[071222] SEX SEX SEX SEX

a.k.a. PLEASE stop talking (only) about the extramarital sex ban

TLDR: Through the Indonesian lens, focusing on the ban against extramarital sex diminishes the importance of challenging the KUHP to a frivolous leftist movement. In this sense, the hyper-focus on sex does nothing but decrease the negotiating power of people and activists engaging directly with challenging the KUHP.

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Hello Internet,

Long time no see. Don’t we all love the subject line of the newsletter today? 

I’m just trying to copy the way Western media outlets are headlining Indonesia’s recent ratification of the new criminal code, also known as the Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana (KUHP). The new revisions won’t be implemented for another three years and multiple parts are expected to be challenged in court. I won’t go into the KUHP itself—that’s the job of my sexy media/policy friends, and I have long left that space—but I wanted to briefly spotlight how the changes to this criminal code has been written about.

Here’s what we’ll cover: 

(a) why the extramarital sex debacle isn’t my top priority,
(b) harmful Western approaches to coverage of global issues,
(c) how the hyper-focus on extramarital sex diminishes efforts to challenge the bill,
(d) educated awareness > performative awareness,
… and more!

If you don’t know what’s happening, here’s a quick summary: the new Indonesian criminal code (KUHP) that has been in effect since colonial rule was just passed, and there are multiple revisions that experts deem extremely concerning. These revisions include increased leniency on perpetrators of corruption, bans insulting the president, prohibits spreading views that counter state ideology, prohibits opposite-sex cohabitation¹, and yes for the love of God, it outlaws extramarital sex. 

But Faye, you cry, Why don’t you sound concerned about the extramarital sex ban?

Dear reader, extramarital sex has been outlawed in Indonesia for longer than I’ve been alive, it’s just that it was always focused on banning adultery rather than pre-marital sex. The issue falls under zina or perzinaan, an Islamic legal term referring to sexual intercourse considered unlawful. As far as I’ve read, the new KUHP changes the definition of zina from exclusively adultery to include extramarital sex as well. 

That’s terrible, you say, I still don’t understand why you’re not concerned!

Well I am concerned, it’s just that there’s more to this part of the law than people seem to cover. Under the new and previous criminal code, there are only two parties who can report extramarital sex: (a) the perpetrator’s spouse, or (b) the perpetrator’s parent or child. 

That’s still awful, you insist.

For sure! No one said it wasn’t, only that the way this change has been covered is as if the police are going to be monitoring your bedrooms to make sure you’re not getting railed outside of marriage. The government has emphasized that the municipal police (Satpol PP) cannot conduct morality raids linked to accusations of extramarital sex.

That makes sense, you say, and stop trying to be combative. Mostly because I tire of this format and I want to get back to my own point.

Now that we have the sex-related part of the policy out of the way, let’s get to why I am burning in adolescent fury when I should be listening in my introductory computer science class (sorry, Professor Friedman).

Take a look at this Instagram post by an NZ-based account. The Instagram infographic industry is its own interesting phenomenon, but notice how the account mentions Bali in the first sentence. It’s almost like… they have to relate every issue to themselves and their audience in order to feel any empathy for the situation. The Westerner’s equivalent of “I can’t be sexist because I have a sister!” or whatever. 

(If you’re a tourist, who is going to report you for engaging in extramarital sex? I recognize that’s not always a valid argument – we don’t want to encourage selective enforcement of this policy. However, in the case of examining media biases, the question crucially asks how and why people are consuming the information they are given.

But I won’t visit a country that doesn’t respect the right of people to engage in extramarital sex! You protest, rising up from the depths of hell to show how your absence from Bali will save all Indonesian sinners.

Great! Don’t come! 

I’m kidding. Kind of. What I mean is, although boycotting can be an effective way to voice your discomfort for certain issues, I’m not sure how that would be the right answer to this situation. If people really did care about human rights, Bali and thousands of other tourist destinations across the globe would have broken down years ago. 

