On the Public Intimacy of the New Order: Images of Women in the Popular Indonesian Print

Media
Author(s): Suzanne Brenner
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Indonesia, No. 67 (Apr., 1999), pp. 13-37
Published by: Southeast Asia Program Publications at Cornell University
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 ON THE PUBLIC INTIMACY
OF THE NEW ORDER:
IMAGESOF WOMEN IN THE
POPULAR INDONESIAN PRINT
MEDIA

Suzanne Brenner*

... [I]t indeed appears that 1959 will be a very importantyear forall aspects
oflifein oursociety,includinghouseholdmatters, whichin thepastwerealways
seenas trivial,
receivinglittle
attention from
either thepeoplethemselvesor from
theGovernment. Therevolutionary that all
spirit pervades ofsociety should
also touch
theaffairs the
of household, which must be in a
improved revolutionary manner as
well. In thisway we willbe able to takestepstowardimprovingfamilylifeand
achievingthegoals ofthePeople,tohave a Nationthatis justand prosperous.1
This passage appeared in the magazine Trisula(Trident),stylingitselfin bold
lettersas MadjalahUntukWanitaBerdjoang-the MagazineforWomenFighting[forthe
*I am gratefultoBenedict Anderson,F. G. Bailey,DeborahHomsher, TanyaLuhrmann, MichaelMeeker,
Melford Spiro,MarySteedly,andAnnaTsingforreadingandcommenting on earlierversionsofthispaper.
1 S. Kartowijono, "MariBantulahPekanRumahTangga!"(Let'sHelp withHouseholdWeek!),Trisula9,4
(April1959),p. 7. Emphasisinoriginal.
Theoriginal reads:"Sdr2.,nampaknyamemangtahun1959
merupakan tahunjangsangatpentingbagiseluruhsegikehidupan termasuk
masjarakat, urusanrumah
tangga, jangdahuluselaludipandangsoaljangremdh, jangkurangmendapatperhatian, baikdari
masjarakatsendiri,maupundaripada Pemerintah. Semangat revolusioner
jangmeliputi seluruhmasjarakat
hendaknja djugamenjentuh urusanrumah tangga, jang harus diperbaiki revolusioner
setjara pula. Dengan
demikiandapatkitamelangkah kearahperbaikan kehidupankeluargadan tertjapailah tjita2Bangsa,jaitu
memiliki Negarajangadildanmakmur."

Indonesia67 (April1999)
14 Suzanne Brenner

Revolution].2Set amid cheerfulads forBlue Band margarine, Pepsodenttoothpaste,

and cod-liveroil,thearticlesin thisissueofTrisularangefromstrongpleas to "Return
to theSpiritofthe1945Struggle"(Kembali keSemangat perdjoangan1945),echoingthe
contemporary rhetoric of the Sukarno regime, to a discussionof Home Economics
instruction in theUnitedStatesand a columnon hairstyling. An editorialin thenext
issue (May 1959)sharplycriticizes theLegislativeAssembly(DPR) forfailingto pass
the much-debatedand anticipatedMarriageLaws (Undang-Undang Perkawinan); the
writersees thisfailureas "a clearexampleof how our LegislativeAssemblyis now
unable to accommodatethewill of thepeople [satutjontoh jang djelasbetapaD. P. R.
kitasekarang kurangmampumenampung kehendakrakjat]by givingsatisfaction to the
aspirations that have long been held by women."3 Should Trisula's readers seek
diversionfrompoliticalmatters, however,theycouldeasilyturnto articleswithtitles
like "StillBeautifulat an AdvancedAge" (p. 28) and "PanelDiscussionaboutFamily
Happiness." (p. 31)
Froma post-NewOrderperspective,thisjuxtapositionof politicalrhetoricand
criticismwithtipson runningthehouseholdand personalgroominglooksquiteodd.
Farfromurgingwomentoengageinpoliticalstruggle, thepopularwomen'smagazines
oftheNew Orderperiodreinforced theSuhartoregime'sunceasingefforts tocreatean
image of a stable,harmonious,prosperoussociety built on a foundation of moral,
families.
apolitical,middle-class Thewarlikeimageevokedbythethree-pronged spear,
trisula,was replaced by softer,more feminineimages of womanhood. Calls for
politiciansto heed thewillofthepeople,and forthepeopleto continuetherevolution
bothin and outsidetheirown homes,wereconspicuously absentin thepages ofsuch
popularNew Ordermagazinesas Femina, and Sarinah.
Kartini, The New Orderfamily,
like the government party Golkar, was portrayed not as a politicalentitybut as a
functionalunit,a partof thenationalwhole,thatwas entrustedwithguardingthe
security,morality,and well-beingofitsmembers and ofthenationat large.
The resolutelyapoliticaltoneof thesemagazines,however,merelydisguisesthe
extentto whichthestatereliedon theideologicalcontrolofwomenand thefamily-
thetwoalmostalwaysbeinglinkedin popularand statediscourse-as one ofthekeys
to implementingits social, economic,and ultimatelypolitical,agendas. I am not
arguingthatpopularmagazinesin theNew Orderexistedsolelytospreadgovernment
propaganda,or thatthestatewas theonlypartyinvolvedin promoting conservative
agendas for women and families.I would suggest,however, that the policies and
practicesoftheNew Orderregimesetthetoneforwhatcould or could notbe said-
and even whatshouldbe said-in printas well as in otherformsof mass media,and
thatthisshaped theimagesofwomenand thefamilythatwere disseminatedto the
Indonesianpublic.

2 Trisulawas publishedbyPERWARI(PersatuanWanita
RepublikIndonesia,orOrganization of
IndonesianWomen).According toSukantiSuryochondro, PERWARIwas createdin 1945whentwoearlier
women'sorganizations, WANI(WanitaIndonesia)and PERWANI(Persatuan WanitaIndonesia)combined
withthegoalofcreating an associationdedicatedtosocialjusticeandhumanitarianism.
Sukanti
Suryochondro, "Timbulnya danPerkembangan GerakanWanitadi Indonesia"(Theemergence and
development ofwomen'smovements inIndonesia),
inKajianWanita dalamPembangunan(StudiesonWomen
inDevelopment), ed. T. 0. Ihromi(Jakarta:YayasanOborIndonesia,1995),p. 46.
3 Trisula9,5,p. 5.
 On thePublicIntimacyof the New Order 15

In recentyears feministscholarshave paid considerableattentionto the New

Order state's genderideologiesand policies forwomen,theirsocial and political
implications, and thewaysin whichtheyinfluenced publicrepresentationsofwomen,
includingtheportrayal in In
ofwomenand genderrelations themassmedia. herarticle
"GenderDiscourseon Television,"forinstance,SaraswatiSunindyoassertsthatthe
state-ownedtelevisionnetworkTVRI (TelevisiRepublikIndonesia) promotedthe
conservativegenderideologies of the New Order regime.4These ideologies,she
believes,strengthened patriarchy in Indonesiansocietyand reinforced theidea thata
woman'sprimary rolesare domesticones. She citesthePanca DharmaWanita,or five
duties of women, that were repeatedlypropagated throughstate-runwomen's
organizations:"Accordingto these,a wife'srole is to supportherhusband,provide
offspring, careforand rearthechildren, be a good housekeeper,and be theguardianof
the community."5 The impactof thesepreceptswas enhancedby the cinetron, or
televisiondramas,produced and aired by TVRI, which functionedas part of the
state's ideologicalapparatus.6Similarly, in "The Stateand Sexualityin New Order
Indonesia,"JuliaSuryakusuma highlights theregime'seffortsto fosterwhatshe calls
"'State Ibuism,'whichdefineswomen as appendages of theirhusbands and casts
female dependency as ideal."7 She, too, sees the government-runwomen's
organizationsas having played a key role in the promulgationof this ideology,
particularly DharmaWanita(Women'sDuty,a largeorganization forthewivesofcivil
servants)and thevillage-and neighborhood-based PKK (PembinaanKesejahteraan
Keluarga,or FamilyWelfareGuidance). StateIbuism,she maintains,"is part and
parcelofthebureaucratic state'sefforttoexercisecontroloverIndonesiansociety."8
Whileitis moredifficult todocumenttheimpactofthestate'sgenderideologieson
formsof mass media and other social domains not directlycontrolledby the
government,there is broad agreementamong scholars who have studied the
representation of women in the media and elsewherethatthe New Order state's
policies toward womenhad a markedinfluenceon public discoursessurrounding
womenand gender.9Evenifthestatedid notgo so faras to dictatehow womencould
be portrayedin themedia,itsmessageslinkinggood citizenshipforwomento good
domesticqualitieswereomnipresent.
A close readingofthepopularprintmediarevealsa good deal abouthow women
and the familybecame the focus of national narrativesof development and
modernization in theNew Order,as well as ofpersistent anxietiesunderlyingthose

4 SaraswatiSunindyo,"GenderDiscourseon Television," andSociety

in Culture inNewOrderIndonesia,
ed. VirginiaMathesonHooker(Kuala Lumpur:OxfordUniversity Press,1993),pp. 134-48.TVRI,she
notes,was theonlytelevision network
operating in thecountryuntil1989.
5 Ibid.,p. 135.
6 Ibid.,p. 134.
7 JuliaSuryakusuma, "TheStateand Sexualityin New OrderIndonesia,"in Fantasizing theFemininein
Indonesia, ed. LaurieJ.Sears(Durham,NC: DukeUniversity Press,1996),p. 98.
8 Ibid.,p. 102.
9 Otherdiscussions ofthisissuearefound,forexample,inSaraswatiSunindyo, "Murder, Gender,and the
Media:SexualizingPoliticsand Violence,"in Sears,ed.,FantasizingtheFeminine inIndonesia,
pp. 120-39,
and in Diane Wolf,Factory Gender,
Daughters: Household Dynamics,andRuralIndustrialization inJava
(Berkeley: Universityof California 1992).
Press,
16 Suzanne Brenner

narratives.Thislinkbetweennarratives ofnation-buildingand thefamilywas notnew;

one sees thatconnection beingmade,forexample,in thepassage fromTrisulaquoted
at thebeginningofthisarticle.Whatdistinguished theNew Orderfromthepreceding
era,though,was theextenttowhichtheconcernwiththeintimate sphereofthefamily
came to replacean activepoliticsof thepublicsphere-a pointto whichI will return
later.The affairs ofthefamily,moreover, wereincreasingly redefinedas publicrather
thanprivatematters,makingthe familyitselfthe groundupon whichideological
contestsoverthenation'sfuture werewaged.
My aimin thisarticleis toexplorehowrepresentations ofwomenand thefamilyin
thepopularprintmediaoftheNew Orderweredeployedin theongoingstruggleto
define the nation's identityand agendas for modernization(or "development"
[pembangunan], thepreferred buzzwordof thestate).10 The rapidpace of social and
economictransformation duringthethirty-plusyearsoftheSuhartoregimeturnedthe
mass mediaintoa centralarenaforthedisplayofchanginglifestyles and debateover
variouspossibilitiesforthenation'sfuture.Throughthemedia,theoftenconflicting
forcesat play in Indonesiansocietyduringthis period were packaged formass
consumption;theseincludethe rise of capitalismand consumerism, globalization,
Islamization,bureaucratization, and thepenetration ofthestateintoalmostall areas
of sociallife.I wishto focushereon an aspectoftheprintmediathatI have foundto
be especiallyrevealingofthetensions, and ideologicalcontestations
uncertainties, that
permeatedIndonesiansocietyfromthe New Order's inceptionin the mid-1960s
throughits recentdemise (and which continuetoday): the representation of the
imagined transition from "tradition"to "modernity," especiallyas it is depicted
through thefigures ofwomenand thefamily.
As RitaFelskiwrites,
Accountsofthemodemage ... typically achievesomekindofformalcoherence
by dramatizing and personifying historical
processes;individualor collective
humansubjectsare endowedwithsymbolicimportance as exemplary bearersof
temporalmeaning.Whether thesesubjectsarepresumedtobe maleorfemalehas
important consequencesfor thekindofnarrative thatunfolds."
I willproposeherethatimagesofwomenmorethanmenhavebeenused to signify the
transition fromtraditionto modernity, and thatthishas its own significance in the
Indonesiancontext.12

