda memang bisa menjadi salah satu daya tarik
tersendiri. “Hal ini karena pada umumnya laki-laki menganggap bahwa janda sudah berpengalaman
(high flight hour) [English words original] dalam aktivitas seksual,” ujar Dr. Muyadi. Sehingga laki-laki
dapat berfantasi jika melakukan hubungan seks akan lebih banyak menemukan variasi. “Mengapa Janda
Lebih Menarik?” [Why Divorcess are More Interesting?] Popular, no. 241, February 2008, p. 59.
557
Jeremy Wallach, Modern Noise, Fluid Genres. Popular Music in Indonesia, 1997 - 2001 (Madison,
Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, c2008), p. 196.
187
expectations; the women who were neither still “virgins” nor half of a married
couple were fair game for objectification and sexual commodification, while
women who were married or not-yet-married were “kept safe” by a patriarchal
code that supposedly “respected” (menghormati) women’s power but in fact most
valued female subservience to men. 558
Maxim Indonesia exploits local sexual discourse in the same manner, adopting this set
of attitudes described by Wallach. In an article given an English title, “Boob Test. Like
a Virgin”, male readers are invited to guess whether or not the girls pictured in the
article are virgins from the shape of their breasts (see figure 4). 559 Jennaway has
indicated that in Bali there are local anecdotes saying that people are able to “guess”
women’s virginity from their appearance and way of walking. 560 My experience in the
field indicates that these anecdotes are not confined to Bali, but exist in Java as well.
According to these anecdotes, women who are not married, but are not virgins any
more, cannot hide the signs because “[t]heir faces wilt, and lose their lustre, their eyes
glaze over, their cheeks sag, their eyes and mouth droop and take on a dark besmirched
appearance.” 561 These anecdotes reflect public scrutiny and control of women’s
sexuality which do not apply to men.
The intention to punish women who engage in premarital sex is made evident by the
fact that married women are not perceived to lose their physical qualities due to their
sexual activities.562 The viability of the article in Maxim Indonesia relies on this notion
of virginity as publicly visible and the myth that unmarried girls who are not virgins
cannot hide their sexual adventures. The male readers are hypothetically asked to
recognize the categories of which girls should be respected and which girls should not,
according to their virginity, as Wallach suggested.
558
Jeremy Wallach, Modern Noise, p. 196.
“Boob Test. Like a Virgin” Maxim Indonesia, No. 15, February 2007, pp. 56 – 57.
560
Megan Jennaway, Sisters and Lovers: Women and Desire in Bali (Lanham, Md: Rowman &
Littlefield, 2002), p. 163.
561
Megan Jennaway, Sisters and Lovers, p. 163.
562
Megan Jennaway, Sisters and Lovers, p. 163.
559
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Schipper has shown that the idea of virginity as an indicator of female virtue is shared
by many cultures in the world. Schipper also takes note of the seemingly universal
double standard. She observes that
[There is no] problem about the loss of virginity for boys, though, and the fact
that it needs two people to make love is hardly taken into account in the
context of virginity and virtue, and there is no emphasis on shared
responsibilities. 563
The issue of sexual chastity also reveals cultural tensions in Indonesia. The tensions
arise between the intention to preserve local culture, which is associated with sexual
chastity, and the realization that the values of sexual chastity are eroding. Although
many people still pay lip service to the discourse of “tradition”, the practice can be
totally different.
In the Indonesian context, the idea of female chastity is seen as part their “eastern
culture”. It is often set against “western culture” that is perceived to devalue the virtue
of chastity and virginity. Bennett argues that in Lombok, Indonesia, there are “local
perceptions of the immorality associated with the West.” 564 This is reflected in the
“virginity quiz” in Maxim Indonesia (see figure 3 and 4). 565 One of the questions is
whether the girls prefer a western man or an Indonesian man. The question implies that
an Indonesian discourse of virginity is set against a western one of active sexuality
rather than other possible types of oppositions such as “centre-region” or “big city-small
town” kinds of sexual discourses. The potential partnership between an Indonesian
woman and a western man contributes to the construction of a deviant sexual nature of
563
Mineke Schipper, Never Marry a Woman with Big Feet (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press,
2006), p. 96.
564
Linda Rae Bennett, “Poverty, Opportunity and Purity in Paradise. Women Working in Lombok’s
Tourist Hotels” in Women and Work in Indonesia, eds. Michelle Ford and Lyn Parker (Abingdon, Oxon:
Routledge, 2008), p. 90.
565
“Boob Test” Maxim Indonesia, No. 15, February 2007, pp. 56 - 57.
189
the woman. 566 However, Fechter argues that the same stigma does not apply to her
western man for having an Indonesian partner. 567
Marching says that “The bad woman is usually described as one who is sexually
experienced, ambitious, aggressive and assertive as opposed to a kind-hearted woman
who is sexually inexperienced, caring and submissive.” 568 However, sexualized
Indonesian women in the magazines are presented as a paradox. They have to be
sexually wild but still under the control of the men who constructed them. Partnership
with western men seems to be perceived as deviant because the women are not under
the control of Indonesian men. However, narratives of relationships between Indonesian
women and their white boyfriends are often sexualized, because at the same time the
deviance of the women is seen as sexually enticing.
In other articles, Indonesian men are set against western men in terms of their potential
as partners of Indonesian women. In most of these interviews, the narratives reveal
Indonesian women’s stereotypical perceptions of both Indonesian and western men. The
following examples are from Maxim Indonesia’s interview with Shary and Male
Emporium’s interview with Atikah:
Maxim Indonesia: Would you pick a local guy or a western guy?
Shary:
I actually prefer a western guy. But I ended more often
with local guys. It’s not that local guys are not good
enough. I like local guys, too. But, for me, western guys
are more progressive in their thinking and more openminded. I like a person with a broad horizon. It’s nicer
to have a conversation with [this kind of person]. Local
guys sometimes give the impression of being too
traditional and I just can’t handle it. But my boyfriend
now is the best. Hahaha! 569
566
See Linda Rae Bennett, “Poverty, Opportunity and Purity in Paradise.”
Anne-Meike Fechter, Transnational Lives: Expatriates in Indonesia (Hampshire, England; Burlington,
USA, 2007), p. 113.
568
Soe Tjen Marching, “Descriptions of Female Sexuality in Ayu Utami’s Saman,” p. 136.
569
Pilih cowok local atau bule?
567
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Figure 3. Judging women from their breasts
Figure 4. Breasts as indicators of women’s virginity and sex lives
ME:
Atikah:
Did you have a white boyfriend when you were in
Australia?
We were close but nothing serious. They [western guys]
are more laid-back when it comes to relationships. Not too
possessive. Those are the kind of guys that I met. 570
The following sample from Popular is similar to the interviews above. In these
interviews Indonesian men may seem “boring” but they represent adherence to proper
Indonesian codes of courtship and western men represent the transgression of that code.
Popular:
Carien:
You’re a very curious person, aren’t you?
Yeah, I like to try new things. Like for example, having a
relationship like western people. People say having a white
boyfriend is the nicest. Just walking together without
minding our surroundings. We’re like total strangers to the
people around us, so we can enjoy each others’ company
more, we can get to know each others’ personality better,
we can talk about anything, do anything. Except make love
of course. 571
The way the model adds “Except make love of course” refers to several stereotypes and
public discourse circulating within the Indonesian society. The first one is that a western
man is always looking for sex and the second one is that a woman has a moral duty to
say no to sex. The third discourse implies that women in the magazines are allowed to
be sexual to Indonesian men as demonstrated in earlier interviews, but not to western
Sebenarnya sih mau yang bule. Tapi aku malah sering jadinya sama cowok lokal. Tapi bukan berarti
yang lokal nggak baik. Aku juga suka cowok lokal. Cuma, buat aku, cowok bule itu lebih maju dalam
pemikiran, dan open minded [English words original]. Aku soalnya suka dengan orang yang wawasannya
luas. Lebih enak diajak ngobrol. Kalau cowok lokal kadang-kadang terkesan tradisional, dan bikin
malas. Tapi cowok aku yang sekarang the best [English words original], hahaha! “DJ Shary” Maxim
Indonesia, No. 21, August 2007.
570
Pernah berpacaran dengan pria bule waktu di Aussie?
Pernah dekat tetapi tidak serius pacaran. Mreka memang lebih cuek dalam soal menjalin hubungan.
Tidak terlalu posesif. Kebetulan saya dapat yang seperti itu. “Atikah Hasiholan. Art, Psikologi dan Mata
Pria” [Atikah Hasiholan, Arts, Psychology, and Men’s Eyes], Male Emporium, No. 83, December 2007,
p. 21.
571
“Rasa ingin tahu kamu besar, ya?”
Iya, aku senang coba hal-hal baru. Misalnya kata orang pacaran ala bule itu paling enak. Berjalan
berdua saja tanpa mengenal dan dikenal sekeliling kita. Benar-benar asing, jadi lebih enjoy [English
word original] pacarannya, satu sama lain bisa saling mengenal pribadinya. Tapi enak banget, lho, kalau
lagi pacaran terus nggak dikenal sekeliling, bebas banget untuk ngobrol apa saja, mau ngelakuin apa
saja. Kecuali making love ya...” [English words original] “Carien. Mesra di Pantai. Bercinta di Gunung.”
[Carien. Affectionate on the Beach. Make Love on the Mountains], Popular, No. 233, June 2007, p. 31.
191
men. Here, her Indonesian-ness and her position as the bearer of modest “eastern
culture” are prioritized rather than her sex and gender.
The comparison between Indonesian and western men is not meant to put down
Indonesian men. The narratives of deviance and uncontrollability directed at the women
indicate that Indonesian men can bring them under control. The figures of western men
are reduced to their sexuality when they are partnered with Indonesian women, as in the
following sample:
Popular:
Dewi:
Popular:
Dewi:
What is your sexual fantasy?
I like to fantasize having sex with my ex. Sometimes with a
celebrity that I like. I can’t tell you, he might find out and
get cross....ha..ha...ha...
He’s Indonesian?
Yes, I like Indonesian men. I don’t like western men. Their
“thing” is huge. I just don’t like bule. They freak me out. I
like our people, or Chinese is okay, too. The most important
thing is that he’s kind and willing to lead me. With western
men, too scary, I might get ripped down there, ha..ha..ha.. 572
The comment above represents the stereotype of western men as physically and morally
monstrous.
Partners and relationships are two consistent questions in interviews with models in the
magazines. As I highlighted earlier, by answering questions on their dream men, these
women are constructing the ideal man against which the readers can gauge themselves.
The construction of masculinities is constituted from the discourse of relationships by
describing the qualities of good men. The criteria for a good male partner are very
572
“Seperti apa fantasi seks kamu?”
“Aku suka berfantasi melakukan seks, kadang sama mantan cowok. Kadang juga sama artis siapa gitu
yang aku senangi. Tapi rahasia deh, nanti kalau tahu orangnya bisa marah, ha..ha..ha..”
“Orang Indonesia?”
“Iya, aku suka. Kalau orang Barat aku nggak suka, ‘itu’-nya gede-gede sih, ha..ha..ha..pokoknya nggak
suka bule deh, ngeri soalnya. Aku suka orang kita, atau Chinese juga nggak masalah. Yang penting dia
baik dan mau membimbing aku. Kalau orang bule kan ngeri, takut jebol, ha..ha..ha..” “Dewi Aida.
Fantasi Sex Bersama Sang Idola” [Dewi Aida. Sex Fantasy with the Idol], Popular, No. 234, July 2008,
p. 26.
192
diverse because the answers vary. This indicates an acknowledgement of the
individuality of men. It also implies that for every man, there is a woman out there who
wants him. Therefore he does not have to change himself. Male readers have the power
to choose rather than change themselves to get a partner. Each man just has to look for
the right woman. By comparison, female readers of women’s magazines feel they have
to change. Women in women’s magazines have to change and improve themselves in
order to get a man. 573
The following is an interview with a model in Popular which indicates acceptance, or at
least acknowledgment of men’s behaviour:
Popular:
Olla:
Is it difficult to get the man that you want?
It’s extra difficult to get the man that I like in Jakarta, they
only like clubbing, casual sex, like to be friends “with benefit”
or have a relationship without any clear status. Most guys in
Jakarta are like that, she explained grudgingly. 574
First of all the interview demonstrates that the model is experienced enough to arrive at
the conclusion that “most guys are like that.” At the same time it demonstrates
inclusiveness in identifying men as potential partners. The model indicates that she
wants a man who does not like clubbing and casual sex, a man who is serious in
building his relationship. For those male readers who feel that they are homebodies and
do not sleep around, they will feel that Olla, the model, is referring to them. However,
men who do not match Olla’s criteria are still acknowledged; because as Olla says, they
form the majority of the male population who like to go clubbing and have casual sex.
These men do not have to change. They only need to look for different women. In
573
In Indonesia, Femina is the epitome of this type of magazine, before the arrival of Cosmopolitan
Indonesia as a more assertive type of women’s magazine.
574
“Agak ribet nggak sih mendapatkan lelaki seperti yang kamu mau?”
“Kalau di Jakarta mencari lelaki yang aku inginkan itu super ribet, sukanya dugem, seks bebas,
berteman dengan wanita lain dengan mesra atau menjalin hubungan tanpa status. Kebanyakan lelaki
yang tinggal di Jakarta begitu,” paparnya dengan sewot. “Dream with Olla Theresia” Popular, No. 231,
April 2007, p. 25.
193
men’s magazines there is no discourse of punishment if a man does not fit the criteria
for a potential partner.
Jakarta here is identified as the geographical point from where the model speaks. The
capital city is represented as westernised. The kinds of traits that the model dislikes are,
in Indonesian discourse, perceived as western traits. However, Jakarta is not mentioned
to indicate the promiscuity of men in Jakarta. Rather, men in Jakarta are seen as closer
to western white men in terms of their accumulated power. The sexual freedom
indicates the extent of power that men in Jakarta have.
Jakarta represents sexual
liberation and symbolizes success. Men from Jakarta carry this “privilege” as part of
their identity. Men from Jakarta are seen as more powerful because of the cultural and
political baggage that the capital city implies.
Questions on potential partners resonate with women’s dependence on men for
respected marital status. What is concealed from this notion of women’s dependence on
men is the fact that men are dependent on women for their masculinity status. Collins
argues that
[t]he oppositional use of women in the construction of masculinity is so
widespread that is has become transparent….Men must engage in certain
types of relationships with women to know that they are real men. Women,
however, can define their femininity without men, for example as mother and
as caregivers in their families. Ironically, female dependency is typically
seen as a desirable attribute for women, yet, women’s feminine identity does
not depend on males staying in their place. Men in contrast require control
and dominance over women − which takes many forms − to know that they
are real men. 575
Relationships represent the smallest social unit wherein men can exercise their
heterosexuality as power. In marriage, Indonesian men are legally recognized as the
575
Patricia Hill Collins, “A Telling Difference: Dominance, Strength, and Black Masculinities” in
Progressive Black Masculinities, ed. Athena D. Mutua (Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge, 2006),
p. 82.
194
head of the family according to the 1974 Marriage Law. 576 For men, heterosexuality is
linked with power because one of the first signs of masculinity is to be heterosexual. 577
If a man is not heterosexual, he is less masculine and therefore less powerful. Any
forms of premarital heterosexual relationships can therefore be seen as an induction into
this institutionalized male domination.
However, the relationships represented by the images of these women are not those
within conjugal boundaries. The men predominantly addressed by these magazines are
not single males. Editors of the Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines say that their
magazines are addressing young married male executives. The sexualized women
therefore represent potential and symbolic extra-marital relationships in line with the
principle of the three indicators of power mentioned above (the “3Ta” of wealth,
position, and women).
The representations of sexualized women in the magazines can be read as a reflection of
a long tradition of polygamous heteropatriarchy in Indonesian society. Indonesian
political elites have been known for their tradition of polygamous relations with women,
from the practice of concubinage by ancient kings to the practice by Indonesian
dignitaries keeping mistresses. The magazines are merely keeping up with the
masculinity of the elite. As I argued at the beginning of this chapter, Indonesian men’s
lifestyle magazines are the laymen’s symbolic harem. Sexualized women in the
magazines represent a link to power within the local narratives of sex and men’s social
status (tahta). The magazines turn the social stigma of being single, female and sexually
experienced into a sexy and erotic package that fuels the masculinity within the
magazines.
576
Pam Nilan, “Youth Transition to Urban, Middle-class Marriage in Indonesia: Faith, Family and
Finances” Journal of Youth Studies, Vol. 11, No, 1, (2008), 71.
577
Kenneth Mackinnon, Representing Men, p. 7.
195
The articles do not necessarily mean that these women are really the sexual adventurers
they purport to be. Rather, as one of my informants told me, when these models agree to
have their pictures taken for interview columns, they sign an agreement that they will
allow the magazines to ‘design’ a mock interview that will support the pictures. The
main intention is to create a total image that represents these women as being sexually
experienced. So the magazines construct the sexual fantasies for the male readers. As
Candida Royalle, a pornstar-cum-producer asserts, “if you control the fantasy, you
control the power.” 578
The magazines do not subvert gender ideology in the Indonesian context. The
representations in the magazines are based on the existing gender ideology that says that
the “good women” are the virgins and the housewives; and the “bad women” are the
non-virgins and female divorcees. What the magazines do is take sides with the “bad
women”. Since the “good women” are sanctioned by the state, promoting non-virgins
and female divorcees are tokens of challenge to the state. The magazines refuse to use
images of women sanctioned by the state. However, these magazines do not refuse and
do not challenge the prevailing gender ideology that still positions men as the dominant
gender vis-à-vis women. The magazines just want to showcase their male power against
the hegemonic masculinity in Indonesian society, by using different and transgressive
images of women.
In the next chapter I will discuss how the men in the magazines propose equality for
politically subordinated men within the Indonesian socio-political context.
578
Candida Royalle, “Porn in the USA” in Feminism and Pornography, ed. Drucilla Cornell (Oxford,
UK; New York, US: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 546.
196
CHAPTER 7
Local Politics and Global Membership:
Identifying Middle Class Indonesian Men in the Magazines
“The new intelligentsia, as the new middle class, adopted a Western
lifestyle and engaged in politics.” 579
This chapter focuses on representations of Indonesian men in the magazines. I argue
that the representations are constructed based on a model of middle class Indonesian
men in relation to the state. Lange and Meier argue that “it was better to talk of the new
middle classes as a compound of different groups rather than of a single class or
stratum.” 580 The next questions to address would be: which model of middle-classness
do these Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines choose to portray and why?
There are many characteristics attached to middle class Indonesian men, however, two
striking features emerge from the magazines. To put it briefly, I argue that the
magazines construct a type of middle class Indonesian men that symbolizes new
opportunities for political opposition to challenge the state. Secondly, the construction
of middle-classness stands for economic prosperity, which in itself symbolizes potential
opposition. The reason is that the images of prosperity in the magazines are linked to
westernization and globalization. I argue that these two aspects are symbolic
oppositions to filial images of Indonesia that are portrayed more traditionally by the
state, with the metaphoric ‘father’ and ‘children’. Through westernized and globalized
579
Solvay Gerke, “Global Lifestyles,” p. 141.
Hellmuth Lange and Lars Meier, “Who are the New Middle Classes and why are they Given so Much
Public Attention?” in The New Middle Classes. Globalizing Lifestyles, Consumerism, and Environmental
Concern, eds. Hellmuth Lange and Lars Meier (London; New York: Spinger, 2009), p. 9.
580
197
images these men are symbolically claiming membership to the global brotherhood of
men united by their lifestyles and consumerism. Overall, they are a group of men who
do not want to unite with their political father, and choose to side with their ‘brothers’
instead.
Representations of men in these magazines point to the emergence of a younger
generation of Indonesian men as the rival of hegemonic masculinity represented by
older men in the Indonesian socio-political arena. The appearance of a younger
generation of men as a symbol of reform has been noted by Anderson, who asserts that
“Both in Europe and in the colonies ‘young’ and ‘youth’ signified dynamism, progress,
self-sacrificing idealism and revolutionary will.” 581 Youth becomes a symbol associated
with change. As a symbol, the actual age associated with youth is ignored. The word
puts more stress instead on the progressive dimension and the will to change. Again, the
concept of youth dovetails with the notion of brotherhood.
The construction of Indonesian men in the magazines fits comfortably with theories of
the ‘new’ middle class in Indonesia, which many Indonesianists link with potential
forces of political liberalism as the result of developmentalism under Suharto.
Economic prosperity seems to be at odds with political movements, in the sense that
prosperity should be able to contain political backlash. However, Indonesian history has
shown that prosperity leads to the opening up of political horizons through increased
access to mass media and education. Chalmers points out that
Over a decade ago Herb Feith suggested that the growth of what he termed
“the political public” − defined as regular readers of newspapers and
magazines − was creating new political loyalties and undermining state
political domination. 582
581
Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism
(London: Verso, 1983), pp. 108 – 109.
582
Ian Chalmers, “Democracy Constrained: The Emerging Political Culture of the Indonesian Middle
Classes” Asian Studies Review, Vol. 17, No 1 (July 1993), 55.
198
The link between politics and lifestyle is also used by Lange and Meier to define middle
classes in developing countries. They argue that “the rise of the new middle classes is
seen as a symbol of a comprehensive shift in economic and national power relations.” 583
There is a consistent expansion of the Indonesian middle classes since the New Order. I
argue that the magazines become a reflection of the political significance of middle
class Indonesian men. Chalmers supports this when he argues that
We can accept that the middle classes are generally apolitical and tend to be
more concerned about issues such as housing, education and fashion. But
this lack of overt political activism does not mean that the middle class is
politically irrelevant. 584
Scholars specializing on middle classes have demonstrated that Indonesia consists of
several layers of middle classes. 585 However, the dominant middle class in their
scholarly discussions is the one identified by the group’s concern with politics and
lifestyle, as I mentioned earlier. The products in the advertisements suggest that
masculine identities are supported by a particular lifestyle. The combination of
masculinities in the content and those in the advertisements suggests that the ideal
Indonesian men are those who are critical of their government, but are successful and
wealthy at the same time. I argue that the wealth demonstrated in the advertisements
provides compensation for the men’s lack of power in the Indonesian political arena.