If you don’t want to visit, that’s fine! There are, however, more effective ways to support local organizations and protest parts of this criminal code rather than talking shit online.)

This is not to say that Westerners can’t care about things happening outside their own country, it just means they might need to read a little more than four slides of text before bringing their righteous indignation into the comments section. 

Although they note that there are only two potential reporters and that there are other revisions to the criminal code, they don’t seem to understand the social context or climate of Indonesia enough to extend care beyond what could affect them. I hold the humble opinion that you can’t care about something if you don’t understand it, and choosing to consume news by Westerners for Westerners is not always the best way to consume news about non-Westerners.

This Instagram infographic is not alone – when you search up KUHP or the new Indonesian criminal code online, all that comes up are headlines upon headlines of Indonesia banning extramarital sex (except for the Financial Times, so shoutout to Mercedes Ruehl). Some of these articles are just plain wrong – this NPR-published article, along with an ABC article shown below, claim that adultery was just banned. 

Far worse is the scene on social media – I’ve been incessantly sent TikTok videos and Instagram posts titled This country just banned extramarital sex! and other headlines similar to that. At least with the articles, they sometimes manage to get the meat of the topic correct. With social media, I somehow don’t have the same faith. The utility of social media awareness can be debated another time – in some cases, they can be drivers of widespread social change. However, in this case, they seem to drive misinformation while lacking depth to facilitate informed action.

The issue here is two-fold, driven by clickbait culture and Western narratives. When Western media outlets highlight what they perceive to be the biggest issue based on their perspectives to drive clickbait and viewership, they fail to acknowledge nuance of the issue and how their coverage impacts Indonesia. 

Don’t the headlines help raise awareness? You argue, appearing again for no reason except the fact that I need to drive my point home.

Through the Indonesian lens, focusing on the ban against extramarital sex diminishes the importance of challenging the KUHP to a frivolous leftist movement. Obviously that’s not inherently bad, but Indonesia doesn’t exactly have the best history with leftism, and so such an approach will not settle well with many Indonesian authorities. In this sense, the hyper-focus on sex does nothing but decrease the negotiating power of people and activists engaging directly with challenging the KUHP.

Furthermore, the KUHP has revisions that may be a step forward (albeit small) in some respects, such as revisions that add exceptions to abortions, aligning itself with the 2004 Law on Medical Practice. Although abortion is still banned, this allows abortions for victims of rape or women facing life-threatening medical conditions, provided the fetus is less than 12 weeks old. Perhaps still not ideal, but much more lenient than many US states. That said, I’m not here to break down the KUHP, so let’s move on.

Only acknowledging the negative aspects of the KUHP (of which there are many), risks ignoring the nuances that could guide how the KUHP is perceived and discussed. 

Yes, your awareness is important – but it is the educated awareness we need, not your performative awareness towards international issues that barely scratches the surface. 

This is all not to say local media outlets are perfect — dear Lord, they’re not. That could be a series on its own related to clickbait culture. In this case, what is more apparent is the Western obsession with reinforcing the harmful narratives of regressing “third world” countries.

I can’t say we haven’t seen developments in Indonesian law that feel regressive. Trust me, this country can suck. However, I do believe (perhaps too idealistically) that the media has a responsibility to recognize and understand how cultural relativism can impact national policies. 

The KUHP sucks massive ass. The least we can do is cover and consume it properly, in a way that does not reinforce Western narratives on the nature of “third world” countries. 

Until the next time finals stress me out enough to word-dump like this,

Faye S

P.S. Feel free to comment your thoughts/questions/concerns below! Would love to hear everyone’s thoughts on the matter.

P.P.S. Liking my newsletter gives me a lot of much-needed validation (LOL) and helps me to know what you want to read!

1. Yeah, I’m just as surprised that this part hasn’t been used nearly as much to hoard clicks out of readers. If you’re curious, the valid reporters for this “crime” are the same as extramarital sex — a parent, spouse, or child of the perpetrator.