A Worldofall Choices
The periodsincetheearly1970shas witnessedan explosionoftheprintmedia in
Indonesia. The rise in the publicationand consumptionof printmedia duringthe New

10On theideologicalimportanceofthemassmediaand theapparatuses ofthestateforcreating an

Indonesiannationalculture,
see KeithFoulcher,"TheConstructionofan IndonesianNationalCulture:
ofHegemonyandResistance,"
Patterns inStateandCivilSociety
inIndonesia,
ed. AriefBudiman(Clayton:
MonashUniversity CentreofSoutheastAsianStudies,1990),pp. 301-20.
11RitaFelski,TheGender ofModernity(Cambridge: HarvardUniversityPress,1995),p. 1.
12Although I amconcentrating
onmediapublished duringtheNewOrder,throughout thisarticle
I willuse
thepresenttensetorefertogeneralfeatures
ofthesepublications.
 On the PublicIntimacyofthe New Order 17

Orderperiodwas fostered by thegrowingimportance

by increasedliteracyrates,13 of
the mass media in daily life,14and by the expansionof a middle class with the
financialmeansto purchasethesepublications, whichcan be quiteexpensiveby local
standards.15In representing theIndonesiannationto itself,thepopularprintmedia
reveal a public fascinationwiththe questionof what it means to be modern,and
whetheror notIndonesiansare on therightpathtowardtherightkindofmodernity.
Popular magazines,tabloids,newspapers,and books offerdiversepossibilitiesfor
modernity toconsumers form.Atthesametime,theproliferation
in easilydigestible of
choiceshas propelledtheprintmedia's own expansion,forthereappears to be an
unquenchablethirst in Indonesiaforinformation regardingthelatesttrendsdeveloping
bothdomestically and abroad.
Althoughtheprintmediatargeta readership consistingofbothwomenand men,it
is the images of women thatstand out in their diversity.Photographicand textual
images of women,morethanthoseof men,serveas symbolicrepresentations of a
burgeoning consumer of
culture; the growing Islamic movement; or ofthemoral deficits
ofmodemsociety.Womennotonlyparticipate fullyin theprocessesofsocial change
is
thatIndonesia undergoing, they also signifythose processes.Popularperiodicalsand
books bombardtheirreaderswith a barrageof visual and verbal images of "the
modemIndonesianwoman"in hermanyincarnations: as happyconsumer-housewife,
devotedfollowerofIslam,successfulcareerwoman,modelcitizenofthenation-state,
and alluringsexsymbol.Takentogether, theseimagesoffer womena bewildering array
oflifestyle manyofthemtoutedas theideal fortheenlightened
possibilities, modern
womanas she emergesfromthenarrowconfinesoftraditional To an extent
society.16
13According toonesource,thepercentage ofIndonesians and olderwhocouldreadand writein
age fifteen
1997was 83.8percent(89.6percent ofmalesand 78percent offemales). Source:CentralIntelligence
Agency,TheWorldFactbook 1998.
14TheCentralBureauofStatistics (BadanPusatStatistik) oftheRepublicofIndonesiaindicatesthatthe
percentage oftheIndonesian populationage tenyearsandolderwhoreadnewspapers and/ormagazines
in 1997was 22.83percent. 59.17percentweresaid tolistento radioand 78.22percenttowatchtelevision.
Source:BadanPusatStatistik HomePage,statistical information on "AccesstoMass Media."
15In latesummer1996,forinstance, an averagemagazine(e.g.,Kartini, Amanah, Tiras,orPopular)cost
betweenRp 5000and Rp 7000,oraroundtwoUS dollars-morethansomeworkers earnedforan entire
day's work. Thebrisk trade insecond-hand magazines, however, makes them availabletosomepeoplewho
might notbe abletoafford themnew.
16Thepreoccupation withmodernity is nota recent phenomenon inIndonesia;thevisionofIndonesian
societystanding at the threshold ofa modern era has beena dominant sincetheearlytwentieth
motif
century.Benedict Anderson hasnoted,forexample,thata significant numberofIndonesian newspapers and
periodicalsfromthefirst quarterofthiscentury containintheirtitleswordssuggesting radiantlight-sun,
flame,torch, ordawn,forexample-symbolizing a transition
fromthedarkness and ignorance ofthepastto
thebrightness and fullwakefulness ofa newera.Benedict Anderson, "A TimeofDarknessand a Timeof
Light:Transposition in EarlyIndonesianNationalist Thought," in B. Anderson,Language andPower:
Exploring PoliticalCultures inIndonesia (Ithaca:CornellUniversity Press,1990),p. 243,esp. fn.6. It was at
thistimeas well,as KenjiTsuchiyapointsout,thattheDutchwordmodern begantobe usedwidelyamong
nationalistleadersandyoungpeopletoexpresstheconceptofa better forthecolonizedpeopleofthe
future
Indies.KenjiTsuchiya, "Javanology and theAgeofRanggawarsita: An IntroductiontoNineteenth-Century
JavaneseCulture,"in Reading Southeast Asia,ed. TakashiShiraishi(Ithaca:CornellSoutheastAsia
Program, 1990),p. 76.One ofthesepeoplewas RadenAdjengKartini(1879-1904), theyoungJavanese
whoeventually
aristocrat earneda reputation, basedonherposthumously publishedletters,as an early
Indonesiannationalist and feminist. Drawingon herDutcheducationand exposuretoliberalDutchideas,
Kartiniwroteattheturnofthecentury (inDutch)ofherfervent dreamsfora new,modemsociety. The
18 Suzanne Brenner

unprecedentedin Indonesianhistory,New Orderwomen-especiallymiddle-and

upper-class,urban women-were presentedwith choices fromamong various
"modern"lifestyles, sometimessharplycontrasting witheach other.These choices
werenotjustseen as individual choices,but as choicesthatwould have a bearingon
theveryfuture ofIndonesiansociety.
One mightargue,in fact,thattheperception ofthesemultipleoptionsconstitutes
one oftheessentialfeatures of"modernity" itself.Whiletheconceptencodesa variety
of meaningsboth withinand across nationalboundaries,17 modernity tendsto be
conceivedof,particularly in societieswhosemembersare notquitecertainofhaving
fullyattainedthe statusof "modern,"as a junctureat whichthe conventionsand
restrictions of traditionalsocietygive way to a vast new world of possibilitiesfor
living.Inherentin theidea ofmodernity is a breakwithtradition-thebeliefthatthe
courseof thefutureis notcontainedin thereceivedwisdomor practicesof thepast,
but mustbe forgedthroughdeliberate,self-reflective, and perhapsunprecedented
choicesand actionstakenin thepresent.18
I takemodernity, like tradition, less as an empiricalgiventhanas a tropethatis
shapedby specific historical and politicalcircumstances. If"tradition" is a convenient
figurethatstandsforthecomforts as well as theconstraints of a way oflifehanded
down (or at least imaginedto have been handed down) frompast generations, then
"modernity" denotes a way of life that brings with itboth the luxuriesand burdensof
having to choose new avenues for As the
living. ideologies, tropes of traditionand
modernity constantly play offone another.Whentradition is glorified,
modernity is
depicted as a threat to the sanctity, stability,and safety of the old ways. When
modernity is glorified,it is portrayedas thewelcomeantidoteto thestifling gripof
past generations on the present. In the of
politics representation, conceptionsof
these
modernity and traditionmaybe invokedto supporteitherconservativeagendas or
demandsforchange-or, quitefrequently, a combination ofboth,as one sees in the
Suhartoregime'sperpetualpush formodernization at thesame timethatit sought
legitimacyand social and political stabilityin a reconstructedtradition.The
manipulationofthefiguresoftradition and modernity is all themorepotentwhena
societyenvisionsitself,collectivelyand self-consciously, as standingpoised at the
thresholdofmodernity, withone footthroughthedoor.One cannotgo back,yetto go

imagery ofthedarknessoftradition givingwaytothelightofmodernity is verymuchpresent inKartini's

correspondence. See JoostCote,trans.,LettersfromKartini: AnIndonesian 1900-1904
Feminist, (Clayton:
MonashUniversity Asia Institute,1992).
17JamesFaubionobservesthatthenotionof is vagueand fraught withambiguities; he
further,
modernity
notesthat"thetaskofbeingandbecoming modemis likelytobequitedifferent fromoneplacetothenext,
andhencethatmodernity itself
is likelytobe notonebutmanythings." JamesFaubion,"Possible
Modernities," CulturalAnthropology 3,4(1988):374.Lisa Rofel,too,arguesthatmodernity can onlybe
understood in itsparticularlocalsettings; that"thereis no singulartransnationalstandard"for
modernity. Lisa Rofel,"Rethinking Modernity: Spaceand Factory Disciplinein China,"Cultural
Anthropology 7,1 1992):93-114.
18Theconceptofmodernity "expresses theconvictionthatthefuture hasalreadybegun:Itis theepochthat
livesforthefuture, thatopensitself up tothenovelty ofthefuture." Jiirgen Habermas,ThePhilosophical
Discourse ofModernity: Twelve Lectures, trans.Frederick G. Lawrence (Cambridge: MIT Press,1987),p. 5.
See also PeterOsborne,ThePoliticsofTime:Modernity andAvant-Garde (London:Verso,1995).
 ofthe New Order
On the PublicIntimacy 19