Political marginalization is replaced by economic achievement expressed through
consumerism.
583
Hellmuth Lange and Lars Meier, p. 2.
Ian Chalmers, “Democracy Constrained,” p. 55.
585
For different types of Indonesian middle classes, see Richard Tanter and Kenneth Young, eds. The
Politics of Middle Class Indonesia.
Also see Richard Robison, “The Middle Class and the Bourgeoisie in Indonesia” in The New Rich in
Asia. Mobile Phones, McDonald’s and Middle Class Revolution, eds. Richard Robison and Davic S.G.
Goodman (London; New York, 1996).
584
199
In this chapter I demonstrate that the phenomenon of middle class Indonesian men and
their manifestations in Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines are evidence of recurring
masculinity struggles between the masculine hegemony of the state with the politically
subordinated middle class Indonesian men. This condition also showcases the resistance
of a group of ‘brothers’ against the patriarchal political domination. In the following I
analyze the representations of these men from a gender perspective and then proceed
with discussions and examples from the magazines.
Gendering Men’s Presence in Public
This chapter builds on the background information that I provided in Chapters Two to
Six, and it is in this chapter that the main argument is elaborated. I argue that
representations of men in Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines reflect Indonesian men’s
struggle in public space, because it is mostly in this space that men’s identity is
constructed. This chapter demonstrates that one of the sources of masculine identities
and contentions in public space is politics. MacInnes, in his discussion of masculinity in
the west, contends that it is “especially in politics [that there is a] continued dominance
of men in the public sphere” [my emphasis]. 586 Similarly, Taga argues that in Japan
politics is seen as predominantly masculine. He argues that
Although public discourse such as politics and economy have been seen as
gender neutral, they have in effect been male realms and women have often
been systematically eliminated from these spaces. 587
By extension, the conditions that MacInnes and Taga describe are also applicable to
Indonesia.
586
John MacInnes, “The Crisis of Masculinity and the Politics of Identity” in The Masculinities Reader,
Stephen M. Whitehead and Frank J. Barret, eds. (Cambridge, UK; Malden, US: Polity Press, 2001), p.
315.
587
Futoshi Taga, “Rethinking Japanese Masculinities. Recent Research Trends” in Gender, Transgenders
and Sexualities in Japan, eds. Mark McLelland and Romit Dasgupta (Oxon; New York, USA; Canada,
2005), p. 163.
200
I propose two intertwined reasons to explain men’s persistence in claiming the public
space − and by extension, political space − as their own. The first one is that there is the
conventional gender divide that separates gender space into the public space for males
and the private space for females. Following this ideology, the practices of politics, as in
the way the society is governed, is aligned with the public space and therefore politics
belongs to men and it eventually defines them as well. 588 The second reason that makes
men seem to be protective of their political turf is the rise of political democracy and
feminist movements which has seen women’s involvement in Indonesian politics
increasing. Women’s activities in practical politics, or realpolitik, have made men more
defensive of their political domination because they perceive women’s participation in
politics as invading their space. In contemporary Southeast Asia, Stivens et al argue that
politics is masculine in nature, with men occupying strategic leadership positions.589
However, the rise of feminism and political awareness has seen some improvement in
regards to women’s inclusion in politics. In the case of Indonesia, decentralization has
not only spread the power between regions but also between the genders, by giving
women more opportunities to be involved in running their society. 590
Indonesian women’s participation in politics is encouraged by the quota system.
Nevertheless, Indonesian men are not making the political journey easy for Indonesian
women despite the fact that women’s presence in politics is protected by law. For
example, the narratives of rejection that ensued when Megawati announced her
presidential candidacy during the early phase of the Reform era, reveals a masculine
588
See Maila Stivens, ed. Why Gender Matters in Southeast Asian Politics (Clayton, Victoria: Monash
Unviersity, 1991).
589
Maila Stivens, “Why Gender Matters in Southeast Asian Politics” in Why Gender Matters in Southeast
Asian Politics, Maila Stivens, ed. (Clayton, Victoria: Monash Unviersity, 1991), pp. 9 – 10.
590
See Edriana Noerdin, Sita Aripurnami, Yanti Muchtar, Decentralization as a Narrative of Opportunity
for Women in Indonesia (Jakarta: Women Research Institute, 2007).
201
anxiety disguised in political (and religious) debates. 591 With assessments of common
reactions and rejections among men, I argue that politics is a source of collective
masculine identity for men. A group of men are willing to defend and fight for their
political rights at the expense of women and other men. But not all men are politically
powerful, hence the masculinity struggles that occur. Men who are politically
marginalized will seek to channel their agency by other means in order to maintain their
masculinities.
I propose to view Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines as a form of environment that
accommodates the masculine identity of these politically subordinated men. Although
the magazines form a milieu rather than political activism, it does not make their
opinions in the magazines less significant. 592 Ariel Heryanto claims that there is
“recurring evidence that real politics in Indonesia takes place primarily outside the
confines of formal institutions (elections, parliament, or political parties).” 593 Similarly
political expressions and grievances are often channelled through informal venues such
as magazines.
The concept of fraternity or brotherhood from Chapter Three is useful here because it
explains the representations of men in the magazines in relation to the state. As I
mentioned in Chapter Three, the concept of brotherhood complements the popular
concept of fatherhood that is often used to describe the political rhetoric in Indonesia.
According to the concept of fatherhood, the state as a ‘father’ has the right to lead the
591
Susan Blackburn, Women in the State in Modern Indonesia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2004), pp. 105 – 108.
592
I expand Aspinall’s argument that “urban middle-class opposition in the 1970s in many respects
resembled a milieu more than a organised movement.” Edward Aspinall, “The Broadening of political
opposition in Indonesia” in Political Oppositions in Industrialising Asia, ed. Garry Rodan, p. 223.
593
Ariel Heryanto, “Indonesia: the Middle Class in the 1990s,” p. 259.
202
children of the nation. 594 Robinson argues that the state fatherhood concept has the
effect of “[naturalizing] the authority of the father” and “[normalizing] the authoritarian
power of the state”. 595 The concept of the father is efficient in explaining the state’s
oppression particularly under Suharto’s rule, because a father is deemed to know what
is best for his children. However, as I have argued in Chapter Three the concept of
brotherhood is valuable in describing informal political alliances that men form in their
attempt to replace the ruling domination. The French Revolution recognized
brotherhood more readily in their ideology, since it was included in their revolution
mission: liberty, equality and fraternity. 596 Hunt argues that
In conscious discourse fraternity was an idea associated with political
solidarities ... fraternity had a large and confident meaning because almost
everyone could be imagined as participating in the community. 597
The keywords from Hunt’s discourse of fraternity that I use here are “political
solidarities” and “community”. Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines express these
solidarities of brotherhood and spirit of camaraderie in the content by constructing an
informal community for political expressions. They also address social issues that are
seen as men’s concerns because they happen in public space.
The middle class (or more specifically, middle class men) has played a significant role
in the Indonesian political sphere. 598 Today they are symbols of survivors from an era of
political oppression. Current men’s lifestyle magazines in Indonesia are capitalizing on
this image. Robison detects this trend since the New Order and argues that
594
See Arief Budiman, “Mythology and Ideology in Indonesia” in Indonesian in the Soeharto Years:
Issues, Incidents and Images (Singapore: The Lontar Foundation in Association with Ridge Books;
Leiden: KILTV, 2005), p. 377.
595
Kathryn Robinson, Gender, Islam and Democracy in Indonesia (New York; London: Routledge,
2009), p. 5.
596
Lynn Hunt, The Family Romance of the French Revolution, p. 12.
597
Lynn Hunt, The Family Romance of the French Revolution, p. 12.
598
For a comprehensive look into Indonesia’s middle classes in the New Order see Richard Tanter and
Kenneth Young, eds. The Politics of Middle Class Indonesia.
203
The middle class has been of recent and considerable interest to Indonesian
newspapers and magazines. Appealing primarily to middle-class readers,
they have tended to focus on self-congratulatory stories of hard work and
talent. 599
This is not to say that political discussion dominates the whole content of the
magazines. After all, the magazines are about lifestyle; and lifestyle in the magazines is
constructed as a source of social empowerment. Robison also argues that the middle
class is often discussed in terms of their consumption patterns:
Scholarly attention has tended to take the North American path of attitudinal
surveys and observations about the lifestyles and values of the emerging
middle classes, focusing particularly upon the gross materialism of the
yuppie culture. 600
The men’s magazines are a breeding ground for the cultivation of images of Indonesian
men who are middle class, rich, and successful with women. As a reflection of the
Indonesian socio-cultural background, the lifestyle, political voice, and women in the
magazines match perfectly with the criteria of success for Indonesian men that I flagged
earlier as “harta, tahta, dan wanita” (wealth, power and women). Although they might
not match the reality, the magazines at least match the aspiration.
As I mentioned in Chapter One, I argue that these magazines are selling alternative
masculinities. This chapter delves further to provide a detailed description of the nature
of these alternative masculinities. I argue that the discourse of alternative masculinities
in the magazines is directed towards providing alternative leadership. Reversibly,
constructing images of alternative leadership can be read as a masculine endeavour.
Providing a discourse of alternative leadership is about supplying masculine
599
Richard Robison, “The Middle Class and the Bourgeoisie in Indonesia” in The New Rich in Asia.
Mobile Phones, McDonalds and Middle-Class Revolution, eds. Richard Robison and David S. G.
Goodman (London and New York: Routledge, 1996), p. 84.
600
Richard Robison, “The Middle Class and the Bourgeoisie in Indonesia,” p. 84.
204
representations that are more democratic in relation to the political hegemonic
masculinity in Indonesian society.
The idea of the American Playboy was to create a space for men who felt the pressure
of American conservatism on their sexuality. The idea of new man and new lad
magazines in the west was to negotiate the pressures of western feminism. Similarly, I
argue that Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines were created in response to demands
for more democratic space for Indonesian men. Matra, a defunct Indonesian men’s
lifestyle magazine that inspires current magazine editors from the same genre, was also
about providing a space for men. Fikri Jufri, Matra’s first editor-in-chief, argues that
we feel the need to provide a medium for men to channel their inspirations, a
medium which serves as an avenue for dialogues, and a forum to get
information about men’s world. Also, women’s magazines have been around
for many years in abundance, why not men’s magazines? We are convinced
that men also need a medium catering just to them ... So that’s why we
publish this magazine. At least for balance. 601
Jufri’s mention of “balance” may refer to the balance between women’s and men’s
magazines. However, his earlier comments that Indonesian men need to share their
inspirations and have a dialogue seem to imply that the mainstream media are not that
inclusive. The balance that Jufri refers to may be interpreted as a sign that the
mainstream media, although they are men’s stream, may have left out some groups of
men.
I have asserted in different parts in this thesis what Beynon and McNair refer to as
masculinity struggles for leadership positions, which keep men in constant conflict with
601
“Kami merasa perlu ada media tempat kaum pria menyalurkan inspirasi, berdialog, sampai
mendapatkan informasi tentang tentang dunianya. Dan kalau sudah bertahun-tahun dan tidak kira-kira
jumlahnya ada majalah khusus wanita, kenapa kaum pria tidak? Kami yakin pria pun membutuhkan
media yang khusus untuk mereka .... Maka kamipun membuatnya. Minimal untuk keseimbangan”
Kurniawan Junaedhie, Rahasia Dapur Majalah di Indonesia (Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 1995), p.
56.
205
one another, either physically or ideologically. 602 The fraternity as an ideological
movement in the magazines enables the consolidation of the intellectual power of
politically marginalized men to challenge the leadership of hegemonic masculinity in
the society. Men’s lifestyle magazines allow these expressions of discontent in a nonthreatening and non-subversive manner.
However, it should be noted that the magazines challenge hegemonic masculinity while
still operating within conservative gender relations. The magazines want to improve
(some) men’s position in the gender hierarchy without challenging or deconstructing the
basic paradigm of men being superior to women. This situation puts women
consistently below in the gender hierarchy along with other gender minorities.
Representing Indonesian Men as Citizens
In the April 2007 issue of Popular, there was an interview with Indro, a comedian. 603
Indro and his group were known for their criticism of the government through their
comedies and performances in the 1980s. Indro admitted that “Warkop used to be a
group which often criticized the government.” 604 Under the New Order, this was a
dangerous practice and Indro received threats from the authorities for being outspoken
about government policies through his humour.
When asked about his role as a comedian in society, Indro replied that Indonesians were
a humorous group of people, so everything had to be delivered through comedy to reach
the common people. He said
The truth is that our country loves humour, we never want to be serious... Things
have to be delivered humorously when you want to get the message across to
602
John Beynon, Masculinities and Culture, p. 16, and Brian McNair, Striptease Culture, p. 37.
“21 Mentalitas Indro ‘Warkop’ ” [21 Mentalities of Indro Warkop], Popular, No. 231, April 2007.
604
[D]ulu kan Warkop itu kelompok yang sering mengkritik pemerintah. Indro Warkop quoted from “21
Mentalitas Indro ‘Warkop’ ” [21 Mentalities of Indro Warkop], Popular, No. 231, April 2007, p. 64.
603
206
people. There is even a trend among religious preachers, that if they want to
penetrate the general public and reach their target they use humour. Why?
Because we are a nation of comedians. 605
In his answer he located his profession within the wider forum of the nation. He
extended the scope of his profession to providing information to his fellow citizens
through his humour. In the magazines, the ways men represent themselves are often
articulated in terms of how the nation is viewed by these men as citizens. Watson
similarly argues that “Indonesian self-representation was closely linked to the
representations of the nation.” 606 Although the period in Watson’s book ranged from
before independence right up to the New Order, his comment is still relevant to the
condition in the magazines. He does not mention gender but Indonesian men dominate
his discussion of Indonesian self-representation. By expanding Watson’s argument, I
am able to link narratives of nation-building with the construction of Indonesian
masculinities in the magazines.
Indro continued to define his profession in contrast to the people in Indonesian
parliament whom he considered incompetent to lead the society despite their crucial
position in Indonesian politics. He said that
What has turned us into a “nation of comedians” are those who nominated
rich people [as representatives] in parliament. They don’t have a clue about
their motivation for becoming leaders or representatives. Their motivations
are so unclear. I am sorry, but I don’t envy my fellow celebrities who made
it to the House of Representatives, I don’t want it. In fact for me, for the time
being it’s a disgrace to be a member of the House of Representatives. Do
605
Pada prinsipnya bangsa ini bangsa bercanda, bangsa yang tidak pernah mau serius. [S]emua harus
dibawa ke komedi dulu supaya mendapat tempat di hati masyarakat...Bahkan ada kecenderungan untuk
target-target tertentu seorang dai atau ulama yang ingin masuk ke masyarakat menggunakan komedi.
Apapun mereka akan selalu mendekatkan ke arah komedi. Kenapa, karena kita bangsa yang komedi
banget. Indro Warkop quoted from “21 Mentalitas Indro ‘Warkop’ ” [21 Mentalities of Indro Warkop],
Popular, No. 231, April 2007, p. 62.
606
C.W. Watson, Of Self and Nation. Autobiography and the Representation of Modern Indonesia
(Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2000), p. ix.
207
they even know what they’re doing? It’s a comedy! Thank goodness I didn’t
vote. 607
Indro’s comment stemmed from the fact that many celebrities were running for
positions in politics, harnessing their celebrity status as vote gatherers for their political
parties, or for themselves. In the interview, Indro constructed himself as a good citizen
by expressing his concern with blunt political ambition. During the interview he
expanded many of his answers and associated them with Indonesia’s political dynamics
as exemplified above.
In a different issue, Popular interviewed Sam Bimbo, a singer. Popular confronted
Bimbo about the inspiration for one of his songs that the general public interpreted as
being about the former first lady, Tien Suharto:
Popular:
Is it true that the song “Tante Sun” [Auntie Sun] is an allusion
to someone?
Sam Bimbo: When Tante Sun [Auntie Sun] was written, corruption was
rife in Indonesia. I was criticising that. A lot of high- ranking
people in government were discussing how to make Indonesia
a better place. Unfortunately, many of their wives played a
role in ruining their husbands’ careers. A lot of wives were
involved in [government] projects. Although their husbands
might not be ministers they still held strategic positions, and
their wives had a lot to say in these projects. At the time this
was a wide-spread phenomenon in Indonesia.
So I came up with this character [for my song], and that’s
Auntie Sun. At the time, a lot of people in the press
speculated that it was a particular person, and how that person
tried to enrich her children by using facilities provided by her
husband’s position. It’s up to other people how they want to
interpret the song. Everybody’s entitled to their own
interpretation. That is the strength of a work of art. That is
how Tante Sun became popular. 608
607
Yang lebih komedi lagi, orang-orang yang mencalonkan orang-orang yang punya duit yang tidak tahu
apa motivasinya menjadi pemimpin atau wakil rakyat. Nggak jelas. Maaf ya, teman-teman saya yang ada
di sana (DPR) saya tidak ngiri dan tidak kepengen. Bahkan untuk saat ini, kalau saya jadi (anggota), aib
untuk saya. Ngerti nggak sih mereka...Apa nggak komedi tuh. Untung saya nggak milih.
“21 Mentalitas Indro ‘Warkop’ ” [21 Mentalities of Indro Warkop], Popular, No. 231, April 2007, p. 62.
608
Popular:
Benarkah lagu ‘Tante Sun’ menyindir seseorang ?
Sam Bimbo:
Waktu lagu ‘Tante Sun’ diciptakan, korupsi sedang merebak di Indonesia. Saya
mengkritiknya. Pejabat Indonesia saat itu aktif berdebat membuat Indonesia lebih baik lagi. Ternyata
waktu itu ibu-ibu pejabat justru banyak yang berperan dan mengacaukan karier suami. Ibu-ibu banyak
208
Tien Suharto’s demure expression might not invoke the image of a first lady who
intervened in her husband’s position. Nevertheless, her behind-the-scene power was a
public secret despite her calm public persona. Leith contends that much of the “Suharto
wealth came through the business dealings of his late wife, Tien”. 609 This situation
reinforces the notion of women with power as a menace and the impression that behind
each corrupt man there must be a femme fatale who induced him into vice and crime. 610
In Chapter Three I mentioned that under the Suharto regime, Indonesian men had to
decide whether they wished to be “political” or “a-political” citizens. Considering the
policy of the “floating mass” during the Suharto era, most Indonesian men deemed it
safer to be the silent majority by choosing to be “a-political” constituents. The apolitical outlook of many Indonesian men does not mean that they do not exercise their
resistance. Male agency can be exercised through non-political forms. Sam Bimbo’s
song is one of a range of responses to the stifling political environment under Suharto.
The arts and entertainment media disguised political debates as other creative forms.
Clark argues that
[D]uring the New Order era in particular, Indonesian artists worked hard to
communicate directly with their audience, creatively engaging with issues of
social and political significance. This has continued to be the case, even in
the years after the demise of Suharto’s authoritarian regime. 611
yang ikut main dalam proyek. Meskipun suami mereka bukan menteri namun memegang jabatan basah,
sang nyonya bisa ikut berperan. Dan saat itu merata di Indonesia.
Jadi saat itu saya simpulkan dan ada satu tokoh, ya, Tante Sun itu. Waktu itu banyak pers yang
mengarahkannya pada seorang ibu, bagaimana seorang ibu berperan untuk memperkaya anak-anaknya
berdasarkan fasilitas sang suami. Soal irterpretasi [sic] lagu terserah masing-masing orang. Semua
bebas mengartikannya. Itulah kekuatan seni. Imajinasi Tante Sun pun kian melebar. “35 Dendang Religi
Sam Bimbo” [Thirty-five Religious Songs from Sam Bimbo], Popular, No. 237, October 2007, p. 65.
609
Denise Leith, The Politics of Power. Freeport in Suharto’s Indonesia (Honolulu, Hawaii: University
of Hawai’i Press, 2003), p. 31.
610
Hediana Utarti-Miller, “Constructing the Guardian Mothers: A Note on the Representation of Women
in Indonesia’s New Order” in Constructions and Confrontations: Changing Representations of Women in
the East and West. Christina Bacchilega and Cornelia N. Moore, eds. (Honolulu, Hawaii: University of
Hawaii Press, 1996), p. 30.
611
Marshall Clark, “Indonesian Cinema: Exploring Cultures of Masculinity, Censorship and Violence” in
Popular Culture in Indonesia. Fluid Identities in Post-Authoritarian Politics, ed. Ariel Heryanto (Oxon;
New York, USA; Canada: Routledge, 2008), p. 43.
209
Since the collapse of the New Order, politics has become a marketable issue in
Indonesian popular culture. There is a great demand for political fora for non-political
men. This condition leads to what Faucher refers to as the appropriation of the youthful
and inclusive spirit of Reform in many forms of Indonesian popular culture. 612
In Playboy Indonesia’s interview with Kaka, one of the members of a rock band called
Slank, Kaka acknowledges the power of ‘political anger’ in popular culture:
Playboy Indonesia:
Kaka:
In the 90s, Slank was the only band which mentioned
the word “corrupter” in their songs apart from Iwan
Fals. Why don’t you mention the issue again in your
recent songs?
The truth is we feel that a lot of other people have
screamed similar protest.... We try not to criticize too
bluntly.... Indonesia is unstable at the moment. With
the massive number of fans that we have, it’s
dangerous to provoke them. 613
Kaka’s song became a political outlet and his fans use his songs to express their
disappointment with their corrupt government. The popularity of Slank’s songs
indicates the unpopularity of Indonesian leaders.
