Sex or Lack of It in Indonesia

My plan was to be at the meditation center today trying to clean up my soul, but I am writing about sex (or lack of it) instead. Well, I guess it's fitting since in some teaching sex is also a form of meditation ;)

According to the Asia Pacific Sexual Health and Overall Wellness survey which interviewed about 500 men & women in Indonesia between 24 and 74, there are more Indonesians who are not sexually satisfied than anywhere else in the region. It is said that erectile dysfunction was common among men in the country but their pride and lack of knowledge preventing them from seeking help.

The result is actually not surprising when you see how many men are smokers in this place, add to it huge work load and lack of physical condition, no wonder the men are not "up to standard". Judging from what I've seen near my place, there are lots of shops selling sexual enhancement treatment, viagra, jamu, mak erot, and g_d knows what else. Therefore it is probably a real problem in Jakarta.

However, taking the fact that sex is still taboo in this part of the world, I would've thought people would bragged that they have a satisfying sexual life when answering the interview. At least, the men would. Just like when you interview people how much they earn per month, those who have low income would give you higher amount than their actual income to safe their face.

If you think Indonesian has lack of interest in sex, I disagree. One of the most search things on the internet from Indonesia is sex, ok, probably more porn than educational information about it. If you read Jakarta Undercover, you realize how resourceful Jakartans are on this matter. I keep hearing stories about some affair between so and so, and this or that person has more than one wife.

So the interest is there, but the execution is unsatisfactory.

I think the problem is communicating about the sexual needs between partners. Unlike Catholics who have to take marriage classes prior of getting hitch, the majority of Indonesian who are Moslems dont have that preparation. Sex education at school is lacking in most places, because people are afraid that youngsters becoming followers of free sex movement. It is common to assume that wife has to follow her husband lead. If a woman wants certain way her husband can be suspicious about her knowledge, not to mention hurting his self-esteem. On the other hand, if he is not satisfied with his wife, he might look for other women.

It is interesting to know that back in the beginning of 19th century in Java there was this book published about sex called Serat Centhini, rumour has it it is more comprehensive than Kamasutra. I was told that women in that book was portrayed as being more open about sex instead of just being submissive about it.

I cant help but to wonder, if it was true, how come women back in 19th century Java was more open about sex than women of today? I feel like Indonesians are more conservative these days than before. My hunch is it is due to religious movement. No wonder that there are a lot angry people in this place, too much stress and pent-up sexual frustration me thinks.