behindone thosevaluesand waysoflifeassociated

forwardbringstheriskofshutting
withthecomforts ofthepast.
and foundations
The popularmedia play keyrolesin definingboththebenefitsand hazards that
modernity presents.Theydeliberatelybringtopublicconsciousness theproblemsoften
seentobe engendered bymodernity: the declineofmorality and ofa senseofcollective
the disintegration
social responsibility; of the family;and the replacementof time-
honoredvalues supposedlyrootedin indigenouscultureswithnew and potentially
dangerousvalues importedfromabroad.On theotherhand,mass communications,
includingprintmediaas wellas radio,film,and television, morethananything else are
responsibleforthedissemination ofideas aboutthegreatvarietyofpossibilitiesthat
modernity has to This
offer.19 is exemplifiedby a two-page,full-color advertisement
fora new shoppingmall in Jakartaappearingin the popular women's magazine
Femina,whichincludesthebold caption:"Beginningtoday,a worldof all choicesis
open to you" (Mulai hariini, dunia segalapilihanterbukauntukanda).20(Another
caption,surroundingthe insetpictureof the mall, says, in English,"A World of
Choices.")"Choice"heredoes notmeanthefreedomto takemoralresponsibility for
oneself,or liberationfrom oppressive traditions.It is, instead,the freedom to buy
whatevercommodities are availableat themall,provided,ofcourse,thatone has the
financialmeansto do so.
A comparisonof twomagazinecoversillustrates thediversityoflifestylechoices
thatarebeingoffered toIndonesianwomenwho wishtobe modern.In thefirst, a slim,
attractiveyoung woman sitscross-leggedon the floor,
postureerect,shoulders raised,
hands on hips,in an arrogantbut seductivepose. Her armsand shouldersbare,she
wearssilkyblackpantsand a verylow-cut,pale greenbodysuit.Withthick,glossyred
lips sensuouslyparted,eyebrowstweezedin a steep arch,long black hairblowing
back,she staresdirectlyand challengingly at thecamera,a hintof scornon herface.
Long rhinestoneearringsdangle almost to hercollarbone,glitteringin thelightand
adding to her sultryappearance. This photograph is found on the cover of the
magazineTiara:TheMagazineofBehavioral TrendsandInformation(Tiara:MajalahTrend
& Informasi Perilaku),which has an upbeat, decidedly Westernizedflavorto it,
featuringarticleslike "The Gay Lifestyle:The Way of Our Middle Class?", "The
Plusesand MinusesofMarrying a DivorcedMan,"and "Rodeo Drive:EliteShopping
DistrictofLos Angeles."21

19In hisbookon Indonesian cinema,forexample, KarlHeiderdiscussesthevarious"modelsfor

modernization" thatarepresented inpopularIndonesian films.Certainstylizedthemesand conflicts are
repeatedlyintroducedintofilmstorepresent thedilemmas bymodernization.
presented A central problem
thatthesefilmsfocuson,as Heiderseesit,is "howtomodernize andyetretainIndonesianidentity; howto
avoidtheperilsofexcessiveconservatism on theonehandand destructive Western-ness on theother."Karl
Heider,IndonesianCinema: NationalCultureonScreen(Honolulu:University ofHawaii Press,1991),p. 86.
20Femina21,8(February 25 - March3, 1993).Thisad forCitraLandMall includespicturesofa manin a
fashionablesuitopeninga bottleofchampagne; an expensive-looking
stereo/VCR system; twosmiling
womenwearingveryshortskirts and enjoying a drinkand conversationina restaurant; leatherhandbags
and shoes;a chicwomanina well-accessorized men'sdressshirtsand ties;a littlegirlhappily
outfit;
a
holding large stuffedanimal;and a of
picture the frontofthemodern-looking mall,whichhas a
McDonald'ssigndisplayedprominently onit.Although thepeoplepicturedinthead areIndonesian, the
imagesevokevisionsofan American-style consumer paradise.
21 Tiara72
(February13-27,1993).
20 Suzanne Brenner

In thesecondphotograph, a young,intelligent-lookingibusitswithheryoungson.
The twoofthemarelookingintently at a bookwithArabicwriting on thecover,which
they hold in
together frontof them. The woman wears a long-sleeved,loose,demure
blue dress or tunic trimmedwith white embroidery,her head, hair, and neck
completelycoveredwithclose-fitting cap and headscarfin modestIslamicstyle.She,
too,has glossyred lips thatare slightlyparted-notseductively, however;she seems,
rather,tobe readingaloud to theboyas he listensraptly.Her onlyvisiblejewelryis a
wedding ring,althoughher fingernails are paintedred and she wears tastefulbut
noticeableeye and facialmakeup.This pictureappears on a 1990 coverof Amanah
("message" or "mandate"),a magazinetargetedmainlyat middle-class,devoutbut
moderateMuslims.22
These magazine covers offertwo antitheticalvisions of modernIndonesian
womanhood.The firstwoman openlydisplaysher sexuality,her self-reliance, her
aggressiveness; the second quietlyexhibitsher Islamic pietyand education and her
nurturing,motherly Yet
qualities. the two picturesalso sharesomething in common:
each stands as a markeddeparturefrommoreconventionalimages of Indonesian
women,suggesting itsownwayofbeingmodem.
The woman in the revealing green bodysuit representssomeone who is
unquestionablyWesternized,blatantlydefyingcommonIndonesianstandardsof
"proper" behavior for females.This pictureis clearly modeled upon similarly
sexualizedimagesofwomenfromtheWesternmassmedia,suchas one mightfindon
thecoverof Cosmopolitan. The photographof devoutMuslimmotherand child,in
contrast,exaltsthosestandardsof moralityand proprietyforwomenthatthe first
photoflaunts;it,too,however,standsfora relatively new way oflifeforIndonesian
women.Untiltheearlyto mid-1980s, young,urban, educated women,likethewoman
representedhere,did not dressin thisIslamicstyle;almostall wore Western-style
clothing.To findsuch a pictureon the cover of a magazine aimed primarilyat
educated, middle-classreaders atteststo the growingpopularityof the Islamic
movement, whichoffersalternatives to theWesternized, consumer-orientedlifestyle
endorsedby Tiara.Despitetheirobviousdifferences, then,thesetwoimagesofwomen
bear witnessto the impactof globalizationon Indonesiansociety,forboth draw
heavilyon importedmodelsofhow a modemwomanshouldlookand behave.
Although both magazines are aimed primarilyat middle- to upper-class
consumers,theircoverimagesrepresentcompetingvisionsof modernity thatseem
to reconcile.The firstoffers
difficult an imageofmodernWestern-style "freedoms"-
freedomto consume,to indulgeone's desires,tobe assertiveand independent, evento
defylocal standardsof morality-whilethesecondpresentsan image of a modern
societybuilton Islamicvalues,wherefamiliescomefirst, and wherewomenfindtheir
fulfillmentnotin consumerism, in
nor thesatisfaction oftheirpersonaldesires,butin
motherhood and Islamic piety. While these images are diametricallyopposed, it is
probably safe to assume that formany Indonesian women the search for a modern
identityis farmore complicatedthaneitherimage suggestsand the messages thatthey
receivethroughthemedia farless clear.
22Amanah 116(December14-27,1990).Although Amanahis notstrictly
a women'smagazine,itscover
photographsarealmost
alwaysof women, and itincludes
features etc.)thatareaimedat a
fashion,
(recipes,
femaleaudience.
 On thePublic Intimacy
ofthe New Order 21

A morerecent(August1996)coverphotofromAmanah,in fact,almostseems to
meldtogether theearlierimagesfromTiaraand Amanahin a remarkable sexualization
ofIslamicwomanhood.23 a
Here, stunning model in her earlytwenties wearingheavy
makeup,rathergaudycostumejewelry,and a whitedressor tunicstuddedwithwhite
and gold beads staresdirectlyat the observerfrombeneatha gauzy white scarf
draped looselyoverherhead. Her hair,ears,and neckare all visible.Shinyred lips
open in a slightpout,thearchofhertweezedeyebrowspenciledin, she seemsto be
partingherheadscarfin a revealinggesture,as ifsheis aboutto removeit-the overall
effectcan perhapsbestbe describedas a "comehither"look.The provocativepose of
thismodelappearstolendsupport(unintentionally, one would presume)to one ofthe
feature articles:
"The Muslim Community Has Not Yet Becomea MoralForce"(Umat
IslamBelumJadiKekuatan Moral).However,as ifto reassurethereaderthatshe is a
suitablecovermodelfora magazineaimedat "familiesofhajisand [other]Indonesian
Muslims" (BacaanKeluargaHaji & MuslimIndonesia), a profileof thisfashionmodel
inside the magazine, with another ratherseductive-looking photograph,bears the
caption"Carolinealwaysremembers God" (Caroline SelaluIngatAllah).
To mymind,theapparently unproblematic blendingofMuslimpurityand Western
sexualityin a singleimageperfectly capturesthecontradictorymessagesand interests
ofthelateSuhartoera; it is quintessentiallyNew Order.The imageis even presented
as a "national"one: the backgroundbehindthe model's photographconsistsof a
drawingof the red-and-white Indonesianflagin honorof IndependenceDay that
month.One sees in theimagethedemandsofNew Ordercapitalismand thedesireof
Amanah's publisherstomakemoneybysellingmorecopiesat thenewsstand-Amanah
had by 1996becomea veryslickmagazinewithads forinstantcoffee("Tastesgood
blackorwhite"),wristwatches ("Fashionin Time"),and travelagenciesoffering deluxe
packages for the haj costingupward of US $6,000.The heightenedsexualityof
Amanah'scoverimageis commonto othermagazinesin thatperiod;a casual surveyof
Femina,forinstance, showsa distinct movement frominnocent-lookingcoverimagesin
themid 1970s(ofmothers, younggirls,models, or movie starsin demure attire,often
gazingdreamilyoffin thedistanceor smilingsweetlyat thecamera)towardfarmore
provocative,sexyposes in the1990s.The growthof theIslamicmovementfromthe
early1980son, it seems,did not curtailtheinfluenceof theWesternmass media in
Indonesia.One also sees in thelaterAmanahcoverthedegreeto whichat least some
segmentoftheIslamicmovementhad been tamedand "mainstreamed" by thattime,
presenting in
itself, as
effect, just another middle-class with
lifestyle its own glossy
magazines,glamorous covermodels, and fashionindustry.24
The mass media capitalized upon and contributedto the contradictionsthat
marked the New Order period. Behind the choices for modernityofferedto
Indonesians throughthe media has been a persistentpublic anxietyabout the
23 Amanah11,9
(August 1996).
24 By August 1996,Amanahhad done
away withitscolumns thatrequiredreadersto have a better-than-
average knowledgeofIslam (such as thoseon Islamicdoctrineor poetry),replacingthemwithregional
reportsand full-colorspreads on cookingand Islamicfashions,among otherthings.See ibid.,p. 11,forthe
editor'sexplanationof thereason foreliminatingthe "heavier" religiouslyorientedcolumns in favorof
lighterfeatures:"Our considerationwas thatthetargetaudience thatwe are aimingat is theupper-middle
class whose understandingof religionis stilljust barelyadequate" (... kalanganmenengah
atas yangtingkat
pemahaman masihpas-pasan).
keagamaannya
22 SuzanneBrenner