Indonesian men used to be silenced by their “floating-mass” identity, but the 1998
Reform marked their re-entry into Indonesia’s political scene. They are relatively free
now to criticize and provide suggestions on how to run the country. Questions in the
magazines reflect this freedom. Indro was asked by Popular about the wide-spread
corruption in Indonesia:
Popular:
612
How do we banish corruption?
Carole Faucher, “Popular Discourse on Identity Politics and Decentralisation in Tanjung Pinang
Public Schools” Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Vol. 47, No. 2, (August 2006), 273.
613
Playboy:
Tahun 90-an sepertinya baru Slank yang memasukkan kata ‘koruptor’ dalam lagu pop
Indonesia, selain Iwan Fals. Kenapa sekarang berkurang lagu dengan isu-isu itu?
Kaka:
Sebetulnya kami juga merasa bahwa sudah banyak orang yang berteriak seperti itu.
Kami berusaha untuk kritiknya nggak terlalu tajam. Situasi di Indonesia lagi panas.
Kalau gue dengan massa gue segini banyak, terus ngomong provokatif, bisa bahaya.
“Playboy Interview: Kaka Slank” Playboy Indonesia, December 2006, p. 35.
210
Indro:
You want the real answer or the humorous answer?
The real answer, please don’t be offended, in my
opinion, once they start [their corrupt practices], just
kill them. 614
Indro’s reply and those of others before him, reflect the notion that the nation is a
masculine domain, because female celebrities in the magazines are not confronted with
the same types of questions. Nor do they take the initiative to comment on national
politics. Indro’s use of the word “kill” associates masculinity with startling aggression.
Taufik Savalas, another celebrity, in an interview with Maxim Indonesia, also
commented on corruption.
Maxim Indonesia:
Taufik:
If you could disappear, what would you do?
I’d steal from corrupt people, or I’d scare and terrorize
them. Frankly, corruption is the most deplorable
disease. It’s those corrupt people who throw this
nation into such a state. 615
Like Indro, Savalas used strong words such as “terrorize” to emphasize his answer.
Although the word corruption covers a broad acts of fraud and dishonesty, in
Indonesian context it is a crime strongly linked with people working for the
government. The word is frequently used in the context of grievances against the state.
The fact that these men have the courage to voice their personal political opinions
parallels Bourdieu’s argument regarding French society. He argues that there is a link
between development, education, culture, and social class on the one hand, with
political involvement on the other. 616 The point that I want to borrow from Bourdieu is
that increasing political involvement usually comes from the social class that is exposed
614
Popular: Kalau menghilangkan budaya korupsi bagaimana menurut anda ?
Indro: Beneran atau komedi? Menurut saya yang beneran, tapi jangan tersinggung ya, semua orang
yang sudah mulai bekerja, bunuh. “21 Mentalitas Indro ‘Warkop’ ” [21 Mentalities of Indro Warkop],
Popular, No. 231, April 2007, p. 63.
615
Maxim: Kalau Mas Taufik itu bisa menghilang, nanti mau melakukan apa ?
Taufik: Mau nyolong harta-hartanya koruptor, atau gue takut-takutin dan teror. Terus terang, menurut
gue korupsi itu penyakit yang bangsat. Jadi yang bikin negeri ini kayak begini ya para koruptor.” Taufik
Savalas. The Humble Comedian” [English Language Original] Maxim Indonesia, No. 19/II, June 2007, p.
60.
616
Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction. A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (London: Routledge, 1979),
p. 399.
211
to a certain level of education and development, who have their own culture which
signifies their class. In Indonesia’s case, it is middle class Indonesian men who posses
this privilege in the magazines. Following Bourdieu’s argument, Indonesian men’s
lifestyle magazines have a role in reproducing a middle class culture and are also
significant “in the production of political opinions.” 617
In FHM Indonesia, Ruhut Sitompul, a lawyer, also commented on corruption. Although
it is more probable for a lawyer to talk about corruption, the initial question to Ruhut
Sitompul was not about corruption. He took the initiative to touch on the topic:
FHM Indonesia:
Ruhut Sitompul:
Why are your clients mostly celebrities these days?
Not really. Strictly speaking, what I don’t defend are
corruption cases ... I am sorry, but I don’t defend
people who are traitors to this country. 618
The answer hints that outside his celebrity clients, he is often approached to handle
corruption cases. His comments seem to insinuate that corruption cases are handled by
corrupt lawyers. His answer, and the previous comments about corruption emphasize the
trend of masculinities in the magazines, which is about protest masculinity that
challenges the hegemonic masculinity. 619
These men project their masculine struggle onto the bigger picture of the nation-state in
order to avoid scrutiny of their own masculine being. They do not want to show that
through political deprivation, such as not being a member of parliament, their
masculinity suffers. They assert that it is the nation that suffers, not their masculinities.
Another example is the interview with film director Riri Reza in Playboy Indonesia.
617
Pierre Bourdieu, p. 399.
FHM Indonesia: Kenapa sekarang lebih banyak membela artis?
Ruhut Sitompul: Nggak juga. Pokoknya, yang saya tidak mau bela adalah: koruptor ... Maaf saja, untuk
hal-hal yang merongrong negara, saya tolak.
“Quote Unquote. Ruhut Sitompul” [English original] FHM Indonesia, No. 45, May 2007, p. 116.
619
R.W. Connell, Masculinities, p. 114.
618
212
One of the questions refers to the failure of one of his films. Reza links the failure to
media regulation in Indonesia and expresses his critical view of the government:
Playboy Indonesia:
Riri Reza:
So you refuse to concede failure?
This is not the failure of the film-maker. Please write this
statement in bold print. The government promised a
reform..... It’s the government who failed. 620
Webb contends that men have problems admitting that their masculinity is abused or
threatened by another more powerful form of masculinity. He argues,
Men operate within a definition of themselves as masculine that hides the
mechanism of their power. They are comfortable if they are able to discuss
someone else’s oppression, but once the discussion shifts to men themselves,
they become anxious and uncomfortable. How is it that men might be
oppressed? Surely, men are not victims? Men may be the oppressors, but
they can’t be victims  can they? While the mechanism by which women
are oppressed can be relatively easily seen and understood by most men,
those same men struggle to detect the crippling mechanisms of masculinity
in their own lives. If men are operating within a framework that obscures
discussion of that very framework, then their ability to constructively
analyse their own place within the patriarchy is necessarily limited. 621
In light of the rising popularity of masculinity studies in the west, in which men are
beginning to discuss social problems as masculinity problems, Indonesia is still lagging
behind. Thus, Indonesian men conflate their fight for masculine rights as the fight for
the nation’s justice and democracy. In Indonesia there is not much discussion of a crisis
of masculinity as the result of oppression of one group of men by another. This obscures
the fact that social conflicts are predominantly male-to-male conflicts, into which
females are often dragged as accessories to crimes, or as mere victims. Men’s lifestyle
magazines very rarely focus on ordinary men or men who are victimized. 622 Edwards
argues that the reason for this is that the magazines do not want to represent men as
620
Playboy: Jadi anda menolak untuk dikatakan gagal ?
Riri: Yang gagal itu bukan pembuat filem. Ini perlu ditulis tebal-tebal. Pemerintah yang berjanji
melakukan reformasi,…Yang gagal itu negara.
621
John Webb, Junk Male (Australia: HarperCollins, 1998), p. 5.
622
Tim Edwards, “Sex, Booze and Fags: Masculinity, Style and Men’s Magazines” in Masculinity and
Men’s Lifestyle Magazines, Bethan Benwell, ed. (Oxford, UK and Malden, USA: Blackwell Publishing,
2003), p. 133.
213
having problems. 623 In Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines the problems are projected
onto the society from where these men come. This technique deflects the problems from
men themselves. Indonesian men are not represented as the New Order’s ideological
victims with insignificant political power. In the magazines they are represented as the
ideological saviours.
An interview with Tio Pakusadewo in Maxim Indonesia demonstrates that men
represent themselves in their interviews mostly as members of the society rather than as
individual males. Pakusadewo is an actor who is not involved in politics, but he
represents himself as a person with political awareness as a marker of his masculine
character.
Maxim Indonesia:
Tio Pakusadewo:
What upset your idealism when you were young?
During the New Order, teaching became a site for
reinforcement of [state] regulations and doctrines.
Like Pancasila. Suharto took advantage of it. 624
In Chapter Eight on Hai magazine, I provide further evidence which corroborates
Pakusadewo’s comment above, within the context of high school education.
When I asked the editor of Maxim Indonesia for his comments on Pakusadewo’s
interview, he said that reporters tried to invite interesting answers by asking provocative
questions. The intention was to create controversy. Titan Galantri Harinda, the editor,
commented that he searched for a personality who was extroverted and incited a certain
level of debate. 625 This shows how images of controversial masculinities are used to
create interviews that sell. However, regardless of the commercial aspect in constructing
623
Tim Edwards, Cultures of Masculinity (London, New York: Routledge, 2006), p. 37.
Maxim: Hal apa lagi yang mengusik idealisme anda saat muda dulu ?
Tio Pakusadewo: Di zaman Orde Baru, hal yang tadinya berbentuk ajaran berubah menjadi peraturan,
menjadi doktrin. Misalnya Pancasila. Dulu Soeharto… malah mendomplenginya. “Tio Pakusadewo.
Charismatic Bad Boy” [English Language Original], Maxim Indonesia, No. 27/III, February 2008, p. 70.
625
Interview with Titan Galantri Harinda, editor of Maxim Indonesia on 20 June 2008.
624
214
middle-class Indonesian men in the magazines, the point that I am arguing is that
controversial masculinities are defined as personalities who are sceptical of the
authorities. This attitude becomes a defining element in constructing brotherhood
masculinities in the magazines.
An interview with Butet Kartaredjasa, an actor, delved into the purpose of entertainment
as a forum for political education. Kartaredjasa hosted a television programme called
News Dot Com, which parodied Indonesian politicians, including former presidents of
Indonesia and the current President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Later, he was
questioned by the Minister for Information regarding his controversial programme.
Kartaredjasa was considered daring in his impersonations of those politicians, and the
interview in Playboy Indonesia represented him as the speaker for common people
through his television programme.
Playboy Indonesia:
Butet:
Playboy Indonesia:
Butet:
The Minister for Information says that the programme is
not good for political education. Do you think News Dot
Com can have a role in providing political education [to
the general public] in the form of satire?
We can. Because [this programme] deconstructs,
debunks, the sacredness of feudal myths about the
meaning of leadership.
Could this programme ruin the President’s image?
We have to acknowledge that the general public is wise
and intelligent. It is so arrogant to think that the people
are stupid. If we think positively, these people are
intelligent, they have standards of conscience, they can
differentiate the good from the bad. 626
Due to the controversy of the programme, Kartaredjasa’s parody became an expression
of bravery and integrity, voicing outrage at the political injustice perpetrated by men in
626
Playboy Indonesia: Menkominfo bilang, bentuk acara ini tidak baik untuk pendidikan politik. News
Dot Com bisa mengambil peran dalam pendidikan politik untuk bentuk satir?
Butet: Bisa. Karena ini mendekonstruksi, mendesakralisasi mitos-mitos feodal mengenai makna
pemimpin.
Playboy Indonesia: Apakah acara itu bisa merusak citra presiden?
Butet: Kita harus percaya masyarakat punya satu kearifan dan kecerdasan. Satu pemikiran yang
sombong menganggap masyarakat bodoh. Kalau kita berpikir positif, masyarakan itu cerdas, punya
ukuran-ukuran hati nurani, yang bisa membedakan mana yang baik dan buruk. “Playboy Interview:
Butet Kartaredjasa” Playboy Indonesia, April 2006, p. 32.
215
the higher echelons of the Indonesian political sphere. Here I argue that the magazines
also become a microcosm of particular political representations.
As I mentioned in the chapter on the history of Indonesian men, prior to independence,
nationalism was invoked to challenge the hegemonic masculinity of the Dutch
colonizers. Currently in the magazines, nationalism is invoked to challenge the
oppression of the hegemonic masculinity of the state. Nationalism becomes a discourse
of resistance. Banerjee, in her discussion of Indian masculinities, argues that “societal
ideas defining cultural interpretations of masculinities and femininities are potent
metaphors for expressing nation.” 627 In this chapter, Banerjee’s argument can be
reversed by saying that expressions of nationalism can be used to trace the constructs of
gender, particularly masculinities.
The interviews with a broad range of male public figures in the magazines show that
men are agents of change and they are expected to reform society by being critical.
Buchbinder argues that the role of male public figures is
to enable men to ‘recognize’ themselves and each other within the relevant
culture and social class, and hence to approve male behaviour in terms of
ideological correctness. 628
In Kartaredjasa’s interview, the targeted male readers of the magazines are expected to
form an informal political alliance with Kartaredjasa. The readers’ agreement with his
opinions bonds them together and forms an ideological resistance. In these magazines,
men view it as their duty to take care of their country in the way the earlier founding
‘fathers’ took care of their motherland.
627
Sikata Banerjee, Make Me a Man! Masculinity, Hinduism and Nationalism in India (New York: State
University of New York, 2005), p. 2.
628
David Buchbinder, Performance Anxieties. Re-producing Masculinity (Sydney: Allen & Unwin,
1998), p. 29.
216
An interview with Putu Rudana, a successful young businessman from Bali, reflects one
of the ways the magazines construct men’s realm, which is by invoking their sense of
nationalism:
Male Emporium:
Putu Rudana:
What is your version of nationalism and idealism?
I want to show the world that Indonesia is truly a peaceloving nation. 629
Nationalism as a masculine domain is not only demonstrated in Indonesian men’s
lifestyle magazines, but is made obvious by its absence in women’s magazines that I
encountered in my previous research. The notion that discourses of nationalism are
configured by men, is not only supported by the fact that they are expressed by men in
the magazines, but also by the fact that women’s comments on nationalism in these
magazines are very rare. Women in Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines and women in
Indonesian women’s lifestyle magazines are relatively silent with regards to politics,
the government, or the establishment. Carver contends that
[There are] practices stereotypically and statistically associated with men, e.g.
statecraft, warfare, diplomacy, the international economy ... defence and
security... [my emphasis].
Currently these practices are flagged...as ‘associated with masculinity’ or
masculinized. 630
The granting of masculine status to the aspects mentioned above is reflected in the
interviews conducted by Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines. The rhetoric of
“statecraft” that often appears in the content is more often associated with masculine
representations than with feminine ones. Mayer argues that “The nation and men so
629
Male Emporium: Bagaimana nasionalisme & idealisme seorang Putu?
Putu Rudana: Saya memang selalu ingin menunjukkan kepada masyarakat dunia bahwa bangsa
Indonesia merupakan bangsa yang betul-betul cinta damai. “Putu Rudana. Antara Nyata dan Tidak
Nyata” [Putu Rudana. Between Real and Unreal] Male Emporium, Vol. 86, March 2008, p. 35.
630
Terrell Carver, “Men in Feminist Gaze: What does this Mean in IR?” Millenium – Journal of
International Studies, No. 37 (2008), 114.
217
often seem to mirror one another and be each other’s extension”. 631 This is not to
assume that women are left out completely in the running of the government and the
practices of politics. However, the fields allocated to women seem to be extensions of
women’s nurturing duty outside the house. In Indonesia, men at the upper echelons may
handle fields like education, social welfare, and health. However, women predominate
at the bottom rank where the actual delivery of these services takes place.
A nation consists of gendered citizens, therefore nationalism cannot escape a gendered
discourse. 632 Since maleness is the dominant gender, it predominantly defines the
discourse of the nation. The interviews in the magazines reveal this notion. The
masculinities that unfold employ discourses of good citizens. The masculine discourse
is collapsed into a nationalistic one. This tendency is not unique to Indonesia. Banerjee,
in reference to the construction of masculinities in former British colonies, argues that
there is a process of “masculinization in nationalism”. 633
The question about idealism which appears both in Tio Pakusadewo’s and Putu
Rudana’s interviews, reinforces the idea that ideal Indonesian men care about their
nation. They are depicted as a group of people who are not selfish, in contrast to those
who succumb to corruption. These are men who are not contaminated by the
manipulative state. This explains the fact that none of the men interviewed are identified
as civil servants, government officials, or men from the military. Men from the military
are represented in feature articles such as the examples from Playboy Indonesia in
Chapter Four. Nevertheless, they are not interviewed individually as success stories like
these young men. In his interview, Indro hinted at the corrupt procedure for the
631
Tamar Mayer, “Gender Ironies of Nationalism. Setting the Stage” in Gender Ironies of Nationalism.
Sexing the Nation, ed. Tamar Mayer (London, New York: Routledge, 2000), p. 18.
632
Tamar Mayer, p. 5.
633
Sikata Banerjee, Make Me a Man! Masculinity, Hinduism and Nationalism in India (New York: State
University of New York, 2005), p. 9.
218
selection of army generals: “Just be honest. Do they pay to become army generals? You
answered yes. That’s what I heard as well.” 634 Indro’s comment represents the
Indonesian public’s bitter attitude towards the Indonesian military. When he talks about
his father, who was also a general, he took the opportunity to criticize the corrupt
military in Indonesia. He contrasted other army generals, who were rich from
corruption, with his father, who was poor, despite his high position in the police
department. He said, ”when he died, he left us his debt because he paid the house in
instalments... by today’s standard he is a stupid general. But ... I’m so proud of him.” 635
Avoiding men from the government and the military as interviewees is a legacy of the
New Order. Government officials were symbolically seen as the state’s allies and too
afraid to speak up about the injustices that they witnessed. Gerke points out that
As loyal government employees, they fully supported the New Order
government ... in contrast to the professionals, businessmen ... they shared a
decidedly non-critical political outlook in the sense that they are not
interested, nor sufficiently informed, to recognize all the facets of political
life in the country. The state supported them and they supported whatever
the state did in a true bapak-anak (father-son) relationship. Indeed, there was
no shortage of social issues in Indonesia during the time of research; among
other events, were the murder of a woman labour activist, Marsinah;
reported political unrest in East Timor; and worker strikes in Medan.
However, for these civil servants to be ‘knowledgeable’ about these political
happenings would have meant becoming intellectually and psychologically
involved as critical citizens. 636
Although Gerke comments on uncritical civil servants, that does not mean the critical
middle class group does not constitute men working for the government. Ariel Heryanto
claims that the critical mass includes people like “undergraduate students ... journalists,
634
“Jujur saja, untuk jadi jederal pake duit nggak? Anda bilang pakai. Yang saya dengar juga begitu.”
Indro Warkop quoted from Popular, No. 231, April 2007, p. 64.
635
“... pada saat meninggalnya, [Bapak] menginggalkan hutang karena mencicil rumah. ... kalau
sekarang, dia seorang jenderal yang bodoh ... Tapi ... saya ... ini bangga terhadapnya.” Indro Warkop
quoted from Popular, No. 231, April 2007, p. 64.
636
Solvay Gerke, “Global Lifestyles,” pp. 144 – 145.
219
artists, lawyers, academics and NGO activists.” 637 The academics are more likely to
come from government universities. Their status as civil servants does not stop them
from being critical. However, their comments in the media are identified as coming
from academics rather than from civil servants. The shunning of ‘civil servants’
(pegawai negeri) and ‘government officials’ (pejabat pemerintah) in the magazines
reflects the symbolic shunning of the middle class’ alliance with the government. Ariel
Heryanto summarizes the explanation for the middle class’ attitude as follows
These people [of the middle class] certainly benefit from the status quo they
claim they want to undermine. But a growing proportion of the urban middle
classes can no longer accept the status quo and their own privileged position
in it as morally or politically correct. Even in material terms, these people
seem to believe that the majority would benefit more than they would lose
from a new social order in the long term. 638
Judging from expressions of antagonism from the men in the magazines, which are
directed mostly at the Indonesian government, idealized masculinities can be said to be
the result of conflicts with the state. 639 In conflicts, one form of masculinity attempts to
rise above the others. Nation-building often involves processes where different
masculinities try to exclude one another. Tamar contends that
Because the nation is often constructed by elites who have the power to
define the nation in ways that further their own interests, the same elites are
also able to define who is central and who is marginal to the national
project. 640
The men interviewed in the magazines are those who challenge their marginal political
position and offer discursive resistance and agency.
637
Ariel Heryanto, “Indonesia: the Middle Class in the 1990s,” p. 262.
Ariel Heryanto, “Indonesia: the Middle Class in the 1990s,” p. 262.
639
Masculinities from other nations are similarly defined from wars and political disputes. For examples
from different countries, see Stefan Dudink, and Karen Hagemann and John Tosh, eds. Masculinities in
Politics and War. Gendering Modern History. Seel also Sikata Banerjee, Make Me a Man!, pp. 1 – 12.
640
Tamar Mayer, “Gender Ironies,” p. 12.
638
220
In the following I discuss the second factor of middle class Indonesian men’s identity
which is their lifestyle. I use advertisements as a case study to support my argument that
the masculine identity mobilized by the magazines is built on the ideology of
Indonesia’s new rich which constitutes political consciousness and cultural
sophistication.
Advertising the Power and the Power of Advertising
The word “advertising” seems to set a clear scope for the discussion of this section.
Petley defines advertising as “the means by which goods or services are promoted to the
public.” 641 Thus this section deals with advertisements of concrete merchandise and
services in the magazines as defined above. However, the intertwined relations between
the magazines’ content and their advertising components should be noted. Blakemann
argues that "A magazine’s content plays an important role in the advertising that
appears within its covers.” 642
Given the way advertisements are often incorporated into feature articles, there is not
always a clear demarcation between them. The concept of advertorial is useful here to
explain the amalgamation of advertisements and editorial within the magazines. In a
broader sense, a magazine itself is a product. The whole magazine is a promotion of
lifestyle and ideology supported by the advertisements, and vice versa. An editor for
Blitz, a British magazine, insists that advertisements should “blend in with the rest of
the magazine.” 643 The editor for Popular magazine also admitted the necessity to
refresh the content of his magazine from time to time to attract more advertisers and
641
Julian Petley, Advertising (London: Hodder Wayland, 2002), p. 4.