implicationsof thosechoicesforthefutureof thesociety.While thereseems to be

generalagreement thatmodemtechnology and educationarebeneficial and desirable,
in some conservativepublicdiscourseWestern-style modernity has been associated
withthedangersofextreme individualism, loosemorality, and secularism.Government
officialsand religiousleadershave oftenwarnedthe Indonesianpeople to borrow
selectivelyfromtheWest-thatis, not to importthebad withthegood. Modernity
may offera multitudeof choices,but some of thosechoicesare not "suitable"for
Indonesia,theyhavedeclared.Therisinginfluence oftheIslamicmovement has added
particularforce to these views; some ofitsfollowers believe thatIndonesians belongto
theglobalranksofMuslimpeopleswhohavebeenvictimized byWesternimperialism,
to
pointing examples of other Islamic countries for alternativesto Western-style
modernity.
Muchofthepublicangstovermodernization has focuseddirectly or indirectly
on
women,suggestingthatwomen's attitudesand behaviorare consideredcrucialin
determiningthe course thatIndonesianmodernitywill take. Women's sexuality,
domesticlife,and work life all serve as arenas in which symbolicbattles over
modernity are waged; a close look at popularimagesofwomenhelps to illuminate
how and whytheseseemingly personaldimensionsofwomen'slivesaretheobjectsof
so muchpublicconcern.
Why are women,more than men, viewed as the harbingersof the futureof
Indonesiansociety?As tradition and modernity areconceptualized, womentendtobe
identified as thekeepersoftradition and theguardiansofthoseinstitutions, domains,
values,and practicesthatare mostcloselylinkedto tradition.25 Thisdoes notconfine
themconceptuallyto thepast,however,because theirdutyis to maintaincontinuity
withtheimaginedmoralvalues of theancestralpast and to transmit themto future
generations. Particularly in theirroleas mothers, theyareconsideredtoholdthemoral
fateof the nationin theirhands. In contrast,men are typicallyenvisionedas the
pioneers of the economic, political, and social innovations associated with
modernization; theyarenotburdenedwiththemoralbaggageofthepastto theextent
that women are. This places the weightof maintaining"traditionalvalues" on
women's shoulders,even as theyare enjoinednot to hamperthenation'sprogress
towardmodernity throughexcessiveconservatism. As activecitizensofthestateand
major contributors to theIndonesian economy, New Order womenwereencouragedto
25Manyauthorswriting aboutcountries besidesIndonesiahavealso notedtheassociation ofwomenwith
traditionunderotherwise modernizing conditions.One exampleis KetuKatrak, whonotesthatinIndia,
theidea thatwomenaretheguardians oftraditionhasservedtoreify someofthemostregressive aspectsof
traditionand toreinforce an essentialized
visionofwomanhood.KetuKatrak,"IndianNationalism,
Gandhian'Satyagraha,' and Representations ofFemaleSexuality," in Nationalisms ed.
andSexualities,
AndrewParker, MaryRusso,DorisSommer, andPatriciaYaeger(NewYork:Routledge, 1992),pp. 395-
406.In an intriguing studyofthegendered aesthetics
associatedwithmodernization inEuropeand the
UnitedStatesfrom1830through the1980s,PennySparkeobservesthat"Entering intoand assimilating
modernity was ... forwomen,a muchmoregradualexperience [thanformen]foroneoftheirdutiesinthe
eraofmodernisation was toactas guardians ofthepast,maintaining a senseofcontinuitybykeepingone
footin thepre-industrial world.In thiswaytheyprovidedan anchortoensurethatmodernity was
encountered witha setofvaluesthatwas bothtriedand tested.Theinevitable conservatismthat
accompaniedthatrolecreatedan 'archaic'versionofmodernity whichbecameassociatedexclusively with
womenforwellovera century. " PennySparke,As Longas It'sPink:TheSexualPoliticsofTaste(London:
HarperCollins,1995),pp. 4-5.
 On the PublicIntimacyofthe New Order 23

participatein thegovernment's campaignto promotedevelopment, but onlyin ways

thatwould notinterfere withthestabilityofthefamilyor theirrolesas theguardians
of moralityand tradition.Whenwomenbehavein ways thatare notin keepingwith
theirassignedroleas theguardiansoftraditional norms,thisis seen tobode ill forthe
futureofthesociety.
Public discussionsabout the erosionof moralityoftenimplythatwomen have
failedto do theirpartin protecting
thesacredvaluesofthepastfromtheonslaughtof
thepresent.The mostcommonfigureforthedeclineofmorality, simultaneously seen
as theprimarycauseforand resultofthatdecline,is thebreakdownofthefamily.This
breakdown,in turn,is frequently attributedtowomen'srejectionoftheirproperroles
as wivesand mothers. Thisis notto say thatpublicdiscoursedenieswomentheright
to workoutsidethehomeor to occupyotherrolesbesidesthoseofwifeand mother;
Indonesianwomen,likewomenelsewherein SoutheastAsia,havebeen economically
and sociallyactiveoutsidethehome since earlyrecordedhistory,26 and thereis no
across-the-boardinsistencethatwomenconfinethemselves exclusivelyto thedomestic
domain.It would be moreaccurateto say thatwomenarebroadlyexpected,regardless
of theiractivitiesoutsidethehome,to put thewelfareof thefamilyabove all else,
providedthatthisdoes notinterfere withthegoals ofstateand society.

DilemmasoftheKarierWoman
One ofthechallengesfacedbyIndonesianwomentoday,as presentedby themass
media,is to be a modernwomanwithoutcompromising ofthefamilyor
theintegrity
one's essential
nature as
(kodrat) a woman. The choicesthat
modernity offersto women
pose theirown in
risks thisregard,as themedia make clear.One oftheissuesthatwas
raised again and again in New Order magazines,especiallythose geared toward
women,focusedon thequandariesofthe"CareerWoman"(wanitakarier). A seminar
was sponsoredin May 1991by thewomen'smagazineKartini, forexample,on "The
Successesand ProblemsoftheCareerWoman(DilemmasoftheModernEra)" (Sukses
danProblematika WanitaKarier[DilemadalamEraModern]).27 An advertisement forthe
seminarthatraninAmanahread:
In a societythatis rapidlymovingforward,variousissues emergeat life's
threshold and becomeproblemsthatrequireourcollectiveattention.One ofthem
is the appearanceof thecareerwoman,who untilnow remainsthe subjectof
debate.... Thisis a bigadvancement,
a rapidevolution.
On theotherhand,thechallengesaren'tminor:theirdual rolesas housewives
and workers,challengesfromtheirhusbandsor otherrelatives,and, just as
26In a surveyofSoutheastAsiansociety
from themid-fifteenth thelateseventeenth centuries,
through
Anthony ReidwritesthatinpartsofIndonesiaas wellas elsewhereintheregion,womenoftenworkedas
farmers, traders, and entertainers
artisans, in thisperiod;othersservedas soldiers,courtretainers,
and
politicalenvoys.Anthony Asiain theAgeofCommerce,
Reid,Southeast 1450-1680. Vol. 1, TheLandbelow
theWinds(New Haven:Yale University Press,1988),pp. 162-72.
27Notetheheavyuse ofEnglishloanwordsintheIndonesian title, thatthetopicis onethatis
suggesting
closelyassociatedwithWestern versionsofmodernity.
24 Suzanne Brenner

the temptation
important, to becomeinvolvedin extramarital affairs.This has
becomethesubjectofgossipin certaincircles.Butis thisreallyhow thingsare?28
The termwanitakarier, liketheEnglish"careerwoman,"does notsimplyreferto a
womanwho engagesin productiveactivitiesoutsidethehome.A womanwho earns
moneythroughtypesofworkthathave traditionally beenidentifiedas women'swork
(orbothwomen'sand meni's)invariouspartsofIndonesia-farming, craftproduction,
or tradingin the marketplace,forinstance-is usually not considereda "career
woman,"no matterhow muchmoneyshe earnsthrough hertrade.Nor does a factory
workeror a waitressqualifyas wanitakarier.
Sinceworkingoutsidethehomeis nothing
new forIndonesianwomen,nordoes itordinarily carrythestigmaforthemthatitdoes
forwomenin someotherpartsoftheIslamicworld,29 thenotionthatthisis both"a big
advancement"and a "subjectof debate"impliesthattheterm"careerwoman" has
specialconnotations. A careerwomanis someonewho does white-collar workin the
"modem"sectorsoftheeconomy.She mayworkas a businessexecutive, a secretary,a
lawyer,or a civilservant,among other What
professions. distinguishesher from other
women in the workforceis thatshe puts her energiesinto formsof workthatare
identifiedas modern,professional,generallyurban,and, in some cases, typically
masculine.She is thusa womanwithsomepower-power thatis independentofher
statusas wifeor mother,and whichestablishesherplace in a sectorofsocietythatis
removedfromtheconstraints of"tradition."
"Careerwoman,"in short,is an imported
concept that carries with it both the positive and negative associations of
Westernization.
As in Englishas well,thereis no maleequivalentof"careerwoman,"no specially
markedcategoryof"careerman"to designatemenwho workin themodernsector.In
modernIndonesiansociety,thereis nothingremarkable or problematic abouta man
who worksas a professional. A careerwoman,however,whilegenerallyadmiredfor
hersuccessfulentryintothemodernworld,is also seenas a potentialproblemforher
familyand forsociety.Thisis apparentfromthecontroversy overcareerwomencited
in thead fortheseminaron wanitakarier: herrole as careerwoman may come into
conflictwithherdutiesas wifeand mother.She maybecometoo absorbedwithher
work,at theexpenseoftimeand energythatoughtto be spenton herfamily.Worse,
herindependentlifestyle mightlead herintoextramarital liaisonsthatcould resultin
thebreakupofhermarriageand family. Thefearhereis thatshewillbecometoomuch
likethestereotyped Westernwoman-self-absorbed, overlyobsessedwithhercareer
(and thustoo muchlikea man),and,mostthreatening ofall,rampantlysexualoutside
thebondsofmatrimony.
Women are expectedto be, above all, the nurturersof theirfamiliesand the
bastionsof domesticlife,and theyshouldnotlet theircareersinterfere significantly
withthesefunctions, accordingto thepopularmedia.Becominga successfulcorporate
executive or a high-ranking governmentofficialdoes not abrogate a woman's
in thisregard.Similaranxietiesare almostneverdirectedtowardmen,
responsibilities
becausemenare expectedtobe, first and foremost, providersratherthannurturers for
28Amanah126,3
(May 3-16,1991).
29Fora detaileddiscussionofthehardships
facedbyworking
womeninCairo,forexample,see Arlene
MacLeod,Accommodating Protest: Women,
Working the
New andChangein Cairo(New York:
Veiling,
ColumbiaUniversity Press,1991).
 ofthe New Order
On the PublicIntimacy 25

theirfamiliesand,at thesametime,pillarsofeconomicdevelopment, bothrolesbeing

fullycompatible with professionalcareers.
Thepopularprintmedia,especiallywomen'smagazines,are fullofarticles,letters,
and storiesabout wanita karier-boththose who are seen as successes, happily
balancingcareerand familylife,as well as thosewho,itis suggested,have "gonetoo
far"withtheircareers.Large-print teaserson thefrontofmagazinesenticebuyerswith
phrases like "Involvedin Love at theOffice" Asmaradi Kantor,
(Terlibat Femina22,40,
October3-10,1994);"CareerWomenTroubledby Stress"(WanitaKarierRawanStres,
Sarinah277, May 31 -June13, 1993); "Men at the Office:Friendsor Foes?" (Pria di
KantorKawanatau Lawan,Femina19,17,May 2-8, 1991); and "Career Woman Go
Home" (WanitaKarierPulanglah, Amanah203,18 April18 - May 1, 1994).It is notable
thattheonlyone ofthesethatactuallytellscareerwomento "go home"comesfroma
magazine with an Islamic bent; the most insistentcalls forwomen to leave the
workplacehavecomefromconservative Islamicfactions,
eventhoughmanyIndonesian
Muslims,includingdevoutones,feelthatitis acceptableforwomentowork.However,
evensecularmagazineslikeFeminathatoffer handytipstoprofessionalwomenabout
to
how improve theircareers no
preyupon (and help create, doubt) the nagging
anxietiesoftheirreadersabouttheperilsofbeinga careerwoman.
Such fearsare not raised onlyin women'smagazines;theyare also commonin
newspapersand othermedia. An articlein theJakartadaily Kompascoveringthe
seminaron "The Successes and Problemsof the Career Woman" focused almost
exclusivelyon theproblemsthatcareerwomenfacein theirmarriagesas a resultofthe
affairsthattheyhave,or are assumedto have.30Accordingto thenewspaper,one of
thediscussantsat theseminar,EmhaAinunNadjib (a prominent Muslimwriterand
intellectual),
expressed his concern thatthe social,cultural, and moral controlsthat
mightkeep such affairsin checkwere becoming more as
fragile society becomesmore
modem.Anotherspeakercommentedthatsuch affairsviolatethevows of marriage,
and that"At theheartof an affairis a dishonestattitudeand a lack of respectfor
one'shusband,family, and religion."
A shortstorythatwas printedin Feminain 1993,titledsimply"Old-Fashioned"
(Kuno),highlights in caricaturetheproblemsthatcareerwomenare said to face.It
begins with the bold-faced caption:"Debby had becomeaware too late thatAdam,
herhusband,was an old-fashioned typeofmanwho wantedhis wifeto devoteherself
fullyto herfamily.Meanwhile, careerwas now quitegood."31The accompanying
her
is of an attractive
illustration but tiredand perturbed-looking woman,herlong hair
ratherdisheveled,resting herheadheavilyagainstherhand.Floatingabstractly behind
herare manyrupiahbills and a familyphotograph, its glass framein theprocessof
shattering.
Debby(whosenamealreadyidentifies heras someonewithWesterntendencies)is
a professionalsecretary. The storystartswithherhusbanddemandingto know,as he
30"Potensidan Tantangan bagiWanitaKarir"(Possibilitiesand ChallengesforCareerWomen).Kompas,
May 19,1991 (pagenumber not I
available). am to
grateful the fortheStudyand Development
Institute of
WomenandChildren (Lembaga Studidan Pengembangan Perempuan danAnak) in Yogyakarta makinga
for
copyofthisarticleavailabletomefromtheirfiles.
31Helyanti,"Kuno"(Old-fashioned) Femina21,8(February 25 - March3, 1993),p. 64.
26 Suzanne Brenner

picks her up fromwork,why she "always has to go everywherewithher [male]

boss."32An argumentensues (thefirstofmanyin thestory),as Debby,tiredfroma
longday ofwork,becomesirritated withAdam forhisjealousyand his unwillingness
to accept her professionalresponsibilities as a secretary. Later in the story,Adam
complains that Debby's skirt is too tight to wear to work, and warnsher,forthesake
ofherfamily, tobehaveproperly, as a secretary witha familyshouldbehave."Affairs
betweenbosses and secretaries havebecomea kindoftradition" antarabosdan
(Affair
sekretarissudah menjadisemacamtradisi),he comments,explainingto her why his
jealousy is justified."Justhavinga familyisn't enoughto guaranteethatan affair
won't happen."33Annoyedby Adam's attitude, Debbytellshimangrilyone day that
he shouldsee a psychologist. Adamreplies:
"I'm yourhusband,Deb. Whatkindofa wifeaccusesherhusbandofbeing
mentally ill,letalonetellshimtosee a psychologist! You'rea strangewife!"
Debby held back her tears.
"You're too fullof yourself, Deb! You're too proud of yourprofession.Of
your career. I know,you have a good career,you makea lotofmoney.Butwhat
kindofa manwantshisownwifetoopenlycompetewithhim?"34
The climax of the storyoccurswhen Debby and Adam's two young children
witnessan argumentbetweenthemand beg theirmothertearfully notto maketheir
fatherangry,forfearthatitwillcause thebreakupoftheirmarriage.Wistfully, Debby
recallsthehappierdaysofhermarriage. Slowly,itdawnsuponher:
It turnedout thatAdam was a conventional typeofman. An old-fashioned
man witha modernappearance.He wanteda wifewho would dedicate one
hundredpercentofherlifetoherfamily. Meanwhile,all thatshehad understood
fromAdam untilnow were his excessivefeelingsof suspicionand jealousy,
whichshe had harshlyregardedas psychological problems.Of coursethismust
have been painfulforAdam. A man of thattypewould be torturedifhe lived
witha wifewho had an activecareer[istriyangaktifberkarier].
Was Adam wrong? No, he wasn't wrong. He was the product of his
environment, whichhad shapedand carvedhimintoa conventional humanbeing
[manusiakonvensional] and I was too late in realizingit.35When Adam gave me
to
permission work, itwas surely with a heavyheart, not his freewill.At
and of
thattimehe was facedwiththefactthatthecostofrunninga householdwasn't
small. Especiallywhen thechildrencame along.Aftertheyhad sat down and
figuredit out,it turnedout thatAdam's incomealone wasn'tenough.Whenhe
(reluctantly) gave Debbypermissionto workand it turnedout thathis income
was muchsmallerthanhers,he was forcedto acceptthesituationas it was. But
that was two years ago. Now thingswere very different.Who should change?
Who should make a sacrifice?

32Ibid.
33Ibid.,p. 65.
34 Ibid.,p. 65.
35Thesuddenshiftfromthethirdpersontothefirst
person,andthenbackagain,occursintheoriginal
Indonesiantext.
 On the PublicIntimacy
ofthe New Order 27

Debbybecameawareforthefirsttimethatherfeelingsoflove forherfamily
weregreaterthanherown personalinterests. The factwas thatshe was terribly
afraidimaginingthattheseargumentsmightbe thestartofthebreakupof her
family.She didn'thave thecourageto hold on to hercareer,whichshe had built
up fromnull. For in thepast, her motivationto workhad only been to help
supportthefamilyfinancially. Not morethanthat.Thiswas theanswerto all of
herquestions.36
Finally,Debbymakespeace withherselfand withAdam.First,though,Adam tells
herthathe has been to a (female)psychologist,
who informed himthat,accordingto
Smiling,DebbytellsAdam:
heranalysis,he is old-fashioned.
"I know,'Dam, thatI have an old-fashioned
husband.It would be a shame to
wastehim.An antiqueis valuable,you know.So I'm goingto stayat homeand
takecareofhim!"37
The storyends withDebby sweetlyassuringAdam thatshe will leave herjob,
providedthatAdamwillhelpherthinkofwaystooccupyhertimeat home.Adam,of
course,is pleasedas punch:
Adamgapedin astonishment, buta momentlaterhiseyesshonewithdelight.
He huggedDebbytightly and kissedhiswife'sface."Don'tworry,Deb! Mybrain
is stillsharpenoughtocomeup withideas!"he promised.38
It is a happyending.The moralofthestoryis notthatDebbyhad been wrongto
pursue a careerin the firstplace, especiallygiven thatshe had done so forthe
economicwell-beingofherfamily.The problemwas thatshe had selfishly takenher
careertoo far,pursuingit at theexpenseofherfamily'shappiness.The burdenwas
noton her"old-fashioned" husbandtochange,buton herto adjustherselftohisneeds
and theneedsofthewholefamily.Debbywas in dangerofbecomingtoo muchlikea
Westernwoman-wearing tightskirtsto work,accompanyingher male employer
everywhere, payingtoo littleattentionto herfamily,threateningto takea taxihome
fromwork when her husband made her angry,telling her husband to see a
psychologist, and,byearningmorethanherhusband,wearingtheproverbialpantsin
the family.39 She redeemsherselfin the end by returning to the role of emotional
nurturer ofherfamilyand by accedingtoherhusband'swishesthatshebe a dedicated
wifeand motherratherthana careerwoman.

36Ibid.,pp. 66,105.
37Ibid.,p. 105.
38Ibid.,p. 105.
39Itis notunusualforIndonesian womentoearnmorethantheirhusbands.In theJavanese courtcentersof
Solo and Yogyakarta,forexample,therewas a tradition
ofmenworking atprestigious butlow-paying jobs
forthepalacesorstatebureaucracy whiletheirwivessupportedthefamily as batikproducersortraders.
Thatthewomenwereearningmorethantheirhusbandsdidnotusuallyposea problem, sincethework
donebytheirhusbandswas ofsociallyhigherstatus.Thedifference hereis thatDebbyis workingat a
white-collarjobinthemodernsector,likeherhusband(we assume),butearningmorethanhim-a less
acceptablestateofaffairs,
apparently.Formoreon thegenderand statusrelations oftheJavanesemerchant
classin Solo,see mybookTheDomestication ofDesire:Women,Wealth,andModernity inJava(Princeton:
Princeton UniversityPress,1998).
28 SuzanneBrenner