Robyn Blakeman, The Bare Bones of Advertising Print Design (Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield,
2005), p. 129.
643
Frank Mort, Cultures of Consumption. Masculinities and Social Space in Late Twentieth – Century
Britain (London; New York: Routledge, 1996), p. 27.
642
221
accommodate a wider range of products. 644 In this way, a magazine becomes a holistic
unit of integrated promotion which is only apparently divided into content and
advertising. The content deals with the promotion of concepts or ideas, while the
advertising deals with the promotion of concrete products and services. This analysis
places the advertisements within the wider scope of masculinity constructions provided
in the content.
In accordance with the content, I argue that advertisements in Indonesian men’s lifestyle
magazines represent and target the rising middle class male professionals in Indonesia.
These professionals carry significant ideological weight within Indonesian sociopolitical movements. Daniel S. Lev defines these professionals as
the most articulate spokesmen of new ideas, purposes, principles, and
interests ... as the representatives of new lifestyles and tastes; as skilled and
confident models of new varieties of high status; and as reformers. 645
In the advertisements, the role of professionals as consumers is emphasized in order to
construct their relatively high social status through expensive taste. Bourdieu is apt
when he claims that “Taste classifies, and it classifies the classifier. Social subjects,
classified by their classifications, distinguish themselves by the distinctions they
make”. 646
The advertisements provide opportunities for local masculinities to form alliances with
masculinities at the global level. Membership to global masculinities is consolidated
through purchases of products or practices of certain lifestyles. 647 On a more practical
644
Interview with P Suryo R, editor of Popular on 24 July 2008.
Daniel S. Lev, “Notes on the Middle Class and Change in Indonesia” in The Politics of Middle Class
Indonesia, eds. Richard Tanter and Kenneth Young (Clayton, Australia: Centre of Southeast Asian
Studies, No. 19, Monash University, 1990), p. 46.
646
Pierre Bourdieu, p. 6.
647
Solvay Gerke argues that one way to identify middle class Indonesians is through their consumption
patterns. “Global Lifestyles,” pp. 135-137.
645
222
level, articles that feature Indonesian men staying, travelling or going overseas for
leisure or duty become a marker of this membership. The trips demonstrate that these
men are physically joining other men from overseas. The notion of ‘merantau’, or
working outside one’s home country to make his fortune becomes a symbol of wealth
and success. Male Emporium even has a regular column that features Indonesian men
who work overseas (see Figure 5) 648. The man featured in Figure 5 is a Canadian
graduate. The title of the column is “Work at Best. Outsider” and the opening of the
article says
As usual, in this column we choose to portray the activities of Indonesians
who work overseas. We call them “outsiders” to emphasize how alienated
they are – in certain aspects – from the place where they are staying. In our
edition of Man on a Mission this time, we feature Luigi Pralangga who
works for the United Nations and is often assigned to areas of conflicts.
Here is his story. 649
Although the word ‘alienated’ seems to allude to a depressing working condition, it is
actually a word that attempts to describe the man (Luigi Pralangga) as the Indonesian
equivalent of a rich western expatriate in Indonesia. The word is used with pride rather
than sympathy or sadness, because an Indonesia man has the capacity to obtain a high
profile job overseas.
Overall, global masculinities give the impression of being more inclusive because their
membership is seen as less discriminative than the local hegemonic masculinity that
treats these men as political outsiders. However, although seeming more inclusive,
global consumerist masculinities are discriminative on a financial basis. Any man who
can afford the lifestyles and the products is entitled to claim membership because
648
Male Emporium, No. 86, March 2008, p. 38.
Seperti biasa, di rubrik ini kami memilih kegiatan orang-orang Indonesia yang bekerja di luar negeri.
Mereka kami sebut “outsider”[English word in original] untuk menekankan bagaimana − dalam
beberapa hal − terasingnya mereka dari kehidupan tempat mereka tinggal. Dalam edisi Man on Mission
sic] kali ini, sengaja kami pilih Luigi Pralangga yang bekerja untuk UN dan kerap ditugaskan di
wilayah-wilayah rawan konflik. Berikut petikan kisahnya: “Work at Best. Outsider. Mission
(Im)Possible” Male Emporium, Vol. 86, March 2008, p. 38.
649
223
consumerism values wealth and success regardless of political background.
Consumerism entitles citizenship of a global elite community, and becomes a unifying
ideology for these men. Globalization, that is often viewed negatively because of its
standardizing or homogenizing effect, becomes a potential source of empowerment
because it offers a “unifying experience”. 650 On a more positive note, globalization has
made it easier for a middle-class community to imagine itself and expand its
membership. 651
I mentioned earlier that civil servants are not represented in the magazines due to their
symbolic alliance with the government. Another reason for their lack of representations
is due to the diminishing prestige of the civil service as a career choice for middle class
Indonesian men. 652 The mention of civil servant or ‘pegawai negeri’ becomes the
antithesis of young Indonesian executives who carry the banner of the new rich. Civil
servants connote several unfavourable things, such as an older generation who glorifies
the idea of working for the government due to the Dutch legacy, low salary, bribery,
low rank government officers, and a host of other labels that would be incongruent with
the lifestyle of the Indonesian ‘yuppies’ promoted by the magazines. These ‘yuppies’
are portrayed as owning their own business, or working for a local or foreign private
companies. Gerke argues that Indonesia’s new rich are experiencing a “global lifestyle
under local conditions.” 653 In this case the representations of the new rich do not only
refer to the hybrid construction of middle class Indonesian men, but also to the specific
local condition that construct this class as such.
650
The standardization effect is noted by E.J. Hobsbawm, “The World Unified” in The Globalization
Reader, Frank J. Lechner and John Boli, eds. (Malden, US; Oxford UK: Blackwell Publishing, 2004), p.
61.
The “unifying experience” is taken from Avijit Pathak’s proposal for a more agreeable interpretation of
globalization in India. See Avijit Pathak, Modernity, Globalization and Identity. Towards a Reflexive
Quest (Delhi: Aakar Books, 2006), p. 110.
651
Taken from Benedict Anderson’s concept of “imagined communities.” See Benedict Anderson.
Imagined Communities, pp. 41 – 49.
652
Ian Chalmers, “Democracy Constrained,” p. 56.
653
Solvay Gerke, “Global Lifestyles,” p. 135.
224
Figure 5. Travelling overseas for work
In a different context, Dasgupta argues, regarding Japanese men, that “discourses of
masculinity often co-existed and interacted within the same individual, either at
different stages of his life path or at the same time.” 654 Similarly, it is possible for
different types of masculine representations to be juxtaposed in the magazines. The
connecting thread of these different representations is male power. Edwards asserts that
what remains constant and interesting here is the ongoing promotion of
magazines through which men can affirm their sense of masculinity without
necessarily recognizing or confronting it. 655
Thus, regardless of the variations, eventually what the advertisements have in common
is the way they consistently strive to uphold masculine supremacy within the magazines.
This consistency carries the resonance of the survival strategy of masculinities in
different conditions that I flagged in previous chapters.
The conceptual framework for analytical reading of the advertisements starts with
Goffman’s classic proposal that advertisements in the media are “gender
advertisements”. 656 The idea that gender has to be advertised and promoted
demonstrates the nature of gender as a social construction. 657 The survival strategy of
masculinities through the advertisements highlights the reality of masculinities as
renewable social resources that change strategically to counter efforts that would
dismantle the power attached to them. Mackinnon contends that “masculinity is so
unstable as a concept in social actuality that it has to be constructed repeatedly in the
media.” 658 The repetitive and continuous instructions on how to be masculine
demonstrate masculinity’s quality as unnatural. Advertisements in these magazines
654
Romit Dasgupta, ““Crafting” Masculinity: Negotiating Masculine Identities in the Japanese
Workplace” PhD Thesis at Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia, 2004, p. 84.
655
Tim Edwards, Cultures of Masculinity (London, New York: Routledge, 2006), p. 37.
656
Erving Goffman, Gender Advertisements (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press,
1979).
657
Tim Edwards, Cultures of Masculinity, p. 20.
658
Kenneth Mackinnon, Representing Men, p. 34.
225
operate as part of this bigger mission to inculcate masculine ideologies by selling
masculinities as commodities. 659 The selection of advertisements therefore can be read
as complementary to and supportive of the magazines’ content.
Hugh Hefner, in selecting his advertisements for the US Playboy, is aware of the impact
of advertisements on the overall image of his magazine. Watts observes that
Hefner rejected ads for products that emphasized tawdry or proletarian
themes. [Hefner replied to a company whose ads he had declined that] “We
agreed early on to accept only advertising that seemed to be consistent with
the editorial attitude of the publication,” 660
This standard also applies to Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines in which the
products advertised reflect the three symbols of success promoted in the content: power,
wealth and women. Therefore I view the samples of advertisements in this section
according to these three standards of success.
The image of success in men’s
advertisements is important because men do not like to be made to feel inadequate.
Gauntlett argues that “male readers seem to be extremely wary of being told what to do
– they like to feel they know best already.” 661
In the magazines, middle-class professionals are symbols of political change, but in the
advertisements they are symbols of consumerism. Tanter and Young show that the
presence of these young executives was detected by Kompas newspaper as early as
1986. According to Kompas, in a survey in that same year:
They [the young professionals] are the ones, it seems, who crowd the poetry
readings of Rendra, plays at the Koma theatre, the performances of Srimulat
[comedy show], the [Jazz] music of Sergio Mendes. They are also the
devoted clientele of the Western and Japanese restaurants now spreading like
659
I borrow the idea of “masculinity as commodity” from Tim Edwards who refers to products advertised
to women as “commodity feminism”. Tim Edwards, Cultures of Masculinity (London, New York:
Routledge, 2006), p. 15.
660
Steven Watts, Mr. Playboy. Hugh Hefner and the American Dream (New Jersey: John Wiley and
Sons, 2008), p. 127.
661
David Gauntlett, Media, p. 154.
226
mushrooms. They are the professionals, whether called managers, doctors,
engineers or by other titles. Equipped with skills and expertise, they now
possess powerful positions in society as well as in the world of business.
And a noticeable phenomenon is the emergence of professionals who are
‘young’ in age.
Understanding them can be important because of their influence which
derives from their expertise and also from their lobbies in the form of
professional organizations. Perhaps this is also why people often call them
the dominant part of the middle-class. It is not surprising that people also
place hope in them, that they can bridge lower and higher social groups in
the adaptive changes going on in this country. This means a demand for
activism on their part, not only in the economy, but in social-political affairs.
The opportunity is theirs, but to what extent do they take it? 662
Cigarette products have been very strategic in incorporating messages of political
resistance in their advertisements. They are capitalizing on the current socio-political
condition – such as fresh democracy – in Indonesia. Although the same cigarette
companies also advertise their products with similar messages in the mainstream media,
their presence in the men’s lifestyle magazines creates a different nuance because it
reinforces the resistant message in the magazines’ content.
In Figure 6, a cigarette advertisement portrays an elderly man holding props that should
be manipulating a puppet, except in this case the puppet is replaced with a younger
man. 663 The visual message imparts the sinister notion of the controlling power of the
puppeteer, the dalang, that was a persistent trope of presidential power during the New
Order. This image lingers from the older generation in Indonesia, despite the transfer of
leadership to younger men. The main text at the top of the advertisements bolsters the
visual image by asking why men from the older generation do not trust young people
(“Yang Lebih Muda Yang Nggak Dipercaya. Tanya Kenapa”). The cunning smile of the
elderly man seems to answer the question. It is not because the older generation does
not trust the ability of these young men to run the country, but because these older men
662
Kompas, “Young Professionals of Jakarta: Millions in Salary, Lack of Hard Work” in The Politics of
Middle Class Indonesia, eds. Richard Tanter and Kenneth Young, (Clayton, Victoria: Monash University,
Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, c1990), pp. 167 – 168.
663
FHM Indonesia, No. 45, May 2007, p. 2.
227
want to stay in power longer. In the advertisement, male readers are asked to identify
themselves with the young man. Although the young man is depicted as a metaphoric
puppet, and the power of control resides with the older man, the empowerment of the
readers comes from the power of knowing and awareness of the political scenario.
Although the issue in the advertisement is a local one, the global image is consistently
promoted by other means. The name of the brand, A Mild, is in English. The language
signifies global communication that bridges Indonesian men and western men. Naming
the product in English serves to transcend the geographical distance, just like the
smoking habit that is shared by many men around the world. The clothes worn by both
men also speak about modernity in accordance with the western convention of the
“power suit”.
Overall, this local political issue is wrapped in global western paraphernalia. The
paraphernalia are important in the context of protest masculinity in the magazines.
These men are not just staging a protest: it is important that they express their protest
from a middle-class perspective. The purpose of demonstrating wealth is to differentiate
middle-class men’s identity from that of other men who also lack political power but
come from the lower class. Western paraphernalia signify wealth and higher status, so
they are treated as a source of empowerment. Fiske et al argue regarding western men
that
[Generally] a culture constructs masculinity so that its meanings are
expressed in dominance, power over others and social control. But it then
denies the subordinate male the means to exercise this dominance by
denying him access to any form of social power. 664
664
John Fiske and Bob Hodge and Graeme Turner, Myths of Oz. Reading Australian Pop Culture.
(Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1987), pp. 84 – 85.
228
Figure 6. Questioning leadership through a cigarette advertisement
So in the case of Indonesian men, lack of political power is compensated with
expressions of wealth and prosperity. In turn, these middle class men are “othering” the
lower class men.
Figure 7 exemplifies one of the symbols of wealth and luxury. It is an advertorial for
alcoholic drinks. 665 The price is included in the caption, and is quoted in US dollars.
Considering that more than ninety percent of the Indonesian population are Muslims,
who theoretically do not consume alcohol, this advertisement constructs the notion of
wealth that is far removed from ‘local’ images. Ariel Heryanto argues regarding the
image of wealth in Indonesia is that, “The rich [are] non-Asian, or non-indigenous, nonMuslim and non-rakyat”. 666 Reversibly, “the rich” conjures up stereotypical images of
western expatriates and Chinese Indonesians, who are most of the time perceived as
Christians.
It is ironic that Chinese ethnicity in Indonesia serves as a token of material wealth but
they are not represented in the magazines that seem to worship luxury. The Chinese as
representations of wealth seem to disappear together with representations of civil
servants and military men. Despite the large number of Chinese businessmen in
Indonesia, they do not constitute the representations of middle class Indonesian men in
the magazines. One Chinese man, Ferry Juan is portrayed as a lawyer who defends drug
dealers. 667 His representation seems to attempt to picture Chinese men in a different
light so as not to compete with the new rich ‘pribumi’ (native Indonesians) that
predominate the magazines.
665
Playboy Indonesia, April 2007, p. 86.
Rakyat in this context means the little people. See Ariel Heryanto, “The Years of Living Luxuriously:
Identity Politics of Indonesia’s New Rich” in Culture and Privilege in Capitalist Asia, ed. Michael
Pinches (London: Routledge, 1999a), pp. 162 – 163.
667
Faisyal and Andriza Hamzah, “Ferry Juan. Don Juan dan Narkoba” Male Emporium, No. 77, June
2007, pp. 49 – 53.
666
229
In the magazines it does not matter that wealth is only consumed at a “symbolic” level.
The readers are performing this symbolic consumption by purchasing the magazines.
They may not be able to afford the drinks but they acquire knowledge about this
beverage, which increases their popular culture vocabulary and hence their cultural
capital; or they can lower their standard of alcoholic drinks to those which do not cost
as much but are sufficient to give the impression of successful middle class men. Gerke
terms this symbolic consumption “lifestyling”. It refers to the ability to display a
performance and an appearance of wealth that is not truly supported by a firm financial
capacity. 668
Figure 8 is an example of this lifestyling. It is an advertisement for an entertainment
establishment called “Sugar Billiard and Bar”. 669 The list of drinks is predictably
cheaper than those advertised in Figure 7. Although lifestyling seems to be superficial
in its obsession with appearance, it is significant in terms of providing a sense of
identity for younger Indonesian yuppies who are forming the new breed of Indonesian
middle class. The sense of identity provided by the advertisement is indicated in the
requirement for entry: it says “business card required”. The card becomes a source of
prestige because it supposedly shows the position of the cardholder and the name of the
company where he works. The superficiality lies in the fact that business cards can be
designed and printed easily by anyone, and this practice is common, easy, and cheap in
Indonesia. The advertisement demonstrates the potential deception and attractiveness of
lifestyling in which budding Indonesian young executives are sometimes engaged.
668
669
Solvay Gerke, “Global Lifestyles,” p. 137.
Popular, No. 239, December 2007, p. 148.
230
Figure 7. Alcoholic beverages
Figure 8. Sugar Billiard and Bar. Business card is required to enter
It is also worth noticing that the colours in advertisements for men are dominated by
black, dark, or bold colours. Black seems to be the power colour. There is also the
impression of hard surfaces that stand for strength and toughness such as the hard
surface of the billiard balls or the thick bottles of beverage. Actually the main principle
of masculine advertising is to promote power, either real or symbolic. This is unlike the
principle of advertising for women’s products that rely heavily on the notion of lack
(such as not slim enough or not beautiful enough).
The performance of young Indonesian executives is echoed by Edwards in describing
western yuppies:
The yuppie was not only a product of economic expansion in the financial
sector, he was an advocate of the most striking conspicuous consumption
since the Second World War, posing, parading and swaggering around the
City in pinstripe and power-look suits, ties and accessories, swinging his
attaché case, talking animatedly on his mobile telephone, endlessly flicking
the pages of his Filofax, slicking his hair and using every excuse to get into
and out of his suit, his tie, his striped shirt and, of course, his Porsche. 670
Edwards’ description can be extended to Indonesia. It resembles the Kompas daily’s
depiction of young Indonesian executives above in terms of acknowledging the
appearance of these young men as a “regime of representations”. 671 They are partly
identified by their similar appearances and their common leisure activities in public
places. The “regime of representations” of these young executives contains informal
codes, of which these advertisements provide a wealth of information.
These Indonesian yuppies also observe certain activities of leisure in order to qualify for
the label of a yuppie or a young executive. Proper clothes, use of English language,
670
Tim Edwards, Men in the Mirror. Men’s Fashion, Masculinity and Consumer Society (London:
Cassel, 1997), p. vii.
671
The term ‘regime of representations’ is borrowed from Sean Nixon, Hard Looks. Masculinities,
Spectatorship and Contemporary Consumption (New York: University College London, 1996), p. 12.
231
appropriate hang-out places, and drinking the right kinds of beverage (Starbucks is one
of the new ‘raves’) are just some of the accoutrements of young Indonesian executives.
These “cultural props” are displays of opulence, which can sometimes be manipulated
to give the impression of success.
Nixon argues that “space is not a blank inert
backdrop against which the dynamic processes of culture are played out. Rather it
shapes the very organization and experience of these processes.” 672
Figure 9 shows an advertisement for Grand Indonesia, an opulent mall in Jakarta. It
displays outlets for Guess and Oakley. 673 These brands are not only representatives of
luxury goods but they are also foreign products associated with western popular culture.
This advertisement shows how grand malls transport their patrons temporarily into a
global consumer land, and suspend all the hardships that are frequently located directly
outside the walls surrounding the malls. Terry, a journalist, wrote about the Jakarta that
she saw in 1998 and said that even then “the contemporary city seems like a mirage ...
the long line of blue skyscrapers flickers in and out of view. Behind each row are dirt
roads and slums.” 674 The point is that it is not difficult to practice the lifestyling that
Gerke suggests. Just by entering a mall without purchasing anything, a person with the
appropriate appearance (often relying on borrowed or second hand items) can be seen as
claiming membership of a middle class group. 675 Similarly, reading lifestyle magazines
and then being conversant with the lifestyles represented in the content can be seen as
lifestyling efforts.
672
Sean Nixon, Hard Looks, p. 7.
Maxim Indonesia, No. 25, December 2007, p. 154.
674
Edith Terry, How Asia Got Rich. Japan, China, and the Asian Miracle (New York: East Gate Book,
2002), p. 342.
675
For more cultural interpretations of shopping malls see John Fiske and Bob Hodge and Graeme
Turner. Myths of Oz. Reading Australian Pop Culture (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1987), pp. 95 – 116. For
borrowing and obtaining second hand luxury products in order to maintain middle-class appearance see
Solvay Gerke, “Global Lifestyles,” pp. 146 – 148.
673
232
Figure 9. Guess and Oakley Stores in Grand Indonesia Mall
The display of extravagant shopping malls and luxury goods in the magazines
corresponds to the burgeoning of consumerism in big cities in Indonesia, particularly in
Jakarta. Sheridan observes the correlation between the development of malls in Jakarta
and the growing number of young executives:
Plaza Indonesia is one of the most exclusive shopping locations in all the
nation. There are security guards on the doors. I don’t know that they
formally exclude anyone but I’ve never seen anyone poorly dressed in the
Plaza Indonesia. Without alleging any grand conspiracy or apartheid, clearly
the poor are not welcome in these environs. In many Southeast Asian cities
the relatively poor can still enjoy at least the air-con, and some of the free
entertainments, on offer in the big shopping malls. But Plaza Indonesia apart
from a smattering of Western expats, seems overwhelmingly a locale for
Jakarta’s yuppies. The poor it seems are not to enter this realm of public
comfort and luxury.
Not that there is anything wrong with yuppies. It was a good feature of
Suharto’s economic modernisation, despite the corruption and its many other
faults, that Indonesia, especially Jakarta, started to develop a real middle
class. 676
Sheridan’s observation supports the notion that the identities of these young executives
in public space, such as the malls, are often attached to their appearance and dress code.