Thestyleoflanguageused inthisstory, whichis liberallysprinkled withloanwords

likekonvensional, tradisi,
affair,bos,profesi,
nonsens, Mama/Papa, analisis,and komunikasi,
a
conveys distinctly Westernized, up-to-date flavor. Debby and Adam are portrayed
as urban,middle-classIndonesianswho have been thoroughly integratedinto the
modemworld.Buttheirfamilylifehas becomeunhappybecauseDebbyhas adopted
thenegativeaspectsof a modernlifestyle withthepositiveones. She is only steps
away, it seems, from having an affairwith her employer,drivingher husband to
divorceher,and ruiningherchildren'slives-and herown-as a result.She and her
familyare saved just in timeby herhusband'sprudenttraditional values (balancing
herownexcessively modern/Westernized ones)andbyherownbetter judgment.
The idea thathaving a careerbringsconflictinto a woman's life is reiterated
elsewherein Femina.An articlecalled "Self-Development and Women'sAnxieties"
beginsoptimistically by stating, "The Kartinis of the 20thcenturyare trulyterrific;
theiraccomplishments aren'tany less impressivethanthoseof men."40The writer
quicklygoes on,however,to focuson theregrets thatcareerwomenhave at theloss of
their"specialrightsas women."The examplegivenis thatof Astri,"a careerwoman
who is successful butwhostillhas anxietiesthatareuniquetowomen":
Withall hersuccesses,Astrisuddenlyfeltthatherlifewas empty.It seemed
as ifshe had lostsomething ... She feltthatherhusbandwasn'tpayingenough
attentiontoher.Theproofwas thathe neverforbadeherto go anywhere, and he
neveraskedherto makehimbreakfast ... Astribeganto think,maybeit would
be betterifshe stayedat homeagain,worea housedress,cooked,preparedher
husband'sclothesand towelsforhim,and tookherchildrento balletlessons,
swimming, and so on ...
The truthis, you can be surethatthereare manyotherAstrisout there.You
yourself, ifyou wantto be honest,also have a hardtimefreeingyourselffrom
thiscomplex.41
In Tiara,"themagazineofbehavioraltrendsand information," anotherriskofbeing
a careerwomanis highlighted: thatofemasculating one's husbandto thepointwhere
he is drivenintothearmsofotherwomenin orderto rescuehis manhood.An article
aboutwhymarriedmenkeepmistresses, "Understanding Real Men,"discussesa case
wherea man,Ansar,startedto feelthathis wifewas becomingtoo assertiveat home
becauseofherimportant job as thehead ofa company:
Tinibecame extremely independent; heractionswere efficient because she
was alwayspressedfortime;she was assertive;and she tendedto be dominant.
She began not to be able to distinguish betweensituationsat theoffice,which
were formaland rational,and the situationat home,whichshe should have
approached more emotionally(warmly,with love, intimately). . . Tini's overly
rationalattitudemadeAnsarfeelhumiliated.42

40"Pengembangan Diridan Kecemasan Wanita"(Self-development

and women'sanxieties),
Femina21,8
25 - March3, 1993),p. 24.
(February
41Ibid.
42"MemahamiPria-Pria realmen),Tiara53 (May24-June
Sejati"(Understanding 6,1992),p. 38.
 On the PublicIntimacyof the New Order 29

In responseto Tini's "rational"(rasional)and domineering(dominan)attitude,

Ansarbecameinvolvedwithone ofhis employees.The authorofthearticle(a man-
Tiara,it should be noted,is not a women'smagazine)obviouslysympathizeswith
Ansar;the implicationis thatAnsar'sactionswere his wife'sfault,not his own. In
orderfora careerwomanto remainwithinthelimitsofacceptablebehavior,she must
keep to herproper"femalenature"(kodrat wanita)-inotherwords,regardlessofhow
at
shebehaves work, at home she must be and emotional,
instinctive gentle,caring,and
nurturing.43 She should leave "rationality"and the finaldecision-makingin the
householdto herhusband.Whenmodernity leads a womanto abandonheressential
femalenatureat homeas well as in theworkplace,she mustbe preparedto facethe
consequences.
The messageofthesearticlesis clear.A modernwomanhas choices,butshe needs
to choosecarefully. Ifshe neglectsher"traditional" obligationsas wifeand motherin
orderto followa career,shewillpay dearlyforit.Modernity comesat a price.44
But what otherpath mighttheregretful careerwoman follow?The ideal of the
middle-class"housewife"(ibu rumahtangga)is portrayedas an alternativeto the
"careerwoman" in thepopularmedia.However,theconceptof thehousewifeis as
mucha Westernimportas thatof thecareerwoman.(It is worthnotingthatin the
1959 Trisulaarticle"Let's Help withHouseholdWeek!"thetermkaumwanitarumah-
tanggawas apparently stillalienenoughthattheEnglishtranslation "house-wife" was
in
provided parentheses for What
clarification.)45 is especiallystriking about this
image is that although it is usually depicted as a return to traditionalvalues in a
modernage, it promotesa way of lifethatis foreignto-and unattainableby-most
Indonesianwomen,who workoutofeconomicnecessity as well as by choice.Femina's
profile of Astri,the successful careerwoman who secretlylongs to stayat home so
thatshe can caterto her husband and take her childrento ballet and swimming
lessons,is sheerfantasyforall buta tinypercentage ofIndonesia'spopulation,yetthe
writerconfidently tellstheanonymousreaderthat"you can be sure thatthereare
43KrishnaSen also writesaboutkodrat especiallyas itis depictedinIndonesianfilm.As sheputsit,
wanita,
"Kodratimpliesboththenatureandthedestiny ofwomen[wanita] andthecentralelement inthisseemstobe
thewoman'sfunction as mother,contained withinthefamily sphere.Any movement of thewomanbeyond
thisspherebecomesan issueofcontention withinthedominant discourseofthenarrative." KrishnaSen,
"Repressionand Resistance: oftheFeminine
Interpretations inNew OrderCinema,"inCulture andSociety
inNewOrderIndonesia, ed. Hooker,p. 117.See also TinekeHellwig,whoremarks inheranalysisoftwo
popularIndonesian novelsthatthey"promote motherhood as everywoman'sprimevocation, andthebasis
ofherstatus.Alltheotheraspects-beinga wife,doingpaid work-aresubservient toit."TinekeHellwig,
"RapeinTwoIndonesianPop Novels:AnAnalysisoftheFemaleImage,"inIndonesian Women inFocus,ed.
ElsbethLocher-Scholtenand AnkeNiehof(Dordrecht: ForisPublications, 1987),p. 250.
44Thismessageis notexclusivetotheprintmedia.Scholarsstudying otherformsofpopularmediahave
also observedthatthecareerwomanis frequently portrayed as an objectofsuspicion.Heider,forinstance,
notesthatthecareerwomaninIndonesian filmsis portrayed as an anomaly"whichmustbe resolved
through domesticationbythe end ofthe film."
Karl Heider,Indonesian Cinema,p. 118.Sen,in "Repression
and Resistance,"
alsosuggeststhatthereversalofthetypicalgenderparadigmlinking menwiththe
workplaceand womenwiththehomeservesas a metaphor forsocialand familial disorderinIndonesian
films.Forsimilarconclusionson television's
portrayal ofcareerwomen,see also SaraswatiSunindyo,
"GenderDiscourseon Television."
45S. Kartowijono,"MariBantulahPekanRumahTangga!"p. 6.
30 Suzanne Brenner

manyotherAstrisout there"and that"You yourself, ifyou wantto be honest,also

have a hardtimefreeing yourselffromthiscomplex."
AlthoughFeminaaims at a middle-to upper-classurbanreadership, it providesa
vision of womanhood thatis essentiallymodern,and which would therefore be
intendedas a model,presumably, forall womenin a nationwhere"development"is
theprimarygoal. The factthatthis"ideal" is notevenimaginableformostwomenin
thislargelyagrarianand relatively poor countryseemsto be oflittleconcernto those
who would promoteit. Givenall thechoicesforthemodernwoman offeredby the
New Orderpopularmedia,then,we need to askwhatvisionsofmodemwomanhood
were at the same time excluded.What possibilitieswere closed off,or deemed
unrepresentable, bythemedia?
Indeed,whenreadinga magazinelikeFeminaone couldeasilyforget thatthereis a
lowerclass orruralpopulationinIndonesia.Missingfromitspages is anyhintthatthe
urban,upper-middle-class standardoflivingdepictedtherein has notbeenreachedby
the vast majorityof Indonesians.Most magazinesmake no mentionof household
servants,forexample,despitethefactthattheyare ubiquitousin middle-and upper-
class households.Theyare thewomen(and sometimesmen)on whomthereadersof
Femina,Amanah,or Kartinirelyto shop forfood,cook theirmeals,cleantheirhomes,
look aftertheirchildren, and freethemup to pursuetheircareersand socialactivities,
but theyare absent fromthe advertisements, featurearticles,stories,and advice
columnsin thesemagazines.None of therecipesin the food sectionsincludesthe
directions, "Have yourmaid grindup six shallots,fourclovesof garlicand threered
chilis,"even thoughthatwould be an accurateportrayalofthecookingprocessthat
goes on in mostmiddle-classhouseholds.46 In myperusalofpopularmagazinesfrom
the1990sI did comeacrossone pointedreference to servants:a complaintabouttheir
absencefroman Indonesianwomanwho had marrieda Japaneseman and settledin
Japan.She writesalmostbitterly ofthehardshipsthatshe enduredbecauseshe could
not affordany domestichelp there:burningthefoodand thepots alongwithit (the
implication beingthatshehad neverbeforedoneherown cooking);havingtogetup on
coldwintermornings beforeherhusbandtomakehimbreakfast; doingherowngrocery
shopping-"Imagine, I had to the
carry baby my on back whilemytwohandswerefull
ofvegetablesfromthemarket, oh,itwas awful!Whenthebabycried,I criedand cried,
too ..."47 This accountis fromtheAmanah article"CareerWoman,Go Home"-might
a
she have come to different if
conclusion she had had a housekeeperand a nanny
takingcareofherhouseholdforher,insteadofhavingto do itall herself?