Evidence of their real professions is significant to their colleagues at their workplace,
but in public space, where meetings are often fleeting and informal, appearance can
communicate status more than verbal introduction. Men’s appearances have the ability
to construct an impression of professionally upward mobility. Tam et al, in their
discussion of professional men in Hong Kong, similarly argue that men’s preoccupation
with appearance is an “expression of the professional class [with] a good disposable
income.” 677
Since men are lured into the consumerist culture, men’s lifestyle magazines become
involved in the masculinization process of shopping and grooming. People in the
676
Greg Sheridan, Cities of the Hot Zone. A Southeast Asian Adventure (Crows Nest NSW, Australia:
Allen & Unwin, 2004), p. 238.
677
Siumi Maria Tam, Anthony Fung, Lucetta Kan and Mario Liong, “Re-gendering Hong Kong Man in
Social, Physical and Discursive Space” in Mainstreaming Gender in Hong Kong Society, ed. Fanny M.
Cheung (Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong), p. 359.
233
magazines have to construct a personality that enables men to shop without feeling
effeminate. The western marketing world came up with the concept of metrosexuality
that quickly became a new word in Indonesian pop culture vocabulary. Metrosexual
men supposedly still have their masculinity intact, demonstrated through their
heterosexuality, but with proper knowledge of men’s grooming products.
A British journalist, Mark Simpson, coined the term metrosexual in 1994.
His
observation derives from the rising number of working men who are not in a hurry to
settle down and are therefore able to spend their money on themselves. Simpson
remarks that
Metrosexual man, the single young man with a high disposable income,
living or working in the city (because that’s where all the best shops are), is
perhaps the most promising consumer market of the decade. 678
Feminism may also have contributed to the spread of metrosexuality. Men’s lifestyle
magazines may have helped spread the popularity of metrosexuality as part of their
marketing strategy, but advertising marketers Salzman et al argue that it is feminism
that has made metrosexuality acceptable as men’s alternative masculine identity.
Metrosexuality is viable due to the rising number of independent single women – the
“singletons”. Salzman et al assert that “As women have gained more power, including
the power to stay single, they no longer have to put up with the standard-issue male.”679
Women’s independence has broadened the criteria for proper masculine appearance.
Lionel Tiger notes that
Once men could fairly well control their destiny through providing resources
to women, but now that the female is obliged to earn a living, he himself
becomes a resource. He becomes his own product: Is he good looking? Does
678
Mark Simpson, “Here Come the Mirror Men” The Independent, 15 November 1994
http://www.marksimpson.com/here-come-the-mirror-men/ (date accessed 27 March 2009).
679
Marian Salzman and Ira Matathia and Ann O’Reilly, The Future of Men (New York, US; Basingstoke,
England: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), p. 59.
234
he smell good? Before, when he had to provide for the female he could have a
potbelly. Now he has to appear attractive in the way the female had to be. 680
In Indonesia’s case, advertisements for male skin care products (Figure 10) are the
iconic responses to the demand to look physically attractive, apart from the predictable
advertisements for men’s apparel. 681 Men’s fashion has always been around in the
media, but men’s cosmetics are the trend that marks the era of metrosexuality, as shown
in Figure 10. The western male model serves the usual purpose of endorsing the
products from a global white male perspective.
I mentioned earlier that there are no Chinese businessmen featured despite their
domination in Indonesian economy. However, young Chinese men made their
appearances as fashion models (see Figure 11). 682 Chinese-ness in this case stands for
the demands for models with lighter skin. The models also reflect the increasing
popularity of anything Chinese in Indonesian popular culture, since former President
Abdurrahman Wahid lifted the discriminatory regulations against Chinese identity. 683 In
the magazines, Chinese ethnicity is tolerated as part of the entertainment and popular
culture industry rather than as a symbol of economic domination and wealth.
Advertisements that I exemplify above promote wealth as a symbol of power. Another
aspect that these advertisements have in common is their focus on the public space. The
products and services are predominantly concerned with what men do outside the home.
Although the skin care products are applied at home, they serve to make men look good
when they go out. Unlike advertisements in women’s magazines that capitalize on
women’s insecurity, advertisements in men’s magazines are mostly based on the idea
680
Lionel Tiger quoted in Susan Bordo, The Male Body. A New Look at Men in Public and in Private.
(New York: Farrar, Straus and Gioux, 1999), p. 220.
681
Maxim Indonesia, No. 28, March 2008, p. 95.
682
Popular, No. 230, March 2007, p. 17.
683
Chang Yau Hoon, “How to be Chinese” Inside Indonesia, Vol. 78 (April - June 2004),
http://www.insideindonesia.org/edition-78/how-to-be-chinese (date accessed 29 August 2010).
235
that the men to whom these magazines are appealing are already successful. The
advertisements provide guidance on how to flaunt male success by spending money in
class-appropriate (and aspirational) ways.
I mentioned earlier that men’s symbols of success are power, wealth and women, and I
have introduced advertisements that signify the first two. Advertisements that deal with
women and sex as symbols of men’s success range from prophylactics to products to
enhance sexual performance. These advertisements rarely address men’s sexual
problems such as premature ejaculation or erectile dysfunction. Figure 12 is an example
of one of the products to enhance sexual performance. 684 This product starts with the
assumption that the men addressed by the advertisement already have a good sex life
but the product will make it better. Gauntlett argues regarding information in magazines
that “many men want [information about personal items], but do not want others – or
perhaps even themselves – to think that they need them,” because men do not like to
feel “patronised” and lacking. 685 Therefore the text at the top of the page is an effort to
be inclusive to all adult men, including those with problems without actually singling
them out. It says, “Orega contains natural herbs that can be safely consumed by men in
all conditions.” 686
The western endorsement is demonstrated by the illustration of a western woman and
the text that says in English “Made in USA”. Right below the text is a further
endorsement in English: “Food and Drugs Association”. This seems to be an attempt at
an endorsement from the US Food and Drug Administration. It emphasizes the notion
that using the drug is culturally and legally legitimate because the producer is
supposedly a member of an association referred to as the “Food and Drugs
684
Playboy Indonesia, April 2007, p. 113.
David Gauntlett, Media, p. 168.
686
“Kandungan herbal alami Orega aman untuk dikonsumsi pria dewasa dengan segala kondisi”
685
236
Figure 10. Skin treatment for men
Figure 11. Male Chinese model
Figure 12. Advertisement for sexual performance enhancer
Association”. In cheap raunchy tabloids this product is defined as “obat kuat” which
literally means “strength medicine”. Since this advertisement is in Playboy Indonesia, it
relies on conventional Indonesian words to indicate the nature of the product, such as
“only for adult men” (Hanya untuk Pria Dewasa). English words are used instead to
give hints about what this product really does, which is to make men’s sexual
performance “so strong, so powerful, so hot”, as mentioned at the bottom of the
advertisement.
Overall, advertisements in Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines are designed to boost
men’s ego. They are very careful in addressing men’s problems. Benwell also notices
the avoidance of articles or advertisements that expose men’s flaws in western men’s
lifestyle magazines. 687 The types of men alluded to by the advertisements are not
defined by their shortcomings but are defined more by the successful qualities of their
lives: these men are highly educated, they have good careers and good salaries, so they
can understand and afford the products. What the advertisements do is expose these
men’s success in a positive, laudatory way, and provide information on how to show off
their perfect lives through the purchase of certain products and engagement in certain
leisure activities. Similarly, Howard, a former editor for Esquire in the UK, argues that
“men’s magazines had to sell a celebration of what it is to be a man rather than selfimprovement or introspection” [emphasis in original]. 688
The celebration of masculine success in Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines is
constructed by the advertisements as inspired by western lifestyles. Young Indonesian
executives are imagined to desire anything western for their upward social mobility.
687
Bethan Benwell, “Masculinity and Men’s Lifestyle Magazines” in Masculinity and Men’s Lifestyle
Magazines, ed. Bethan Benwell (Oxford, UK and Malden, USA: Blackwell Publishing, 2003), p. 20.
688
Howard as quoted in Ben Crewe, Representing Men. Cultural Production and Producers in the Men’s
Magazine Market (Oxford; New York: Berg, 2003), pp. 170 – 171.
237
There has to be something that links them to the west. The celebrity interviews suggest
that these men are overseas graduates, or they work for multinational companies, or
travel overseas for holidays. The advertisements complement this western image by
expressing that although the readers may not be overseas graduates or work for multinational companies, at least these men are familiar with popular products associated
with a western way of life.
Summarizing the Middle Class Lifestyle
Arvero Iwantra said that the type of men that FHM Indonesia had in mind were young
executives who know how to have fun. They could be single or recently married. They
could be fathers but only recently. 689 This is applicable to other Indonesian men’s
lifestyle magazines as well. Crewe argues that these magazines want to capture the
“adultescent” nature of these young executives. 690 Adultescent is a manifestation of the
hybrid masculine creature. They are adults but they have a youthful spirit. They are
Indonesians but they are familiar with global pop culture and western entertainment.
As “adult adolescents” these men constitute a demographic with a unique consumer
culture. It is a type of culture that aspires to go beyond national boundaries, in an effort
to join the global popular culture. There is a gendered effect in regards to associating
with the west. If a woman is westernised, she is wild and uncontrollable, but if a man is
westernised he is progressive. There is a sense of empowerment derived from these
men’s association with western pop culture products. Western popular culture is a
source of success symbols.
689
690
Interview with Arvero Iwantra, editor of FHM Indonesia on 25 June 2008.
Ben Crewe, Representing Men, p. 179.
238
This does not mean that they are not proud to be Indonesians. The “adult” part of their
“adultescent” identity means that the men’s attachment to Indonesia is expressed
through their concerns over politics rather than traditional matters that are often
associated with women. They want to contribute to Indonesia through their roles as
political citizens. They want to be consulted because they see themselves as sharing the
public space together with other more dominant Indonesian men. Borrowing Ariel
Heryanto’s term, the articles from the magazines that I exemplify in this chapter and
Chapter Four are expressions of “a middle-class political consciousness.” 691
Unlike women in Indonesian women’s magazines, who are defined by their status in
their family, men are defined through their social status in society. Men’s magazines
reflect this gender divide. These men are the youngest professional members of the
Indonesian middle class, with potential political power, as demonstrated by their
comments and attitudes in the interviews. Thus, Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines
can be seen as a practice forum for these men, in which they can challenge the
hegemonic masculinity in the mainstream media. Jackson et al argue that
each new version of masculinity struggles to become the true version: the
one that becomes most widely accepted as common sense, according to the
dominant values of the press. 692
These lifestyle magazines may not be arguing that their version of Indonesian
masculinity is the true version. Nevertheless, they want to be reckoned as providing
alternative masculinities that perhaps the Indonesian public is hoping to see more of in
the near future of Indonesia.
691
Ariel Heryanto, “Indonesia: the Middle Class in the 1990s,” p. 250.
Peter Jackson and Nick Stevenson and Kate Brooks, Making Sense of Men’s Magazines (Cambridge
and Oxford, UK; Malden, USA: Polity Press in association with Blackwell Publishers, 2001), p. 45.
692
239
CHAPTER 8
Male Adolescents’ Induction into Masculinity in Hai Magazine
This chapter positions Hai magazine alongside Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines.
Although Hai is a magazine for male adolescents from age twelve to nineteen, with
school-age range from year six to year twelve, it demonstrates a pattern of representing
masculinity that is consistent with Indonesian lifestyle magazines for men. Although
Hai does not exactly mirror its adult counterparts, I argue that some aspects of this
magazine parallel men’s lifestyle magazines through representing the younger version
of brotherhood. While still anchored in a male adolescent world, the range of Hai’s
content is reminiscent of men’s lifestyle magazines.
The hybridity of adolescent identities in third world countries is usually associated with
global and local dynamics clashing and merging in the lives of these adolescents, as
argued by Nilan and Fexia. 693 However I particularly argue here that hybridity in Hai
also constitutes a state between adulthood and adolescence when teen boys are taking
the role of men of the society but in smaller scope and according to their adolescent
version. Guinness claims that “there are many youth subcultures in any society and that
each of these connects to their ‘parent’ culture and the dominant culture of the wider
society.” 694 Although Guinness uses the word ‘parent’ in parentheses, I use it here
almost literally to denote the influence of older middle class men in the lives of these
adolescents.
693
Pam Nilan and Carles Feixa, “Introduction. Youth Hybridity and Plural Worlds” in Global Youth?
Hybrid Identities, Plural Worlds, eds. Pam Nilan and Carles Feixa (London and New York: Routledge,
2006), pp. 1 – 14.
694
Patrick Guinness, Kampung, Islam and State in Urban Java (Singapore: Asian Studies Association of
Australia in association with NUS Press, c2009), p. 120.
240
I start this chapter by comparing the pop-culture conditions before and after Suharto.
The structure which follows is designed to echo representations of sexuality and
brotherhood in men’s lifestyle magazines, albeit in modified teen versions. The aspects
of wealth, agency, and sex of men’s lifestyle magazines may not be replicated in full in
Hai, but they reflect an influence from the middle class ‘parent’ culture on these
adolescents. In this chapter I put more emphasis on teen sexuality and the collective
identity of teen brotherhood that resonates with sex and agency in men’s lifestyle
magazines. Although the social demographic of Hai’s targeted readers is middle-toupper class male adolescents, wealth is not represented as a source of empowerment for
these boys. Speaking from the context of American male adolescents, Collins contends
that “[e]conomically, boys are normally unemployed and are not expected to support
themselves or others…[B]oys are expected to submit to adult male authority  most
notably, their fathers.” 695 Signs of wealth, although unmistakably present in Hai, are not
stressed because that would bring attention to the boys’ dependence on patriarchal
privilege. Wealth exists in the environment of these male adolescents, but the magazine
takes extra care that the display of wealth does not clash with their future role as a
provider. Making the boys appear spoiled and pampered will threaten their
masculinities. Although there are fashion pages and advertisements for clothes, the boys
of Hai are represented not as a group of young men preoccupied with look and
appearance.
Before and After the New Order
Narratives from popular entertainment for Indonesian youth during the New Order
reflected a discourse of obedience in order to avoid the government’s suspicion of
695
Patricia Hill Collins, “A Telling Difference: Dominance, Strength, and Black Masculinities” in
Progressive Black Masculinities, ed. Athena D. Mutua (New York, London: Routledge, 2006), p. 84.
241
subversion. Even writers for Indonesian children’s media internalized this obedience, as
Shiraishi has shown. Shiraishi argues that
[Knowing what the government expect of them] is the basic principle that
any writer has to learn in order to survive in Soeharto’s Indonesia. Writers
can make considerable profits by voluntarily making their writings effective
and educational political tools for the regime. Editors buy the stories and
parents buy the magazines because the message in the stories is considered
useful. The stories offer vital knowledge people need to know in order to be
citizens of the Republic (that is, to know what is in Soeharto’s mind). The
story becomes politically effective, as well as commercially profitable. 696
Her observation indicates that popular media needed to inculcate the idea of docile
citizens to their young audience to gain approval from the New Order.
Hanan has compared Indonesian movies for adolescents from the New Order and the
post-New Order periods. His findings show how socio-political conditions in Indonesia
were influential in determining the discourse of popular entertainment for young people.
Hanan argues that his movie sample (Boy’s Diary) from the New Order is about
“heedless hedonism.” Hedonistic allure associated with consumerism was perceived to
be the safest form of entertainment at the time because it gives the notion of economic
stability.
Hanan compares this with a post-New Order movie sample, What is it with Love?. He
observes that in What is it with Love? “the young people are encouraged to have some
social idealism.” 697
The male character in this movie is the son of a politically
outspoken man. At the end of the story, Rangga, the male character, moves overseas to
follow his father, because it is not safe for his father to stay in Indonesia. It can be
argued that since the New Order there has been a propensity for a more critical attitude
696
Saya Sasaki Shiraishi, “Stories and the State in Indonesia” in Children and Politics of Culture, ed.
Sharon Stephens (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1995), p. 173.
697
David Hanan “Changing Social Formations in Indonesian and Thai Teen Movies” in Popular Culture
in Indonesia. Fluid Identities in Post-Authoritarian Politics, ed. Ariel Heryanto (New York: Routledge,
2008), p. 63.
242
among young people in Indonesia. This is evident in the popular media that are
beginning to touch upon sensitive issues. Faucher argues that, “[s]ince 1998, the
popular culture scene has been largelyfluenced
in
by
reformasi movements all over
Indonesia.” 698
In her paper on rock performance in Jakarta, Baulch argues that the New Order’s drive
for order is an “obsession”. 699 My examination of representations of masculinities in
Hai from the post-Suharto period is informed by the struggle for power within
Indonesian society after the collapse of the New Order. I argue that after the New Order,
Hai’s representations of masculinities became less sympathetic to the authorities. The
shift from Baulch’s finding regarding obsession for order and obedience, marks a
loosening grip of the dominant power in Indonesian society over the construction of
youths as a group of young people who will serve the state as loyal citizens.
Regarding black masculinity in the United States Mutua asserts that “men play a role in
constructing [boys’] masculinity. Thus, from the time men are children they … are
shaped by … various social groups.” 700
These various social groups may not all
exercise the same level of dominance and they may even be conflicting. She mentions
that the ambiguity of messages that these young boys receive “make[s] for the
formation of complex identity.” 701 Similarly, Indonesian male adolescents are
influenced by various social impositions. They may be privileged due to their male
gender. Nevertheless, their gender may be compromised due to their young age, low
social class, non-hegemonic sexuality, minority ethnicity and a host of other social
698
Carole Faucher, “Popular Discourse on Identity Politics and Decentralisation in Tanjung Pinang Public
Schools” Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Vol. 47, No. 2, (August 2006), 273.
699
Emma Baulch, “Alternative Music and Mediation in Late New Order Indonesia” Inter-Asia Cultural
Studies, Vol. 3, No. 2 (2002), 227.
700
Athena D. Mutua, “Theorizing Progressive Black Masculinities” in Progressive Black Masculinities,
ed. Athena D. Mutua (New York, London: Routledge, 2006), p. 15.
701
Athena D. Mutua, p. 15.
243
norms (which usually implies the presence of dominant adult males in each social
group).
Mutua argues that “Masculinity … is a site of power.” 702 I think this complicates the
transfer of masculine ideologies to male adolescents, due to the nature of power that
seeks to control and dominate. The transfer of masculine values has the potential for
jeopardizing the structure of control and domination from which the values are
transferred. In the context of Indonesia, the New Order attempted to transfer masculine
and leadership values to the next generation, so that the next generation of leaders
would continue to be allies of and not rebel against the New Order. With regards to
representations in Hai, the shift from the discourse of obedience during the New Order
to a discourse of resistance during reformasi indicates that in the process of
socialization there is always the risk of backfiring. In contrast, the femininity of girls’
magazines is an ideology of obedience, not of power. 703 The successful transfer of this
ideology is not threatening but stabilizing. It sustains, rather than undermines,
hegemonic male power.
Boys’ Privileged Access to Sex Education
In men’s lifestyle magazines, sex is identified with power. In Hai, the notion of
heterosexual pleasure is replaced with masturbation. Discussion on sex is adjusted to
sex education. The sense of empowerment for boys in this case derives from the
comparison that girls’ magazines deny female adolescents blunt information about sex
because adolescent girls are represented as asexual. Articles on sex education appear
more frequently in Hai than in Indonesian girls’ magazines. 704 These articles are also
702
Athena D. Mutua, p. 16.
See Suzie Handajani, “Globalizing Local Girls. Representations of Adolescents in Indonesian Girls’
Magazines” Master of Arts Thesis. The University of Western Australia, 2005.
704
Suzie Handajani, “Globalizing Local Girls.”
703
244
more direct and less judgmental (although not value-free) than those in girls’ magazines
in describing sex and sexuality. Discourse on sex education in Hai demonstrates that
male adolescents’ sexuality is more acceptable in society.
Eddy Suhardy, the editor, said that Hai was reproached by some senior high school
headmasters, for being too explicit in their sex education columns. 705 Suhardy defends
his sex columns by saying that providing sex education is not synonymous with
encouraging high school students to engage in premarital sex. He says that it is
important to break down the sexual myths that circulate among teenage boys about their
own sexuality. Unfortunately, despite the magazine’s declared intention, some of the
narratives in Hai sustain the myths rather than break them.
Regardless of the prevalence of some sexual myths, the breakthrough in Hai is the
acknowledgement that male adolescents are sexual beings. This openness with regards
to male adolescents’ sexuality appears to coincide with the openness of reformasi. In
this era, sex can be the new hype within upper class mainstream marketing (as opposed
to the underground spread of pornography), as demonstrated by the flourishing men’s
lifestyle magazines. Since Hai is a male adolescent magazine, sex education provides
the excuse to discuss sex.
According to Harding, in the absence of guidance from parents and school, the role of
popular magazines is significant in providing sex education to adolescents. 706 Dede
Oetomo interviewed the editors of Hai in 2001 and found that
A number of letters to the editor were from young people asking explicit
questions about sexuality, e.g. same-sex practices and anal sex. Our sense
705
Interview with Eddy Suhardy, editor of Hai magazine on 9 June 2008.
Claire Harding, “The Influence of the ‘Decadent West’: Discourse of the Mass Media on Youth
Sexuality in Indonesia” Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific, No. 18 (October
2008), http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue18/harding.htm (date accessed 9 August 2010).
706
245
was that the magazines, being commercial, had appraised the demands of
the readers and responded to them. 707
My memory of Hai in the 1990s is that the magazine would discuss relationships
(pacaran), but was not too open, nor too frequent, in publishing articles on sex.
Articles on sex in Hai attempt to break the myth of innocent boys, by representing male
adolescents as sexual beings. There is an acknowledgement that they engage in sexual
activities such as masturbation or petting with their girlfriends. The discourse on sex in
girls’ magazines, in contrast, does not allude to any sexual activities that they might be
doing with their boyfriends. Unlike Hai, girls’ magazines do not mention STIs, sexual
harassment or sexual drive as the result of pornography or sexual encounters, because
this would require the acknowledgement of their female readers’ sexualities. 708 Hai’s
willingness to tackle these issues reveals a more realistic attitude than the usual
hypocritical public discourse, which insists that Indonesian people do not engage in
sexual activities before they are married. 709
In Indonesian society there is a tendency to ignore the sexuality of adolescents. Adults,
as evidenced by the headmasters’ reaction, would prefer a media discourse that assumes
the naivety and the innocence of adolescents, although this might not be in accordance
with how adolescents themselves perceive sexual relationships. Simon and Paxton
conducted research in Surabaya, the second biggest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, and
found among university students aged 18 – 24, that
The majority of participants perceived sexual relationships as something
sacred that should occur in a binding marriage. Despite this, many female
and male participants also perceived sex before marriage as something
707
Brigitte M. Holzner and Dede Oetomo, “Youth, Sexuality and Sex Education Messages in Indonesia:
Issues of Desire and Control” Reproductive Health Matters, Vol. 12. No. 23 (2004), 45.
708
In Hai there would be articles like this: “Siapa yang Lebih Gampang Horny?” [Who is Easier to Get
Horny?] Hai, 26 November – 2 December 2007, XXXI, No. 48, p. 46.
709
See Claire Harding, “The Influence of the ‘Decadent West’.”
246
natural, more acceptable now than previously, and no longer taboo within
the younger peer group, although still socially frowned upon. 710
Slowly, the sexuality of Indonesian adolescents is beginning to be recognized in the
media.
The discourse on sex for male adolescents in Hai provides insight into the discourse on
sex for men in Indonesian society. Sex and relationships are part of the gender privilege
that they share, because, as Utati-Miller says, “in relation to men, women are to fulfill
men’s sexual needs.” 711 The fact that girls’ magazines have much fewer articles on sex
reflects that male adolescents are more acknowledged as sexual beings than female
adolescents, although still much less than adult men. Blackwood, agreeing with
Bennett, argues that “[Indonesian] men’s sexuality is under much less surveillance and
regulation than women’s. Men are assumed to desire and to have extra-marital liaisons
and are not generally condemned or punished for them.” 712
An article in Hai
acknowledges that the local discourse that privileges male desire is socially biased:
Both females and males have sexual desire. But social values dictate that
it is inappropriate for females to express their sexuality. As a result,
males are perceived as the ones who are obsessed with sex and full of
lust. How unfortunate! 713
Articles on sex in Hai are totally different from those in Indonesian girls’ magazines in
regards to the manner of delivering the information. The description of sex is
straightforward, and the magazine avoids a preachy tone that is imbued with discourses
of morality and religion.
710
Simon Simon and Susan J. Paxton, “Sexual Risk Attitudes and Behaviours among Young Adult
Indonesians” Culture, Health and Sexuality, Vol. 6. No. 5, (September – October 2004), 398.
711
Hediana Utarti-Miller, “Constructing the Guardian Mother”, p. 29.
712
Evelyn Blackwood, “Regulation of Sexuality in Indonesian Discourse: Normative Gender, Criminal
Law and Shifting Strategies of Control” Culture, Health and Sexuality, Vol. 9, No. 3, (May – June 2007),
296.
713
[B]aik cewek maupun cowok, keduanya punya hasrat untuk melakukan hubungan sex. Cuma penilaian
dari masyarakat aja yang bilang kalo cewek nggak baik terlalu ekspresif mengungkapkan sesuatu yang
berhubungan dengan sex. Akhirnya, cowok deh yang sering dinilai nafsuan dan kegatelan. Sial! “Kamu
Tanya, Hai Jawab” [You Ask, Hai Answers], Hai, 5 – 11 March 2007, XXXI. No. 10, p. 47.
247
In one of the girls’ magazine samples, the vagina is described as an organ for sexual
intercourse and giving birth. The article does not explain how the intercourse occurs.
The vagina’s ability to stretch during childbirth is attributed to God’s divine
invention. 714 Hai’s explanation on sexual intercourse is much more candid, and indeed,
much more educational for ignorant teens:
Speaking of sex, we cannot avoid an event which is the meeting of the
penis and the vagina which will start the insemination process. It [sexual
intercourse] starts with the erection of the penis due to some sexual
stimulation so that it can penetrate the vagina. 715
Despite the blunt description of sexual intercourse, premarital sex as a problem among
adolescents is only distantly implied in Hai. There is no article discussing this issue
separately. Premarital sex may be alluded to in discussions on pornography, sexually
transmitted infection, masturbation and other related topics, but it is not discussed in
itself. Hai wants to address issues surrounding sex but seems to evade the problem of
premarital sex among high school students. This ambiguity and the careful treatment of
this topic by the magazine reflects the magazine’s judgement that society is not ready
when it comes to admitting the sexual reality of male adolescents.
Masturbation is mentioned frequently in Hai’s sex columns. With the elimination of
premarital sex as the main problem, masturbation becomes the next best thing. Hyde
argues that,
Sex research, which has been carried out on the subject ... has
demonstrated that the incidence of masturbation is at its height during
adolescence and then falls steadily. 716
714
See Suzie Handajani, “Western Inscription on Indonesian Bodies: Representations of Adolescents in
Female Teen Magazines” in Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific, No 18, (October
2008) http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue18/harding.htm (date accessed 27 June 2010).
715
Nah, ngomongin hubungan sex, kita nggak bisa lepas dari sebuah peristiwa bertemunya si penis dan
vagina yang nantinya akan memulai sebuah proses yang dinamakan pembuahan. Awalnya terjadi
pengerasan (ereksi) penis akibat adanya rangsangan sehingga bisa masuk menembus vagina. “Kamu
Tanya, Hai Jawab” [You Ask, Hai Answers], Hai, 5 – 11 March 2007, XXXI. No. 10, p. 47.
716
H. Montgomery Hyde, A History of Pornography (London: William Heineman Ltd, 1964), p. 206.
248
Hai seems to accommodate their male readers’ curiosity on the topic. Masturbation is
recognized as one of the most common forms of sexual activity among male
adolescents: “A lot of us do it” (yang ngelakuin sih banyak). 717 The remarks in the
articles indicate acceptance: “Whether it’s allowed or not, people are still doing it”
(dilarang-nggak dilarang, tetap aja dilakuin). 718 However, Hai avoids any statement
that declares masturbation as normal. In fact, the word “normal” is never found in all
the articles that touch upon this topic. The magazine only ventures as far as noting that
most male adolescents engage in this sexual activity, which is not quite the same as
stating that masturbation is scientifically “normal” as many sex researchers have
found. 719 “Normal” in science does not only refer to the statistics of people who
masturbate but also refers to the fact that masturbation does the human body no harm. 720
However, like many discourses on sexuality in Indonesia, the public discourse on
masturbation cannot account for its normality within science and its abnormality within
social norms.
Most of the public discourses that circulate dictate that masturbation is a transgressive
behaviour. Therefore it is seen as appropriate that discussions on masturbation should
be followed by narratives of punishment and consequences such as the following:
It’s dangerous if you get addicted to masturbation. 721
A guy might lose interest in girls. In a worst case scenario he might not
want to get married. If he does get married, he might not be satisfied with
his wife ... 722
717
“Self Service Sex” [English words original] Hai, 5 – 11 March 2008, XXXI, No. 10, p. 48.
“Masturbasi. Ada Untungnya, Banyak Ruginya!” (Masturbation. Some Advantage and Lots of
Disadvantage), Hai, 27 August – 2 September 2007, XXXI, No. 35, p. 62.
719
Although controversial, Alfred C. Kinsey initiated the research in this field. See Alfred C. Kinsey,
Wardell B. Pomeroy, Clyde E. Martin, Sexual Behaviour in the Human Male (Bloomington:Indiana
University Press, 1948).
720
See Walter O. Bockting and Eli Coleman, eds., Masturbation as a Means of Achieving Sexual Health
(New York: The Haworth Press, 2002).
721
Kalo udah kecanduan masturbasi jelas gawat.“Self Service Sex” [English words original] Hai, 5 – 11
March 2008, XXXI, No. 10, p. 48.
718
249
These quotes are supposedly endorsed by Prof. DR. dr. Dadang Hawari and Dr. Ferryal
Loetan, ASC &T, DSRM, Mkes (MMR), which show how medicine is transcribed into
social norms. In this case, information on masturbation is constructed to fit the social
discourse of sexual education that does not allow endorsement of masturbation as a
form of sexual relief or satisfaction.
This is a common theme found in discourses on sex education in Indonesian society.
and Oetomo argue that sex education for Indonesian adolescents most of the time
employs “discourses of prohibition and intimidation.” 723 For comparison, the following
is a question and answer about masturbation from a consultation column in Dolly
magazine in Australia:
How many times a day is it normal to masturbate? I do it about three
times a day. I’m freaking out that I’m a bit out of control with it and I
don’t want to fell weird. Am I normal?
Ben
Sounds pretty normal to me. Everyone’s completely different and whether
you’re masturbating three times a week, three times a year or never at all,
you’re actually completely normal. Teenage boys often masturbate more
frequently due to the rapid increase in sex hormones and because it feels
good and relieves tension. It’s only ever a problem if you feel it’s
interfering with your life. 724
The comparison with the masturbation discourse in Australian Dolly magazine is to
show the kind of discourse that Hai as an Indonesian boys’ magazine never imparts: the
piece of information that suggests masturbation is physically and psychologically risk
free. An Indonesian doctor is quoted in Hai as saying,
722
“...ujung-ujungnya nggak tertarik lagi sama cewek. Malah dalam taraf yang parah, bisa jadi nggak
mau nikah nantinya. Kalo pun nikah, si cowok nggak merasa terpuaskan sama istrinya.” “Masturbasi.
Ada Untungnya, Banyak Ruginya!” [Masturbation. Some Advantage and Lots of Disadvantage], Hai, 27
August – 2 September 2007, XXXI, No. 35, p. 62.
723
Brigitte M Holzner and Dede Oetomo, “Youth, Sexuality,” p. 41.
724
“Normal or not” Dolly, June 2009, p. 115.
250
“Masturbation does have its uses. But only as an emergency exit when
your libido is high and you can’t handle it anymore,” claims Prof. DR. dr.
Dadang Hawari, a well-known psychiatrist. 725
Referring to masturbation as an emergency exit implies a discouragement from using
the “emergency exit” regularly.
The number and frequency of sex education articles in Hai reveals the increasing
demand for sex education by male adolescents. The magazine cautiously responds to the
demands. By comparing this with the significantly less intensive exposure of sex
education in girls’ magazines, we can see that sex education in Hai is a narrative that
approves of male sexuality. The discourse on masturbation allows for recognition that
male adolescents experience pleasure. It recognizes masturbation as an early form of
sexual experience. Nevertheless, Hai cannot ignore the public discourse that views
masturbation as morally wrong. As Bockting comments on the traditional western
perception of masturbation, “Like most non-procreative sex, masturbation was long
seen as sinful or pathological.” 726 The negotiation of these circumstances results in the
construction of a discourse that acknowledges masturbation as a source of pleasure,
albeit one that is perceived to be an illegitimate method of acquiring pleasure. The
legitimate source of pleasure is out of reach for these male adolescents, because it is
confined to conjugal heterosexual relationships.
725
“Sebenernya masturbasi ada juga sih manfaatnya. Tapi hanya sebagai jalan darurat ketika libido
sedang tinggi-tingginya, dan betul-betul nggak bisa dibendung lagi,”cetus Prof. DR. dr. Dadang Hawari,
psikiater yang namanya udah nggak asing lagi.
“Masturbasi. Ada Untungnya, Banyak Ruginya!” [Masturbation. Some Advantage and Lots of
Disadvantage], Hai, 27 August – 2 September 2007, XXXI, No. 35, p. 62.
726
Walter O. Bockting, “Introduction” in Masturbation as a Means of Achieving Sexual Health, eds.
Walter O. Bockting and Eli Coleman (New York: The Haworth Press, 2002), p. 3.
251
Going after the Girls
Sex is one of the manifestations of a relationship. Based on his research in the United
Kingdom, Biddulph argues that sex education programs in schools are more efficient
when delivered in a package with relationships education. This kind of program
recognizes that relationships are integral to sexuality. 727 In Hai, there does not seem to
be a conscious effort to link sex and relationship in the way Biddulph describes. Articles
on relationships in Hai seem devoid of sex and articles on sex are devoid of a
relationship context. The results are discussions of sex that are mostly biological; and
discussions about relationships that are sterilized from association with sex. The silence
on this topic may indicate a reluctance to deal with sex education when it is applied to
relationships. The result is consultation columns that are full of concerns regarding how
to start a relationship, but in which there is no mention of how to handle sexual tensions
within the relationship.
Appreciation of the opposite sex in Hai is not as salacious as in men’s lifestyle
magazines but it is still present in a milder form. A cover of Hai in Figure 13 advertises
a feature article in the content about female students’ attractiveness due to their tight
school uniforms. The caption says, “[Girls’] school uniforms are getting sexier.
Whether it’s a blessing or a curse, it’s dizzying for sure.” 728 The comments reflect
expressions of sexual desire and sexual arousal which are allowed for boys but not girls.
The article in the content is full of comments from boys who appreciate the girls’
appearance despite breaking the school dress code. A male student is quoted saying:
727
Max Biddulph, “Rules of Engagement: Boys, Young Men and the Challenge of Effective Sex and
Relationships Education” Pastoral Care, (September 2007), 24.
728
“Seragam Makin Sexy [English words original]. Berkah atau musibah, yang jelas bisa bikin pusing!”
Hai, 10 – 16 March 2006, XXXII, No. 10.
252
“Girls who wear tight shirt and short skirt are sexy. Don’t know why, girls like these
just look charming to me. Long live sexy uniforms!” 729
One of the recurring questions about relationships is from boys who want to know how
to declare their feelings to their chosen one and ask them to be their girlfriend. In their
teen language, the terms they use are “pendekatan” [approaching] and “nembak”
[shooting]. The discourse of hunting here emphasizes the masculine nature of this
activity. This concept of “nembak” is that a guy should make the first move to start a
relationship. This matches with the discourse in girls’ magazines, where girls are taught
to look pretty in order to attract guys. Hai, on the other hand, teaches the boys how to
declare their attraction to girls. This way, girls’ magazines and Hai complement each
other in passive-active way: the girls try to look attractive and wait; the guys search for
a girl and make the move. The predominant problem of “nembak” indirectly signals that
boys are allowed the active role to choose their female partners like their counterparts in
men’s lifestyle magazines.
One example of the questions is quoted below in its translation from gaul language to
standard Indonesian followed by the English translation, with the original in the
footnote:
Hi ... Apa kabar kamu? Ada cewek yang aku suka nih. Tapi dia acuh
sekali. Setiap aku sms pasti balasannya hanya sedikit. Bagaimana
caranya supaya dia tahu kalau aku suka sama dia?Need Ur help [English
words in original]!
Hi ... How are you? I have a crush on someone. But she totally ignores
me. Every time I text her she only replies in short messages. How do I
729
Cewek yang pake baju ketat dan rok mini itu sexy. Nggak tahu kenapa. Cewek model gini keliatan
charming di mata gue. Hidup seragam sexy [English words original], “Seragam ketat bikin semangat”
[Lifting your spirit with tight uniforms], Hai, 10 – 16 March 2006, XXXII, No. 10, p. 23.
253
make her stop ignoring me and let her know that I like her? Need your
help. 730
The original quotation is included here is to show how these columns serve as a peer
space. This is done through the use of slang and specific teen text language that relates
with the specifically adolescent nature of their questions. Only peers would understand
the specific text message language. The use of slang by adolescents is intended to create
a world that excludes adults or, in Saxby’s words, to “snub the prevailing parent
culture.” 731 Similarly, text message language also acts as an adolescent group identifier.
Only people who are in the group would have no difficulty in deciphering the text
message language. Saxby’s observation on the use (or abuse) of the Indonesian
language to discuss dating among adolescents is that, “Youth Indonesian is at its most
creative and dynamic when dealing with subjects of social life, relationships, love and
sex. Discussion of such topics is best not understood by adults!” 732
Although a great majority of the questions revolve around the strategy to get a girl and
“nembak”, it is interesting to read the range of problems that are published in these
columns. What the variety of these problems indicates is some degree of
acknowledgement that these problems exist, regardless of the moral stigma attached to
the problems. The problems ranged from parents who are having extra marital affairs, or
sexual attraction to an older woman.
730
Hai ... Pa kbar lu? Gw pnya gebetan nh. Tapi dy cuek bgt. Setiap gw SMS psti blezx cma dikit
doank. Gimana crax byr dy ga cuek lg n ‘ngeh’ klo gw ska ma dy? Need Ur help [English words
original]!
“Bagman Sayz” Hai, 17 – 23 December 2007, XXXI, No. 51, p. 42.
731
David Saxby, “Youth Indonesian. Much More than Just Indonesian without the Grammar” Inside
Indonesia, (January- March 2006), www.insideindonesia.org (date accessed 12 May 2009).
732
David Saxby, “Youth Indonesian.”
254
Hai acts as the older brother that facilitates these discussions. 733 Hai’s role is equivalent
to that of the peer mentors providing sex education, as advocated in Hull et al’s
research. Hull et al argue that “What made these mentors acceptable to adolescents was
that they were not parents, teachers, religious leaders, bureaucrats, or police.” 734 It is
this peer support that allows new problems to surface. The problems are not exactly
new, but their appearance in Hai may indicate a new sense of acceptance. One of the
problems raised in Hai that warrants further mention is the issue of homosexuality.
Considering that Hai is a magazine for male readers who are perceived to be
heterosexual, the exposure of homosexuality may be interpreted in several ways. Firstly,
the topic creates sensationalism that sells. Secondly, adolescence is seen as a period of
sexual exploration during the process of masculinity acquisition. Featuring articles on
homosexuality may be seen as a recognition of a “new” social phenomenon that male
adolescents have to be aware of. This awareness may be risky for Hai because
ultimately what matters is how the general public react to their growing awareness.
Evelyn Blackwood argues that
Although stories of Indonesian lesbi [lesbian] and gay were carried in
print media and began to appear on television in 1990s, media attention to
the topic did not normalize these sexualities. 735
Most of the responses in Hai’s consultation columns pathologize homosexuality or
perceive it as a sin (like the masturbation discourse), such as responses to the following
problem:
Ren has a crush on a girl, his junior at school. But he’s gay and he has a
boyfriend. Ren wants to break up with him, but he’s too scared to tell him
honestly. 736
733
As indicated by Eddy Suhardy, the editor. Interviewed on 9 June 2008.
Terence H. Hull, Eddy Hasmi, Ninuk Widyantoro “”Peer” Educator Initiatives for Adolescent
Reproductive Health Projects in Indonesia” Reproductive Health Matters, Vol. 12, No. 23 (2004), 33.
735
Evelyn Blackwood, “Regulation of Sexuality,” p. 297.
734
255
Most of the answers (about twenty of them) congratulate Ren for getting back on the
right track as a heterosexual. Following are some of the texts from the readers:
Wow, it’s great, you’re normal now. Just talk to your boyfriend. I’m sure
good intentions will always prevail.
Oh, Man, isn’t it clear enough. Our ancestors are Adam and Eve (not
Adam and Johnny). So just break up with him. 737
Some responds are supportive of the homosexual condition, such as exemplified below:
So what’s wrong if you have desires for guys? ... There’s no problem with
that. Just accept it. In these modern times you don’t think that that’s an
abnormality do you? 738
The above passage shows that amidst the responses that see homosexuality as perverse,
there are responses that can accept gayness as an alternative sexual orientation.
Although still a minority, these kinds of responses may reflect a slowly growing
tolerance, but they might also be from other homosexual adolescents, which means they
offer peer support. The fact that homosexuality is absent in the men’s magazines
provide another alternative to read the features about homosexuality in Hai: it provides
an opportunity to inculcate heterosexuality by exposing the “deviant” sexuality.
736
Ren lagi suka sama seorang cewek, adik kelasnya. Tapi dia seorang gay, dan punya pacar seorang
cowok. Ren pengen putus, tapi takut ngomongin jujur sama pacarnya.
“Feedbag” Hai, 21 – 27 May 2007, XXXI, No. 21, p. 61.
737
Wah, bagus kalo elo berubah normal. Ngomong baik-baik. Gue yakin, kalo tujuannya baik pasti
berhasil.
Ah, Brur, nenek moyang kita aja Adam dan Hawa (kecuali nenek moyangnya Adam dan Johnny). So
putusin aja. Bilang lo udah mau tobat dan lo udah mau normal. Ajak juga dia buat normal.
“Feedbag” Hai, 21 – 27 May 2007, XXXI, No. 21, p. 61.
738
Uh, jgn2 lu h0mbreng yah lu test aj gedean mana h0rny ma ce or ma co trz plh deh ce/co yg dijadiin
pasangan.
Apa salahnya kl lo bhasrat ama c0? Plg2 lo bisex. Gk ad mslh kan? Trima aj d! M0sok d zaman m0dern
gini lo msh nganggep itu klainan. “Feedbag” Hai, 13 – 19 August 2007, XXXI, No. 33, p. 59.
256
In general Hai avoids the clichéd moralistic tone that is often found in other media, but
there is a sense that the magazine does not want to go too strongly against the cultural
norms that perceive homosexuality as deviance. Considering the strong resurgence of
Islam in Indonesian society, raising the issue of homosexuality in a non-judgemental
fashion may be taken as a sign of not conforming with the new Islamic power that
seems to predominate since the New Order.