Modernityand Morality
The examplesthatI have citedthusfarunderscorethepersonalconflicts which,
accordingto thepopularprintmedia,modernitycreatesforwomen (at least,middle-

461recalla women'ssocialclub(arisan)meeting thatI attendedat a Solo restaurant

inthemid1980s,at
whicha salesmanforElectroluxtriedtoconvincetheladiesgathered theretobuya bulky,outdated(by
American standards)foodprocessor.Thewomenviewedthedemonstration withcuriosity,
butobviously
ofbuyingthiscontraption;
had no intention all ofthemhad servants athomewhocoulddo thesamejob
muchmorecheaply.
47 "WanitaKarier,Pulanglah"(profileofAnniIwasaki),Amanah 203 (April18 - May 1,1994),p. 17.
 On thePublicIntimacy
of the New Order 31

class women)and theirfamilies.If thiswere seen as thefullextentof theproblem,

therewould probablynot be too muchpublic concernover how modernityaffects
women'sbehaviorand how,in turn,women'sbehavioraffectsmodernity. Werethe
issuesconsideredmerelytobe ofa personalnature,itis likelythattheywould receive
less attentionin themass mediathantheydo. Butthepersonaland thedomesticare
never entirelyseparate fromthe public, and this is why women's behavior is
scrutinized,sometimes and oftenconstrained
criticized, bypublicdiscourse.
In New Orderrhetoric, the state,thefamily,and organizedreligionwere often
treated(especially,but not only,in stateideologies)as the threemost sacred and
fundamental institutionsof modernIndonesiansociety,closelybound up withone
another.Some people assertedthata threatto any one ofthemthreatened theothers,
and by extensionthreatened thewelfareofthewholesociety.Becausewomenare so
closelylinkedinpublicdiscoursewiththefamily, theirfailuresand indiscretions
in the
domesticsphereare oftenportrayed on a collectivescale as menacesto thewell-being
ofthenationat large.48As an Indonesiansayingquotedin Amanahgoes,"Womenare
thepillarsof thestate.If thewomenare good, thestatewill also be good,but if the
womenareruined,thestatewillbe ruinedas well."49
Many women as well as men maintainthat it is women's responsibilityto
safeguardthesociety'sfuturethroughtheirownexemplary behaviorand byseeingtoit
receivea propermoraland religiousupbringing.
thattheirchildren Examplesofthisare
foundin an articlefromAmanah,"Is theRebelliousnessoftheChildtheFailureofthe
Mother?"50:
... [A] mother,as the primaryeducatorat home, is the firstfortressin
anticipationoftheattackson cultureand fromadvancedtechnology, so thatwe
don'tfindourselvespickingup the"garbage"oftechnology and Westernculture.
... Because of this,in educatingchildren,it is bestto emphasizetheaspectof
morality.51
Thearticlequotesone womanin a Mother'sDay (HariIbu)commemoration:
"The influencesofmodernization certainlycan'tbe avoided.Butwe mustbe
on guard againstall of thoseinfluencesso thatour identityas God's servants
remainsfirm.Theproblemsofscientificand progress,and theflow
technological

48As partofitsprogram topromote religion, Islam(alwayswarning

especially ofthedangersofatheism,
whichraisedthespecter ofcommunism and ultimately andsocialchaos),theNew Orderstate
political
sponsoredlocalpengajian(gatheringsforrecitationoftheQur'anwhichincludea sermonor textual
exegesis)attheneighborhood levelinordertofosterreligious
knowledge andpractice amongwomenin
Thepengajian
particular. thatI attendedinSolo in the1980softenfeatured sermonsthatfocusedon
women'sresponsibilityfortheirfamilies'moralwelfareand religiouseducation.Menwereusuallyabsent
fromtheneighborhood for
except thehost(ifitwereheldat someone'shome)and themuballigh
pengajian,
(preacher)whogavethesermon. Alwaysimplicit inthemessagewas thatthefailure
orexplicit ofthe
mother toimparttherightvaluestoherfamily hadthepotential toharmnotonlythemembers ofherfamily,
butalso theentire
nationandtheumatIslam,extended Muslimcommunity.
49 "Wanitaadalahtiangnegara,jikawanitanya baik,baikpula negaraitu,tapijikakaumwanitanya
rusak,makaakanrusakpula negaraitu."QuotedinAmanah 142(December13-26,1991),p. 10.
50"DurhakaAnak,KegagalanIbu?"(Is therebelliousness ofthechildthefailureofthemother?) Amanah
142(December13-26,1991),pp. 10-14C.
51Ibid., 11.
p.
32 Suzanne Brenner

ofinformation thatis so veryrapid,are aspectsofhumandevelopment. Because

of that,we need a corrective attitude[sikapkorektif
so thatwe aren'twashed
away by the current," explained Mrs.Bayyinah, PrincipaloftheStateHome
the
EconomicsSchoolofYogyakarta.
"Kartinibecame knownas someone who broke throughthe isolationof
women,and commemorating Mother'sDay meansrestoring theroleand prestige
ofmothers.Motherswill continueto be honoredand respectedas longas they
remainon a correctbase,bothas theprimary educatorsin thefamilyand as the
preservers ofthenation's culture."52
Here,theconnections betweena woman'sroleas motherand herrolesas citizenof
the nation/guardianof its traditions("preserverof the nation's culture")and as
devoted followerof religion("God's servant")are made explicit."Preserverof the
nation'sculture"(pelestaribudayabangsa)meanstheprotector ofwhatare construedto
be indigenous,ratherthanimported(i.e.,Western),values and behavioralnorms.A
womancan onlycontinueto occupytheseroles,however,ifshe herself"remainson a
correctbase" as a modelofmorality and propriety.
Women's collectivebehavior,then,tends to be viewed as a barometerfor
measuringthemoralclimateofthenation.The rapidsocialchangethatIndonesiahas
experiencedover recentdecades has opened up pathwaysto womenthatwere not
open to them before,as I have already stressed. But, as mightbe expected,
conservative reactionshave also emergedagainstsomeofthelibertiesthatwomenare
perceived to have acquired. Certainchanges in women's behavior are held in
conservative views to be indicatorsnotofprogress,but of themoraldegeneration of
thenation.Mass-market books on Islam withtitleslike WhereAreOur WomenBeing
Led? (Dibawa kemanaWanitaKita),53some of whichare translations of books from
Saudi Arabia,Iran,or elsewherein theIslamicworld,arguethatMuslimwomenhave
been led astraybyWesternideas thatclaimtoemancipatewomenbutactuallyenslave
them.Women'smoralmisguidanceis a figurefor,and at thesame timedepictedas a
potentialresultof,thedangersthatIndonesiansociety(or,moreinclusively, Muslim
societyor "Eastern"society)facesif it adopts a "bad" styleof modernity fromthe
West:
Westernwomen have gone too farin denyingtheirfemalenature[kodrat
kewanitaan],
byseekingequal rightswithmenineverymatter. Theyhaveforgotten
thatbeing a housewifeis somethingthatis mostnoble and special and which
should be consideredthegreatesthonor.Womenwho just wastemostof their
lives by amusingthemselvesand foolingaround with men,neglectingtheir
householdaffairs and theirwork,areunableto carefortheirchildrenand do not
wish to live peacefullyin theirhouseholds-these are thingsthat they do
intentionallyin orderto findan outletfortheirpassions. In truth,a modern
womanis a womanwho is liberatedin certainmatters,butlimitedand restrained
withincertainbounds.She is highlyeducated,intellectual,greatlyvalues time
and does notplay around,throwingabouthermoneyand herdesire.Women
52Ibid.,p. 14A.
53MuhammadQuthub,Dibawakemana
Wanita
Kita?(Whereareourwomenbeingled?)(Jakarta:
PustakaAl
Kautsar,1991).
 On the PublicIntimacyof the New Order 33

who deserverespectfrommenarewomenwho arecapableofprovingthemselves

as good women,good wives and good mothers.The respectthatis shownby
Westernsocietytowardwomenis nothingbuta lie,justso theycan give reinto
theirdesiresand have intercoursefreely.They supportfreedomforwomen
merelybecause theyfeelluckyto be able to enjoywomen [sexually]withouta
singleobstacle.54
Not surprisingly, "immoralbehavior"forwomen,as in the passage just cited,
usually refers to their
sexual outsideofmarriage.Articlesaboutprostitution,
activities
extramaritalaffairs,and premaritalsex in Indonesia appear with predictable
regularity in newspapers,tabloids,and magazines,underattention-grabbing rubrics
like "Sex Transactionsin the Graveyard"(TransaksiSeks di Kuburan),"Exchange
BehindBamboo Blinds" (Bursadi BalikKreiBambu),and "WhenSexual Normsare
PushedAside" (BilaNormaSeksDitepiskan).55 Althoughmanyofthesearticlesare ofa
sensationalnature,intendedmore to sell copies at the newsstandthan as serious
commentary on theconditionofIndonesiansociety,theyprovideamplefuelforthose
whowishtopointtothedeclinein morality resulting frommodernization.
Despitethefactthatmenas well as womenare implicatedin thesexual activities
beingdiscussed,thegreatest outcryis directedat women'sratherthanmen'slicentious
behavior.When men have extramarital thetypicalresponseis, moreor less,
affairs,
"boys will be boys,"or, as the authorof "Understanding Real Men" puts it, "it is
indeed part of men's characterto want to have intimaterelationswith many
women."56 Men'ssexualbehavioris rarelyseenas a matterforgenuinepublicconcern;
whetheror not it should even be thefamily'sconcernis open to some debate.The
article"Understanding Real Men" quotesan "understanding" femaleentrepreneur on
thesubjectofherhusband'sextramarital "Frommyperspective,
activities: as soon as
he stepsout thefrontdoorofthishouse,I considerwhateverhe does to be no longer
theconcernofthisfamily. It'shisownbusiness."57 Itwouldbe almostunimaginable for
anyIndonesianmagazinetocitea similarstatement madeby a manabouthiswife;the
notionthata wife'ssexual behavioroutsidethehome is not her husband'sbusiness
would be virtually unthinkable. Femalesexuality, farmorethanmen's,is an issuethat
crossesbothprivateand publicdomains.In publicdiscussion,rangingfromstatements
made by government officials,to thesermonsofreligiousleaders,to articlesin cheap
tabloidsand magazines,women'ssexualityand morality have beentreatedas matters
foreveryone'sconcern, withrepercussions forthefuture oftheentiresociety.

54NazhatAfzaand Khurshid Ahmad,Mempersoalkan Wanita(On theproblemofwomen)(Jakarta: Gema

Insani,n. d.),pp. 18-19.
55Thesearticlesappearedrespectively 1779(August1-15,1992),Matra72 (July1992),and Panji
in Liberty
Masyarakat 680 (April11-20,1991).
56"MemahamiPria-Pria
Sejati,"pp. 38-39.
57Ibid.,p. 39.Thismaynotbe an uncommon WhenI was conducting
sentiment. inSolo,a middle-
fieldwork
agedwomanremarked, whendiscussing "Mymother
theissueofmen'sinfidelity, usedtosaytome,'when
he'sathome,he'syourhusband, butwhenhe'soutsidethehome,think ofhimas someoneelse.'"Fora
discussionofmen'sandwomen'sextramarital intheJavanese
relations see myDomestication
context, of
Desire,esp. chapter4, and HildredGeertz,TheJavanese A StudyofKinship
Family: andSocialization
(Glencoe,IL: FreePress,1961).
34 Suzanne Brenner