High School as a Meeting Point between the State and its Young Citizens
In the following analysis I view high school as a meeting point between the state and its
young citizens. Schools become a breeding space for the brotherhood of these male
adolescents when they unite against their teachers and parents who represent the
authority of the state Father. The protests of these students that I discuss below once
again echo the middle-class protests I mention in Chapters Two and Seven. This
correlates with the trend in student movements in Indonesia, particularly towards the
end of the New Order in 1998, which was marked by massive student protests. 739 What
the media (particularly foreign media) captured from the student demonstrations leading
up to the end of Suharto’s leadership was the social status of the students: they
represented a privileged class. William Liddle identifies them as students from middleto-upper classes who were “angry with the leader they believed responsible for their
situation. They also had little to lose and potentially much to gain by mobilizing against
the government.” 740 The construction of male adolescents in Hai echoes the concern
and the social status of these students from the days of student demonstration.
739
For details of student protests leading up to the resignation of president Suharto, see Vincent Bodreau,
Resisting Dictatorship: Repression and Protest in Southeast Asia (Cambridge, UK; New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2004), pp. 230 – 234 and James T. Siegel, “Thoughts on the Violence of
May 13 and 14, 1998, in Jakarta” Violence and the State in Suharto’s Indonesia, ed., Benedict Richard
O’Gorman Anderson (Ithaca, N.Y.: Southeast Asia Program Publications, Southeast Asia Program,
Cornell University, 2001), pp. 90 – 123.
740
R. William Liddle, “Indonesia’s Unexpected Failure of Leadership” The Politics of Post-Suharto
Indonesia (New York: Council of Foreign Relations Press, 1999), p. 21.
257
Although not identified as a regular column in the table of contents, articles featuring
schools appear frequently in Hai. 741 The frequency of articles on schools seems to be
contradicted by the comment of Hai’s editor’s that they do not want to portray boys
who are academically smart, unless these smart students are popular. The rough
definition of “popular boys” is “those who play in a band or have lots of girlfriends.”742
There is a paradox here, in that school is a site of privilege for boys 743and yet, in Hai,
this privilege is not demonstrated through the display of boys’ academic achievements.
Instead, the articles are more critically engaging with problems in schools.
School in Indonesia is a microcosm of society, where the domination of the state is
made perceptible through many aspects of schooling, like regulations and curricula. 744
Schudson argues that “The modern nation-state self-consciously uses language policy,
formal education, collective rituals, and mass media to integrate citizens and ensure
their loyalty” [emphasis added]. 745 However, I will demonstrate later that in articles in
Hai in the post-Suharto era, schools are portrayed as losing their function as institutions
which mass-produce citizens who are loyal to the New Order.
741
I use the words school and senior high school in this context to refer to senior high school in Indonesia
that consists of year 10, 11, and 12. Students in senior high school are aged 16 – 18 years. Students from
year 7, 8, and 9 are enrolled in a separate academic institution called junior high school.
742
Interview with Eddy Suhardy, editor of Hai, on 9 June 2008.
743
Mayling Oey-Gardiner, “Gender Differences in Schooling in Indonesia” Bulletin of Indonesian
Economic Studies, Vol. 27, No. 1, (April 1991), 57. Meutia Hatta Swasono, the State Minister for Women
Empowerment of the Republic of Indonesia declares that there are relatively equal numbers of female and
male students in junior high school because of the 9 year compulsory education programme. However, in
senior high school, the number of male students is still relatively higher than that of female students.
Meutia Hatta Swasono, “Potret Kebangkitan Perempuan Indonesia” [The Portrait of The Rise of
Indonesian Women] Sekretariat Negara Republik Indonesia [States Secretary of the Republic of
Indonesia]
http://www.setneg.go.id/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2260&Itemid=219
(date accessed 29 June 2010). Hera Lestari Mikarsa, “Indonesia” in International Encyclopedia of
Adolescence. Volume 1. A- J Index. ed., Jeffrey Jensen Arnett (New York; London: Routledge, 2007), p.
466.
744
See Lyn Parker, From Subjects to Citizens. Balinese Villagers in the Indonesian Nation-State
(Copenhagen: NIAS Press, 2003), pp. 1 – 10 and pp. 225 – 261.
745
Michel Schudson, “Culture and Integration of National Societies.” International Social Science
Journal, No. 45 (February 1994), 64.
258
I propose to view schools in Hai as a space that reflects how young boys are beginning
to exercise a critical attitude towards authority after the collapse of the repressive New
Order. I draw this proposition from sample articles on schools in Hai. The articles
become illustrations on how students are beginning to question the controls that are
imposed on them, rather than obeying them blindly. This eventually illustrates the wider
phenomena within post-Suharto Indonesia. Schools after the New Order represent a
potential site for confronting the patriarchy of the state operating through schools.
During the New Order, school was an extension of the state’s authority. High school as
an educational institution is a crucial point of introduction into Indonesian politics for
adolescents. Indonesian citizens’ first “official” involvement in politics begins when
they are in high school. This is the period when students are eligible as first-time voters
at the age of seventeen. 746
The New Order government was well aware of the power of student movements.747
Every authoritarian effort was made by the New Order to politically immobilize the
students. Suharto’s regime tried to stop the history of student movements in Indonesia
from repeating itself by constricting their political space. 748 The silenced students of the
New Order are what Saya Shiraishi refers to as “politically tame” 749 However, I aim to
show that students in Hai show a change in attitude. Hai in the post-Suharto era
represents students as more critical, equivalent to those observed by Hanan in
Indonesian teen movies after the New Order. After the end of Suharto’s regime, articles
746
My experience as a first-time voter in high school was very undemocratic. Students who were eligible
to vote were assembled to receive a briefing from the headmaster. The headmaster bluntly told us that we
should vote for Golkar (Suharto’s party). According to him, students who failed to vote for Golkar would
jeopardize the school’s development. He went on to say that government funding for our school was
conditional on the school’s support for the Golkar Party. To me personally, the headmaster’s speech
sounded more like a threat than a briefing.
747
See David Bourchier and Vedi R. Hadiz, eds., Indonesian Politics and Society. A Reader (London,
New York: Routledge Curzon, 2003), p. 162.
748
History has shown that governments’ efforts failed and student movements prevailed. After weeks of
demonstration by students, Suharto finally resigned on 21 May 1998. See David Bourchier and Vedi R.
Hadiz, eds., Indonesian Politics and Society. A Reader, pp. 277 – 278.
749
See Saya Sasaki Shiraishi, Young Heroes, p. 149.
259
in Hai magazine demonstrate that schools have the potential to become a space where
young men can exercise their freedom of speech and thought as young-adult citizens.
Now that the New Order no longer exists as a regime (though there is a legacy), the
position of educational institutions as extensions of the state’s authority is challenged.
One article covers students’ rejection of the national examination scheme through a
street demonstration. 750 The national examination system has been the focus of
contention between students and the Department of National Education. National exams
stand for a centralized control of education that fails to recognize that each school is a
unique academic body. This examination symbolizes the central government’s tendency
for regimented procedure for the purpose of easier control. Amidst the support for
decentralization of government in Indonesia, the national examination seems to go
against the grain. 751 This national examination renders other school tests taken by
students useless, because these other tests do not count towards the score for graduation
from high school. The score to pass is solely determined by the national examination.
Proponents of continuous assessment argue that other tests taken by students should be
taken into consideration to determine students’ final passing score.
Images of the demonstration are reminiscent of the days of university student protests
leading up to the fall of Suharto, except that this crowd is younger. They are not
protesting against political injustice like their seniors at university level. Nevertheless,
they are exercising their rights as citizens, who have the right to a proper education
system and the right to protest. The caption of the picture says, “As long as national
750
“Belum Tuntas Bukan Tinggal Kelas” [We Just haven’t Graduated Yet, We’re not Held Back] Hai,
24-30 December 2007, XXXI, No. 52, p. 99.
751
Faucher also finds the same comment from her interviews with Tanjung Pinang Students. The students
mention the irony of the spirit of regional autonomy and decentralization that is not reflected by this
centralized examination system. See Carole Faucher, “Popular Discourse on Identity Politics and
Decentralisation in Tanjung Pinang Public Schools” Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Vol. 47, No. 2, (August
2006), 273 - 285.
260
examinations are used to determine the pass mark, the protest will go on.” 752 It is
apparent that the spirit of reform in Indonesia inspired the demonstration. Criticism,
which was taboo (and dangerous) before 1998, has become a trademark of the reform
discourse.
Although street demonstrations were a common method of protest under the New
Order, high school student demonstrations were less acknowledged than those staged by
university students. Kammen mentions that under the New Order, high school students
at demonstrations were “more likely to be blamed for naughtiness than praised for
social concerns, let alone activism.” 753 Kammen observes that high school student
demonstrations were rife and they escalated during the 1990s. 754 The difference is that
the demonstrations in Kammen’s samples were from industrial areas dominated by
students from the lower classes. Hai represents privileged students from big cities like
Jakarta. Baulch comments that during the New Order, in Hai “nouveau riche status [is
treated] as common and normal.” 755 Hai samples from the post-New Order still exhibit
wealth which is consistent with images of middle-classness in men’s lifestyle
magazines.
Another article calls for a change to the education system in Indonesia from
“traditional” to modern. The “traditional” system implicitly refers to the teaching
method of the New Order period. The modern concept that the article refers to is the
integration of local and “western” systems of education. The “western” system of
education is perceived to promote a more democratic type of knowledge acquisition:
752
“Belum Tuntas Bukan Tinggal Kelas” [We Just haven’t Graduated Yet, We’re not Held Back] Hai,
24-30 December 2007, XXXI, No. 52, p. 99.
753
Douglas Kammen, “Rehearsals for Employment: Indonesian School Kids on Strike in the 1990s”
Indonesia, Vol. 60, (October 1995), 147.
754
Douglas Kammen, p. 147.
755
Emma Baulch, “Alternative Music”, p. 227.
261
Next year will be positively marked by “rebelling” schools. Although still
bashful, some schools have initiated change from the old frame of mind to
bring in an education style from overseas…. These have one goal: to change
the traditional style of education that does not free the mind but shackles it
instead….The spoon-fed generation which is the product of the past should
move over. It should make way for a generation with a thirst for knowledge, a
generation that is confident to find and search information from any
source. 756
The passage from the article urges that the new social conditions in Indonesia should
allow for a transfer of knowledge that is free from censorship. It disrupts the old
convention in which the state used to be the official source of information and
knowledge. Previously, social truth had to be sanctioned by the government before its
dissemination to the general public.
Revealing the sins of the New Order is one of the preoccupations of men’s lifestyle
magazines like Playboy Indonesia. This trend is apparently echoed in Hai. Hai
represents these students as a group of young men who are able to face issues that are
parallel with issues that confront adult men, albeit on a smaller scale. As Beynon
argues, expressions of masculinities involve actions to topple the dominance of
hegemonic masculinities. 757 In the article, this action is represented by the rejection of
the old method of teaching that is imbued with the oppressive patriarchal spirit of the
New Order state.
Another article covers history as a subject that is taught in Indonesian high schools.
This article corresponds closely with the attitude of men’s lifestyle magazines (such as
Playboy Indonesia) in representing their views on the subject of communism. The
756
Tahun depan pun kayaknya banyak dihiasi oleh sekolah-sekolah yang akhirnya “memberontak”.
Walaupun masih terbilang malu-malu, beberapa sekolah udah merubah pola pikir lama dengan
menggabungkan gaya pendidikan di luar negeri…Semua dengan tujuan satu: merubah pola pendidikan
tradisional yang bukannya membebaskan pikiran para murid, tapi justru membelenggunya….Generasi
instan produk masa lampau sudah saatnya lengser. Berganti dengan generasi haus ilmu yang pede
mencari dan mengumpulkan informasi dari sumber manapun. “Belum Tuntas Bukan Tinggal Kelas” [We
Just haven’t Graduated Yet, We’re not Held Back] Hai, 24-30 December 2007, XXXI No. 52, p. 100.
757
John Beynon, Masculinity and Culture, p. 16.
262
article is sign-posted on the cover: “Challenging History in High School”. Inside, the
article opens by stating that Indonesian history is the most boring subject. The article
continues with a subtitle, “It’s Boring and Full of Lies”. A male student is quoted as
saying,
Take for example the history of the heroes of the revolution. The official
version is that the army generals were murdered by the Indonesian
Communist Party in 1965. But now there are books about the mass
killings that followed that incident. These books say that the mass
killings of the members of the Indonesian Communist Party were done
by the New Order in 1966. They said that the killing was part of
cleansing. That’s part of history. How come we don’t get that
information in our history class?” asked Tama, from SMA 79 (high
school) in Jakarta. 758
Another student, Dinar, questions the truth behind the widespread “facts” of the
treachery of the Indonesian Communist Party on 30 September 1965, popularly coded
in Indonesia as G30S/PKI. Dinar asks
“Did the things [in the official movie documentary about G30SPKI]
really happen? Because I read a lot of books and I’ve heard stories as
well, saying that not everything is true, especially about the torture of the
generals. So which one is true?” asks Dinar. 759
These questions are encouraged by the changing socio-political conditions in Indonesia.
These are questions that many people avoided during the New Order government. Now
Hai features this political change by letting their student correspondents speak up.
Speaking up is a new-found skill after the collapse of the New Order. Speech as a sign
of freedom becomes a new form of power after being denied for so long under a
repressive government. Articles on schools in Hai are exercising this need to speak up
758
Sejarah tentang Pahlawan Revolusi tuh misalnya. Kan yang sering ditulis adalah tentang
pembunuhan para perwira Angkatan Darat yang didalangi PKI (Partai Komunis Indonesia, RED) tahun
1965. Tapi sekarang banyak buku beredar tentang pembantaian massa setelah peristiwa itu. Yang
katanya merupakan pembersihan antek-antek PKI oleh pendukung orde baru tahun 1966. Nah, itu kan
juga sejarah. Kenapa nggak ada dalam pelajaran?” kata Tama, dari SMA 79 Jakarta. “Nasib Pelajaran
Sejarah Perjuangan Bangsa” [The Fate of the Subject of the History of the Nation’s Struggle] Hai, 11 –
17 June 2007, XXXI, No. 24, p. 20.
759
“Sebenernya, kejadian itu bener-bener terjadi apa cuma direkayasa sih? Soalnya gue banyak baca
dan denger kalo cerita yang ada di film itu katanya nggak semuanya bener, terutama soal penyiksaan
para jenderal. Yang mana dong yang bener?” lanjut Dinar. [The Fate of the Subject of the History of the
Nation’s Struggle] Hai, 11 – 17 June 2007, XXXI, No. 24, p. 21.
263
and to be heard. Schools and the academic system become the targets of the students’
complaints because these institutions mediate the students and the state in transferring
the “official” knowledge of their own society.
Other articles comment on student bodies in high schools. OSIS (Organisasi Siswa
Intra Sekolah) is a student representative body that exists in every junior and senior high
school in Indonesia. It is the only official student body in every high school. It reflects
the very centralized education system in Indonesia, where governments centralized not
just the curriculum but also established the type of student representative that they
would recognize as the official one.
In these articles, student bodies are accused of being the “teachers’ pet.” They are
thought to side more with the schools than with the students. An article entitled
“Thirteen Myths in Senior High School” comments on the inability of OSIS members to
accommodate students’ aspirations:
In SMP (Junior High School), members of OSIS are like the coolest
group of people in the world. But once you reach Senior High School, the
standard changes, man! Voices from presidents of OSIS as the official
leaders are not often heard. It’s the unofficial “presidents” or gang
leaders that students listen to. Like it or not, OSIS as a student
representative body is now left behind and losing is glory. We don’t
know why. But changes should be made. Any comment from the OSIS
people? 760
An article entitled “OSIS is Useless” in a different issue, provides some insight into the
problem:
760
Waktu SMP, mungkin jadi anak OSIS dianggap paling bergaul sedunia. Tapi pas SMA, kayaknya
ukurannya udah berubah coy! Malah, ketua OSIS yang dianggap sebagai formal leader [English words
original], sering nggak kedengaran bunyinya. Informal leader alias pentolan tongkrongan lebih didenger
omongannya ketimbang anak OSIS. Suka atau nggak, lembaga perwakilan OSIS ini malah makin
ditinggal dan kalah pamor. Entah kenapa, yang pasti harus ada perubahaan dalam lembaga ini di
sekolah. Gimana, anak OSIS? “13 Salah Kaprah di SMA” [Thirteen Myths in Senior High Schools] Hai,
2 – 8 July 2007, XXXI, No. 27, p. 21.
264
[Students who are chosen] as presidents of OSIS are always those who
are “safe” according to the teachers.
“Teachers usually provide candidates [for OSIS] who are smart and well
behaved. So basically whoever is chosen to be the president of OSIS is
hand picked by the teachers,” explains Kartika from SMAN 101 (Senior
High School 101).
“The initial process of establishing OSIS is not based on people’s
choice,” says Nisa.
“Students who join OSIS are those who just want to show off! They are
not those who want to represent the people and support and defend us all.
Don’t be surprised if OSIS members don’t have friends,” comments
Sovi.
Seen from their peers’ perspective, OSIS is useless. They don’t have the
trust of the people. If there are OSIS organizations that still have the trust
of their “people”, the number is small. 761
It is interesting to note the fact that students refer to themselves as “the people” or
“rakyat” in the above interviews. “Rakyat” has a very strong connotation in the
Indonesian political context. Building on Ariel Heryanto’s reference to this word,
“rakyat” as a social group represents a marginalized majority. 762 By referring to
themselves as “rakyat”, these students locate themselves as part of a larger subaltern
group in society. By representing themselves as the “rakyat” who are alienated from the
761
[S]osok ketua OSIS selama in adalah [yang] “aman” dimata sekolah.
“Biasanya guru-guru bakal milih anak yang pinter dan kelakuannya lurus. Dan, hampir bisa dipastikan
hasilnya yang kepilih jadi ketua OSIS ya anak yang dipilih oleh guru-guru,” beber Kartika dari SMAN
101.
“[A]nak yang ikut OSIS umunnya motivasinya pengen tampil doang! Bukan anak-anak yang bener-bener
pingin jadi wakil rakyat yang selalu ngedukung dan ngebela kami semua. Nggak heran deh kalo anakanak OSIS malah jarang punya temen,” cetus Sovi.
See?[English word original] Di mata temen-temen, OSIS udah nggak berguna lagi. Udah nggak
dipercaya sama rakyatnya! Kalopun masih ada OSIS yang dipercaya oleh “rakyatnya”, rasanya nggak
banyak jumlahnya. “OSIS Nggak Berguuna?!” [Student Bodies are Useless], Hai, 30 July – 5 August
2007, XXXI, No. 31, p. 44 - 45.
762
According to Heryanto “The rich were non-Asian, or non-indigenous, non-Muslim and non-rakyat”. I
conclude from this that the image of “rakyat” is the poor indigenous people who are marginalized in their
own country. Poor in this context means both economically and politically disadvantaged. See Ariel
Heryanto, “The Years of Living Luxuriously: Identity Politics of Indonesia’s New Rich” in Culture and
Privilege in Capitalist Asia, ed. Michael Pinches (London: Routledge, 1999a), pp. 162 – 163.
For keyword analysis see also Michael van Langenberg, “Analysing Indonesia’s New Order State: A
Keywords Approach” Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs, Vol. 20, No. 2 (1986), 1 – 47.
265
system within this miniature “state” called the school, these students are practising their
roles as Indonesian citizens.
These articles on student bodies resonate strongly with the inability of people within
Indonesian representative bodies, both at the regional and national levels, to
accommodate the aspirations of the people that they represent. Schools reproduce the
system in society. However, as society changes, there are also struggles and challenges
within schools that correlate with the dynamics in society. These students’ comments
reflect that struggle.
Blackwood observes that “[Indonesian] men’s realm is the nation.” 763 The nation is
sustained by a range of masculinities. Their reactions as students and as citizens are
informed by the struggles of masculinities at the national level. Academic achievements
do not guarantee social status. However, political domination does. The attitude of these
male adolescents reflects their awareness that academic supremacy does not always
connote success. It is politics that manifests the massive accumulation of masculine
power. These adolescents lived through the period of transition from having only three
political parties in the 1990s to forty four in the twenty-first century. The politically
charged society has a serious impact on them. The following caricature in Hai illustrates
this condition:
Looking for work
After high school, Togop couldn’t continue his education. His parents
couldn’t afford to send him to university. One day he came to visit his uncle,
who was the leader of a political party.
Togop:
763
Uncle, can you help me get a job?
Evelyn Blackwood, “Regulation of Sexuality in Indonesian Discourse: Normative Gender, Criminal
Law and Shifting Strategies of Control” Culture, Health and Sexuality, Vol. 9. No. 3, (May – June 2007),
296.
266
Uncle:
Togop:
Uncle:
Togop:
Uncle:
You’re a high school graduate aren’t you? How about
becoming a member of a political party?
… ??
Being a member of a political party is a promising profession.
You might have a chance to become a member of the People’s
Representative Council, or the speaker of the People’s
Representative Council, you could even be a minister or even
the president.
That’s too high. I’m not that ambitious. I just want to be a
primary school teacher.
Primary school teacher? Sorry, can’t help you there. You have
to have at least a university degree to become a primary school
teacher. 764
The caricature indicates the flaws in both the education and political systems in
Indonesia, and their incompatibility. The caricature criticizes the education system that
produces knowledgeable but uncritical (and therefore politically unthreatening)
students; whereas political parties produce a group of people who have not enjoyed a
proper level of education. This anecdote applies well to Megawati Sukarnoputri,
Indonesia’s fifth president, who is a high school graduate. 765
Violence and Violation
In this section I draw attention to the formation of school gangsters that reflects the
pattern of violence exercised by men in Indonesian society. The brotherhood of
rebellious boys in schools is the early signs of non-hegemonic resistance exercised in an
extreme manner. I demonstrate below that the brotherhood of the schoolboys is linked
764
Ngelamar Kerja
Sejak lulus SMA, Togop nganggur. Maklum ortunya nggak mampu ngebiayain kuliah. Supaya jangan
luntang-lantung Togop datang ke Omnya, seorang ketua partai politik.
Partai Semaput Koyo Kuek.
Togop: Om, cariin kerjaan dong.
Om: Hmm..kamu lulusan SMA ya…Gimana kalo jadi pengurus partai aja…?
Togop: …??!!
Om: Jadi pengurus parpol tuh bagus. Kamu punya kesempatan jadi anggota DPR, ketua DPR, bahkan
menteri atau bahkan jadi presiden.
Togop: Duh…Terlalu tinggi Om. Saya sih nggak muluk-muluk. Jadi guru SD aja misalnya.
Om: Guru SD…? Wah itu sih kamu harus jadi sarjana dulu.,
Hai, 29 October – 4 November 2007, XXXI, No. 44, p. 32.
765
Wimar Witoelar says of former president Megawati: “...observations about her intelligence irritated
Megawati more than outright political attacks” in Wimar Witoelar, No Regrets: Reflections of a
Presidential Spokesman (Jakarta; Singapore: Equinox, 2002), p. 157.
267
to the brotherhood of non-hegemonic Indonesian men who use violence as an
expression of protest.
Comparing the absence of discourses on violence and violation in girls’ magazines with
the abundance of articles of this nature in Hai, is like comparing beauty and the beast.
Girls’ magazines always maintain a peaceful vibe and pleasantness in their contents.766
They sustain a problem-free environment. It is ironic that girls’ magazines do not touch
upon issues like violence, because many of the violations in society affect and target
female students, such as sexual harassment and bullying. This absence of violence is
consistent with the girls’ magazines’ treatment of their perceived female readers as
sequestered social beings, who should be protected from the harsh reality of society.
This symbolic protective bubble surrounding female adolescents echoes their gender
identity as creatures of private space.
Hai, on the other hand, in conformity with its masculine tone, does not hesitate to
represent the gruesome facts of youth violence. These two distinct positions reflect the
allocation of violence to the masculine realm. Kimmel argues that violence is gendered
and it is male. 767 In Hai, violence and harassment are problematized: they are a part of
male student life that is not condoned but are difficult to eradicate. Although male
student violence is not a new phenomenon in Indonesian society, its extensive reporting
in Hai deserves further analysis, especially considering that this theme did not seem to
appear as intensely in Hai during the New Order.
Whitson theorizes that male physical prowess proven through more traditional roles
such as “physical labour or combat” does not fade away as society changes. It just takes
766
See Suzie Handajani, “Globalizing Local Girls. Representations of Adolescents in Indonesian Girls’
Magazines” Master of Arts Thesis. The University of Western Australia, 2005.
767
See Michael Kimmel, The Gendered Society, pp. 242 - 263.
268
on different forms. Whitson argues that in the west sports have become a modified form
of these traditional roles. 768 Similarly, fighting is part of these modified activities for
male adolescents, and can be easily perceived as vestiges of combat, as suggested by
Whitson. In Indonesia, physical violence and social unrest becomes a medium to
express power and masculinities among men at the national level. This is emulated by
male adolescents through their school fights. In this way, male teen violence in Hai is
not merely an issue of isolated juvenile delinquency but it pertains to a wider
phenomenon of violence in Indonesian society.
Nordholt’s framework of the “genealogy of violence” in Indonesia suggests that a
tradition of violence in Indonesia is inherited from the state. Nordholt contends that
“school kids and students fight each other on a regular basis” as a result of how violence
has become “decentralized” in Indonesian society. 769 Mass fighting has become a way
for students to “democratise” brutality and challenge the state’s monopoly on
violence. 770 Schools become sites for the social reproduction of violence. Articles that
feature bullying and harassment in schools correspond to a wider scene of conflicts that
emerged from political dissatisfaction at the national level. Arif Rahman, a teacher from
Jakarta was interviewed by Hai and he explained that “the problem with our nation is
that we think power is everything. And that by having power you can dominate others.
These values are internalized by these students.” 771
768
David Whitson, “Sport in the Social Construction of Masculinity” in Sports, Men and Gender Order:
Critical Feminist Perspectives, eds. Michael A. Messner and Donald F. Sabo (Illinois: Human Kinetics
Press, 1990), p. 19.
769
Henk Schulte Nordholt, p. 51.
770
“[G]overnment has a monopoly on violence.” Henk Schulte Nordholt “A Genealogy of Violence,” p.
34.
771
“Satu hal lagi bahwa bangsa kita menganggap power itu segalanya. Bahwa punya power bisa
berkuasa [English language in original]. Nilai-nilai seperti itulah yang terserap dalam diri pelajar.”
“Berakhirnya Tradisi Minggu Dajjal”, [The End of the Deadly Sunday Tradition] Hai, 26 November – 2
December 2007, XXXI, No. 48, p. 20.
269
This legacy of violence is made apparent from frequent reference in Hai articles to
fighting and bullying and gang culture as “tradition”. This implies that violent outbursts
from male adolescents are inherited and passed on from previous generations:
School gangs at a crossroads. It’s a matter of choice. Do we wish to stop
or do we wish to continue the tradition? 772
“In my high school, mass fighting is a tradition.” 773
This senior high school [SMA 70] on Jalan Bulungan in Kebayoran Baru
[a suburb of Jakarta] is not only involved in frequent mass fighting with
neighbouring senior high schools. It [SMA 70] is often attacked by
students from vocational high schools as well. Well, ancient tradition just
doesn’t wear off. 774
Since no one reported any of the incidents, seniority developed into
bullying. It’s time to stop this tradition of violence. Should seniority be
indicated by fists? 775
The fighting tradition is seen as so chronic that in the International Encyclopedia of
Adolescence, the mass fighting phenomenon in Indonesia is categorized under “Unique
Issues” and defined as follows:
Tawuran between junior and more often senior high school students,
mostly males, seems to be a common phenomenon of urban life in
Indonesia. In Jakarta, for example, the Metropolitan Police Department
noted that from year to year the amount of street fighting has increased
steadily, and the number of people who were killed has also increased.
Tawuran usually occurs between students from different schools that have
a long history of hostility. 776
772
“Geng Sekolah di Persimpangan. Semua emang tinggal pilihan. Mau menyetop atau meneruskan
tradisi?” Hai, 26 November – 2 December 2007, XXXI. No. 48, p. 22.
773
“Di sekolah gue, tawuran udah tradisi” “Awas Aliran Sesat di Sekolah!” [Watch Out for Bad
Influence at School], Hai, 10 – 16 December 2007, XXXI, No. 50, p. 68.
774
Sekolah di Jalan Bulungan Kebayoran Baru ini bukan hanya sering terlibat tawuran dengan
tetangganya. Tapi juga sering jadi sasaran penyerangan dari para pelajar SMK. Well [English word
original], tradisi jaman dulu emang nggak pernah terkikis habis. “Sekolah Diserang. Bales atau
“Mustika”? Hai, 5 – 11 November 2007, XXXI, No. 45, p. 21.
775
Ketika nggak ada yang lapor, senioritas berkembang jadi bullying [English word original]. Sudah
saatnya kita harus hentikan tradisi kekerasan ini. Emangnya senioritas harus selalu dilakukan dengan
kepalan tangan? “Senioritas Makan Korban (Lagi)” [(More) Victims of Seniority] Hai, 18 – 24 June
2007, XXXI, No. 25, p. 20.
776
Hera Lestari Mikarsa, “Indonesia” in International Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Volume 1. A- J
Index. ed. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett (New York; London: Routledge, 2007), p. 465.
270
A tacit code of conduct is established to fight for superiority among school gangs or
individuals. Hai indicates that younger students should be humble and keep a low
profile around senior students. 777 Breaking this code can lead to physical altercation.
The title of an article summarizes the reason to protect seniority: “In the Name of
Honour.” 778
References to “seniors” and “juniors” reveal the hierarchy of these male high school
students, in which fights are often the result of conflicts between seniors (students from
year 12) and juniors (students from years 11 and 10). A male student from Senior High
School 74 mentioned that year 12 male students “demand respect” from year 10 and 11
male students. 779 “Respect” from juniors to seniors echoes the traditional bapakisme at
the national level where children should respect the father unconditionally, rather than
the father attempting to earn that respect. 780 This quote, with Hai apparently behind the
powerful year 12 male students, demonstrates challenges to the status quo but without
the intention of changing the power structure: whoever is in the leadership position will
repeat the oppressive convention.
Overall, representations of violence in Hai attempt to burst the perfect bubble that is
supposed to be inhabited by adolescents. The magazine introduces problems that disrupt
the understanding of comfort. Hai tries to represent the harsh reality of adolescent life in
big cities, particularly in Jakarta, as a way of acknowledging that the young men that
they are targeting as readers are the future generation who are going to inherit social
777
“Pemberontakan si Kelas Dua” [The Revolt of Year 11 Students] Hai, 13 – 19 August 2007, XXXI,
No. 33, p. 43.
778
“Atas Nama Harga Diri” [In the Name of Honour] Hai, 17 – 23 March 2008, XXXII, No. 11, pp. 20 21.
779
“Pemberontakan si Kelas Dua” [The Revolt of Year 11 Students] Hai, 13 – 19 August 2007, XXXI,
No. 33, p. 43.
780
See Saya Shiraishi, Young Heroes.
271
problems from their forefathers or, tragically, be involved in continuing the vicious
circle of violence.
Locating the trend within the bigger picture of the Indonesian mainstream media,
violence in Hai is part of a wider movement of unveiling social unrest. It is a part of the
package of the freedom of the press. Under the New Order, the media were pressed to
report stability, social order and the success stories of the government. 781 Reporting
what used to be suppressed and discouraged becomes a beacon that shines in this new
era. Articles on mass fights and violence mark the shift from a calm hedonistic and
controlled state to a state of discontent that critiques the establishment in order to seek
improvement.
The Future of Indonesian Boys
The discourses on school and violence reveal a rebellious attitude, whereas the sections
on sex and relationships reveal a conservative discourse with just a few sparks of
rebellion. These contradicting notions are the result of reformasi, wherein everyone is
still learning to have different opinions. Weintraub explains this condition in his article
on Inul, an Indonesian dangdut singer. 782 Weintraub observes that after the fall of
Suharto, popular culture (in this case the erotic singer phenomenon) consists of a
“rehearsal for democracy” with “a residual culture of censorship.” 783 It combines
something new with something old. With regards to Hai, articles on schools and
violence are a political rehearsal for democracy. Democracy is perceived to be a modern
influence and part of the public sphere, hence men’s domain. Discourses on sex and
getting a girlfriend, on the other hand, are perceived to have deeper roots in the cultural
781
See David T. Hill, The Press in New Order Indonesia (Jakarta; Kuala Lumpur: Equinox Publishing,
1994).
782
Dangdut is a local genre of music often accompanied by sensuous dance moves.
783
Andrew N. Weintraub, “‘Dance Drills, Faith Spills’ Islam, Body Politics, and Popular Music in PostSuharto Indonesia” Popular Music, Vol. 27, No. 3, (2008), 367 – 392.
272
environment. They are embedded in society with moral and religious sanctions. Unlike
the shifting political narrative, discourses on sex and relationships reveal how tradition
and religion still insist on undemocratic and unwavering conformity. However,
compared with girls’ magazines, male adolescents in Hai are given relatively more
freedom to express their sexuality. The reason for this freedom is that responsibility for
guarding sexual morality rests more heavily on the shoulders of females.
In her study of Indonesian youth in the immediate post-Suharto era, Nilan indicates that
youth movements are more fragmented then than during the homogenous New Order.
Nilan conducted her research on university students and she has a rather bleak
conclusion:
Although the contemporary youth generation have experiential
knowledge about the stirring and heroic events of 1998, this common
historical perspective does not seem to have generated a common set of
political goals and purposes in the present. They seem to agree about the
problems, but not the solutions. 784
However, considering my sample articles above, I propose to view the fragmented
representations in a more optimistic manner. Under the New Order, the appearance of
social uniformity and political conformity in the media was paramount. This created a
parallel media universe: the media’s content conformed with the New Order’s
expectation. Images of prosperity and order were seen as appropriate, while
representations of social injustice were perceived as slandering the government.
Male adolescents in Hai are breaking away from that uniformity. The fragments are
symbols of independence and freedom. Unity is power, but diversity is social and
cultural capital. The fragments represent decentralization and the end of the
concentration of power within a small circle. The discourses examined above − school,
784
Pam Nilan, “The Risky Future of Youth Politics in Indonesia” Review of Indonesian and Malaysian
Affairs, Vol. 38, No. 1 (2004), 190.
273
violence, sex and relationships − are an exercise in identifying problems. The young
men represented in the magazines are preparing to take over from the older generation.
One of the first steps in entering the circle of leadership is to be exposed to the problems
instead of being cocooned away in oblivion. Hai magazine plays a role in providing a
space for male adolescents to exercise social observation and scrutiny. Looking back to
my previous research on girls’ magazines, it is unfortunate that female adolescents are
not provided with the same social exposure as their male counterparts.
274
CHAPTER 9
Conclusion:
Indonesian Men. Where to from Here?
In my thesis I established the nexus between masculinities, media, and politics.
Representations of Indonesian men in the lifestyle magazines are constructed around
these men’s roles as concerned citizens. In the magazines, these concerned male citizens
are represented as an elite group, although they are placed outside the core elite
constituted by Indonesia’s power holders. Historically this condition reminds us of the
elite nationalist movement during the Dutch colonial administration. My thesis
demonstrated that masculine practices are historical, with a tendency to repeat
themselves, albeit with modifications along the way.
Masculinities are men’s ways of communicating their power to others. They are
expressed through a vast array of actions and behaviour, which intersect with other
aspects such as race, ethnicity, age, and class. Although masculinities may consist of
direct actions, in this global communication era most of our exposures to masculinities
are mediated. The object of my research − Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines − is
about mediated masculinities. The media are not just archives of masculinities: they are
also commentators and active participants in moulding them. Benedict Anderson argues
that the print media had a significant role in constructing the idea of a nation-state as an
“imagined community”. 785 By extension, the media are also significant in constructing
“imagined masculinities”, since nation building is predominantly a masculine
endeavour. A nation-state is not an end product, but is always a work-in-progress in
which meanings of citizenship are created and recreated by the stakeholders. Similarly,
785
See Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities (London: Verso, 1983).
275
masculinities are processes. They do not just appear in turn at different isolated periods,
but maintain their continuities with the past. The continuities are also marked across
generations, as demonstrated by Hai magazine, which promotes similar masculine
values to those advocated in other Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines. The content of
Hai magazine projects a promising future: the spirit of the brotherhood of the middle
class intellectuals is budding from a young age.
Although “lifestyle” is the keyword to define the magazine’s genre, I have demonstrated
that one of the recurring themes in Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines is the
combined spirit of nationalism, globalization, and reform. Combining lifestyle and
nationalism seems an oxymoronic endeavour on the magazines’ part. However, the
history of Indonesian men is strongly linked to the history of Indonesian media. Media
are sites of power struggle for men, especially in defining their place within the nationstate. The media bridge the distance between the Indonesian central government and its
constituents by publishing the government’s propaganda for development and the
people’s grievances.
Craig claims that the reason for “the rise of lifestyle journalism” in Australia is “the
increasing media focus on everyday life”. 786 In a similar vein in Indonesia, the spirit of
Reform allows formerly taboo political and critical discourses to enter into everyday
conversations. The lifestyle magazines’ engagement in politics is their way of
mainstreaming politics for “ordinary” Indonesian men. The magazines are “lifestyling”
politics by demonstrating that men are governed by politics on a day-to-day basis, and
that national politics is a major interest of Indonesian men. The magazines are also
“politicizing” lifestyle by strategically designing representations of Indonesian men in
786
Geoffrey Craig, The Media, Politics, and Public Life (Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 2004), p.
206.
276
the content that symbolize power and empowerment.
The wealth, education,
profession, class, and of course the gender of these men, are all combined to construct
images of middle class Indonesian men as potential political contenders.
Profit is, of course, the main incentive to publish these magazines, but the way the
editors define Indonesian male citizens in the magazines is intelligible only by
deciphering the wider context of Indonesian society. I view the magazines as
constituting both a mirror and a response to Indonesia’s socio-political environment.
The magazines constitute a microcosm of Indonesian society, but according to a
particular version of middle class Indonesian men. The universe created within the
magazines locates middle class Indonesian men as a community that rules and
dominates. This way the magazines become an aspiration rather than merely a
reflection. The aspiration is that these young men are going to be given the opportunity
to contribute more, politically and professionally. The fact that the representations of
these middle class men are mostly of ‘pribumi’ or native Indonesians, rather than
Chinese Indonesians, and that there are almost no appearances of military men or civil
servants, reflects the particularity of this group of middle class men, and shows their
desire to diminish the domination of the other three groups of men (non-native
Indonesians, people working for the government, and military men).
These magazines employ a host of metaphors that indirectly express their masculine
challenge to the domination of the hegemonic masculinity of the state. They utilize
representations of race, ethnicity, class, status, professions, gender, age, female
sexuality, wealth, and history, among others, to deliver a message of the potential power
of the brotherhood that promises to be different from the power of their political father.
277
Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines, as a cultural phenomenon and cultural text, are
structured through constructions of difference. Hall argues that “‘difference’ matters
because it is essential to meaning; without it, meaning could not exist [italics in
original].” 787 He adds that “meaning depends on the difference between opposites,” and
“There is always a relation of power between the poles of binary opposition.” 788 I
demonstrated
these
binaries
in
my
thesis
through
my
discussions
of
brotherhood/fatherhood, erotica/pornography, representations of men/representations of
women.
I have demonstrated how lifestyle magazines have the capacity to reflect the political
energy of the brotherhood of middle class Indonesian men against the domination of the
fatherhood of the state. In fact, the rise of minority media is the political expression of
the groups of brothers. The lifestyle magazines as a genre and text are expressions of
political involvement. This does not necessarily mean that the discourse of the
magazines is expressly political. Political discourse in the magazines is a discourse of
participation and a discourse of sharing among the brothers who are not consulted in
other mass media like current affairs magazines or newspapers. This participation is
translated as democracy and freedom of speech. It breaks the ‘floating mass’ image by
involving mostly non-political Indonesian men in commentary on the condition of their
country.
During the pornography debate, the magazines established their publication as highbrow art, as opposed to the low-brow tabloids. These magazines imply that they have
the aesthetics of an erotic work of art, not of pornography. They also distinguish
themselves according to class through their relatively high price. According to the
787
Stuart Hall, “The Spectacle of the ‘Other’” in Representation. Cultural Representations and Signifying
Practices, Stuart Hall, ed. (London; Thousand Oaks; New Delhi: Sage Publication, 1997), p. 234.
788
Stuart Hall, “The Spectacle of the ‘Other’”, p. 235.
278
editors’ defence, the target audience of these magazines is young male executives with a
proper level of education to handle material of a sexually explicit nature. In this way,
the young male executives are perceived to be mature − not because of their age, but
because of their high social class and education. Lower class males who are targeted by
cheap tabloids are infantilised because it is perceived that their low social class and lack
of education render them susceptible to pornographic material.
Representations of women in the magazines are evidence of the politics of a gender
binary. Women are represented as the “bodies” to emphasize men’s representations as
the “minds”. Women are symbols of beauty, but they can also be used as metaphors of a
nation. Actually, by empowering women, men are empowering the nation, and
eventually they are empowering themselves in the face of social injustice in Indonesian
society. Unfortunately this is not the case in these magazines. In all of these magazines,
representations of women are used to support men’s power rather than suggesting that
women can be men’s partner in challenging the hegemony of the state. Although
representations of women predominate visually, women are consistently marginalized
as a gender and as citizens, while representations of men are central.
Men’s lifestyle magazines as a cultural phenomenon and cultural text capitalize on the
idea of being different to express the notion that they are not part of the hegemonic
establishment. Being different does not necessarily mean that the magazines locate
themselves as the polar opposite to the establishment. The phenomenon of Indonesian
media after 1998 is more akin to a democratic palette that offers a wider selection of
ideological colours to choose from. The difference can therefore be read as a nonoppositional challenge. The magazines focus on a niche market rather than the mass
market. The magazines construct a select middle class group that translates into
279
exclusivism rather than a minority status. The magazines make it clear that they are
different but they are not a marginal subculture.
This thesis started with masculinity theories that describe how social conflicts are
mostly masculinity struggles in an effort to secure leadership positions. Chapter Three
continued with how these masculinity struggles are evident in Indonesian history
through the metaphor of the family as nation: the father-son conflict eventually led to
the breaking free of the sons to become a band of brothers during the post-Suharto
Reform era. All the while, these masculine dynamics are expressed in the media, as both
hegemonic and subordinated masculinities try to make use of the media for their own
benefit. The chapters that follow explored the magazines as a case study and found that
the magazines reverse the social status of middle class Indonesian men. These men
occupy the central position and the father/state is criticized so that those who are
dominant in society are symbolically marginalized in the magazines. Finally I conclude
that the brotherhood of middle class Indonesian men is a powerful intellectual weapon
for the future, should the father/state become unbearable. The fight for independence
and the May riot in 1998 have proven this. Observing the representations of this middle
class closely through the lifestyle magazines provides a rich insight into the art of
resistance and the skill required to express challenge within the perimeters of the law.
In this thesis, I have deconstructed masculinities in Indonesian society and their
representation in Indonesian men’s lifestyle magazines. I sincerely hope that this thesis
will open further discussion and further research, which will consult the readers and
delve into the creative process of magazine publication.
280
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