While complaintsabout women'sbehaviorare launchedmostvigorouslyfrom

staunchlyconservativeIslamic quarters-which does not, however,include all
Muslims-they are also voiced by those whose interestsare more secular and
"cultural."A male university lecturerwritingin Matra (Dimension),the self-styled
"Magazine of Trends forMen,"observesthatin thecultureofthetraditional Javanese
aristocracy(budayapriyayi),
womenas housewives[iburumahtangga] stayedat homemore,educatingand
raisingtheirchildrenin thetraditional way.Ethicalvalues,respect,werealways
plantedharmoniously [in by thesemothers.
children] The moreopen theroleof
housewifehas become,themorenegativeeffects havesurelyresulted.Quitea few
cases of housewivesbeingunfaithful, who accordingto theideals of Javanese
cultureshouldbe faithful totheirhusbands,haveoccurredin Solo [a centerofthe
Javanesenobility].
But society'scontrolover these mattersis still strong.People consider
unfaithfulness to be something forbidden and notto be admired.The increased
influence ofmodemculture[budaya modern] ofthecitywillloosen
on thelifestyle
society'scontrol,as is alreadyapparentin thebig citiesofIndonesia.In theend,
thevaluesthathavealreadybeenestablished willchangein keepingwithchanges
in societyand changesinculture.%
Ultimately, mainstreamopinionsaired in themedia about properbehaviorfor
women are distinguishablefromstrictIslamic views more by degree than by
substantive differencesincontent. WhileIslamicfundamentalist pronouncements tend
to be the harshestin theirassessmentof women's "immoral"behavior and its
damagingeffectson society,commonviews expressedin themass media also lean
toward conservativejudgmentabout what constitutesacceptableor unacceptable
behaviorforwomenand whattheimplications areofwomen'sactionsforthefutureof
the society.The broad moral code thatwas dominantin New Order societyand
continuallyreaffirmedby the popular media, religious institutions,law, and
government policyultimately placeda highvalueon thecontrolofwomen'sbehaviorin
general and of theirsexualityin particular.
As GustiKanjengRatuHemas,thewifeof
the Sultan of Yogyakarta,wrotein her book IndonesianWomen:A Conception and
Obsession:
Indonesiansocietystilldistinguishesbetweenmen's and women's sexual
behavior.Thenormsthatarein effectin societycontinuetoplacemenin a higher
position.Men have thetendencyto be polygamous.Throughthesenorms,the
moralsanctionsformenwho have sex outsideof marriageare less severethan
theyare forwomen.In contrast,a womanwho believesin thenotionoffreesex,
or who becomesa mistressor a secondwifewill be penalizedby thenormsof
society.59
58SuyatnoKartodirdjo, "GayaHidupdan IstriSimpanan"(Lifestyles Matra72 (July
and mistresses),
1992),p. 69.
59GustiKanjengRatuHemas,Wanita Indonesia:
SuatuKonsepsi danObsesi(Indonesianwomen:A
conception and obsession)(Yogyakarta:
Liberty,1992),p. 102.
 On the PublicIntimacyofthe New Order 35

Public Intimacyin theNew Order

Whatare we to makeofthisobsessionwithwomen'ssexualityand morality, with
toserveas mothers
theirfittingness oftheirownchildrenand,byextension,
ofthenext
generationofIndonesiancitizens?Whyhave womenfiguredso prominently in media
representationsof thechoicesand of And
dangers modernity? why,finally, were the
ofthehouseholdturnedintothepublicaffairs
privateaffairs ofthenationin theNew
Order?
We mightlookto otherplacesbesidesIndonesiaforinsightintothesequestions.In
TheQueenofAmericaGoesto Washington City(1997),LaurenBerlantargues thatthe
riseofconservatism during Reaganyearsin theUnitedStates(and continuing
the well
beyondthem)brought about a situation in which, as she putsit,"a familial
politicsof
thenationalfuturecameto definetheurgenciesofthepresent."60 The riseoftheright,
according to Berlant,ushered in an era in which the personal and politicalwere
collapsed into "a world of public intimacy,"61 as conservative agendas focusingon
familyvalues,personalmorality, reproduction, sexualitypushedaside a genuine
and
collectivepoliticsin favorofa privatizednotionofcitizenship. Whenpublicdiscourse
is focused on such privateissues as abortion,homosexuality,and the supposed
breakdownof the family,the collectivegaze is directedaway frombasic social
issues-includingeconomicinequalityand thesmolderingclass war,racism,and the
exploitationof workersundercapitalistproduction-thereby "substituting patriotic
images of a genericfamilialgood life... for images of a world organized around the
economic contextsin which specificpeople live."62Because those who would
orchestrate thenationalnarratives in thepresentare alwaysconcernedwithsecuring
controlover thenationalfutureas well, reproduction and the familyare especially
sensitivepoliticalissues. As she sees it,theprocessof turningpeople intonational
subjectsis surroundedby anxietieswhichrevealthat"thehegemonicformofnational
cultureis fragileand alwaysin theprocessofbeingdefined"evenwhenit appearsto
have a fixed,essentialcharacter.63
Berlant'sworkis usefulforunderstanding thesignificance ofrecurrent discourses
on womenand thefamilyin thepopularmedia of theNew Order.In its efforts to
fosterits own power,theNew Orderregimeengagedin a delicatebalancingact. It
workedtenaciouslyon theone hand to maintainstability, thecomfortable sense that
everything would be taken care of as long as the nation remainedon a firm moral
footingand acceptedtheauthority ofthe stateand itslegitimizing
ideology, Pancasila.
On theotherhand,in ordertoretainitsideologicalpoweran authoritarian regimemust
continuallyreestablisha climateof national crisis,
raising thefearofan unseen danger,
an impendingchaos, thatthreatensto descend upon the nationif stabilityis not
maintained. Real crises of citizenship-the widening gap between rich and poor, the
political hegemony of a single ethnicgroup in a multiethnicnation, the deep-seated
corruptionof bureaucratsat everylevel of government,and the stiflingof all formsof
60 LaurenBerlant,
TheQueenofAmerica GoestoWashington
City:Essayson SexandCitizenship
(Durham,
NC: DukeUniversityPress,1997),p. 1.
61Ibid.
62Ibid., 97.
p.
63Ibid.,p. 56.
36 Suzanne Brenner

dissent-weresuppressedand displacedthrough nationalnarrativesofmoralcrisisin

thefamily,ofcommunists and otherantinational
figureslurkingbehindeverycorner,
and of the dangers of Indonesia's citizensemulatingeitherthe hedonistic(read:
democratic?)Westor the"fanatical"MuslimsofIranand otherIslamiccountries.
The New Order,in short,effectively createditsown worldofpublicintimacy. By
turningpublic scrutiny to the privatesphere,by makingthe moralcharacterand
behaviorof women in particulara focusof concernand debate,attentioncould be
divertedaway fromtheissues thatmight,and should,give rise to a real collective
politics.The open and ultimately violentpoliticsoftheSukarnoperiodgave way to a
climatein whicheven theword "politics"tookon a forbiddentone.Tensionsand
anxietiesthataccompaniedpoliticalrepression, rapidand unevenmodernization, and
economicinequalityand instability weredisplacedontothefiguresofwomanand the
family. In New Order representations, thehappy,middle-classfamilycame to stand
fora genericIndonesianmoraland socialorder;themoralintegrity ofthefamilywas
portrayed as an issue thattranscended all social,cultural,or economic differences.
In
herrolesas motherand wife,theNew Orderwomansignified thecomfortsofstability
as well as ofthedangersthatthreatened thenationshouldthatstability breakdown.
Controloverthenationalfuture, it seemed,couldbe gainedthroughcontroloverthe
family and over the woman who was so closelytied to it in public discourseand
mediarepresentation.
This "conversionofgenderto nationality,"64 to use Berlant'sphrase,has occurred
in manyothernationalcontexts, and is particularly visibleunderright-wing regimes.
AfsanehNajmabadi has noted,forexample,thatboth the stateand oppositionist
groupsin Iran,withtheirrespectivepoliticalagendas,have shareda concernwith
establishing and enforcing societalnormsforwomen'sbehavior.65 Fromthe1960son,
womenwho were seen as too Westernized, or "westoxicated," were consideredby
both Islamic and secular opponentsof the pre-1979regimeas corruptersof the
nation'smoralsand the tools of Westernimperialists. Afterthe Islamicrevolution
womenbecame,even more,thefocusof social control;modestbehaviorforwomen,
whichwas expandedto includeveilingand segregating themfrommen,was deemed
essentialforthemoralhealthofthenationand itsabilityto keepimperialist powersat
bay.
The effort to controlwomen'sbehaviorand sexualityfortheostensiblebenefitof
the society'sfuturecan also be seen in an examplefromSingapore,wherein 1983
PrimeMinisterLee Kuan Yew accusedwomen-in particular, educated,middle-and
upper-classwomen-of endangering thenation'sfutureby refusing to reproduceat a
satisfactoryrate.66Lee and othersin his government werealarmedat statistics which
showed that less-educated women in Singapore (who happened to be mostlylower-
class Malays and Indians ratherthanthebetter-off
Chinese) were having a much higher
number of childrenon average than educated, professional(mostlyChinese) women.
64Ibid., 100.
p.
65AfsanehNajmabadi,"HazardsofModernity andMorality:
Women,StateandIdeologyinContemporary
Iran,"in Women, IslamandtheState,ed. DenizKandiyoti
(Philadelphia:
TempleUniversityPress,1991),pp.
48-76.
66GeraldineHengandJanadasDevan,"StateFatherhood: ThePoliticsofNationalism, and Race
Sexuality,
in Singapore,"in AndrewParkeretal.,ed.,Nationalisms
andSexualities,
pp. 343-64.
 On the PublicIntimacy
ofthe New Order 37

The government subsequently wageda strident campaign,aided bythemassmedia,to

argue and almost to insistthat educated women takeit as theirpatrioticdutyto have
children-themorethebetter.GeraldineHeng and JanadasDevan makea persuasive
case that "an unruly,destabilizing,and irresponsiblefemininesexuality" was
consideredthe cause of the collapse in the social and economicorderwhich,Lee
feared,threatened in the decades ahead if demographictrendscontinuedon in the
same pattern."Chaos, in this prophecyof national disaster,"Heng and Devan
propose,"was visualized as the randominterplayof excess and deficiencyamong
femalebodies,which,leftunregulated, would producedisabling,ungovernable, and
unsafeequationsofclass and race."67
Ideas aboutproperbehaviorforwomenare alwaysintimately attachedto political
agendas and to notions of social controland order. The "problemof women" in
Indonesia and elsewhere is that no nation can forgeahead with its plans for
modernity, no matterwhatformthatmodernity is envisionedas taking,withoutfully
incorporating women into theendeavor. At the same time,however,theimage of a
domesticated woman-one who maintains, all at once,thefamily, continuity withthe
or
past (real imagined), the moral orderand the statusquo-is a centralimage of
social orderand stability. The uncertainty of modernity always threatens to disrupt
the social and politicalorder,and the pictureof uncontrollable women-wantonly
sexual;reversingthe"proper"orderofthingsby dominatingmales insteadofbeing
dominatedby them;shirking their"natural"rolesas wives and mothers-isthevery
imageofmodernity goneawry.In theend,theSuhartoregime'sdetermined effortsto
controlthenationalfuturecrumbledunderthepressureofan economicdisasterrather
thana moralcrisisof unmanageablewomen.Butit remainsto be seen whetherthe
worldofpublicintimacy thattheregimecreatedwill disintegrate as well or continue
intothefutureas a legacyoftheNew Order.

67Ibid.,pp. 345-46.