Sex and Sexualities in Contemporary Indonesia ― Sexual Politics, Health, Diversity and Representations

Sex, sexuality and sexual relationships are hotly debated in Indonesia, triggering complex and often passionate responses. This innovative volume explores these issues in a variety of ways. It highlights historical and newer forms of sexual diversity, as well as the social responses they provoke. It critiques differing representations of sexuality, pointing to the multiplicity of discourses within which sexuality and ‘the sexual’ are understood in modern-day Indonesia.

Placing sexuality centre-stage and locating it within the specific historical context of the Reformasi era, this landmark volume explores understandings and practices across a wide variety of sites, focusing in on a diverse group of Indonesian actors, and the contested meanings that sexuality carries. Beginning with a substantive introduction and concluding with a scholarly reflection on key issues, the volume is framed around the four themes of sexual politics, health, diversity and representations. It seeks both to present new empirical findings as well as to add to existing theoretical analysis.

This work fills an important gap in our understanding of the evolution and contemporary dynamics of Indonesian sexualities. It will be of interest to scholars and academics from disciplines including gender and sexuality studies, global health, sexual and reproductive health, anthropology, sociology and Asian studies.

Linda Rae Bennett is Senior Research Fellow at the Nossal Institute for Global Health, The University of Melbourne. She is a medical anthropologist specialising in sexual and reproductive health and rights among youth and women in Indonesia, and the regions of Southeast Asia and the Pacific more generally. In 2010 she was awarded a Future Fellowship from the Australian Research Council to undertake the first extensive social research project on compromised fertility in Indonesia. Key publications include: Women, Islam and Modernity: Single Women, Sexuality and Reproductive Health in Contemporary Indonesia (2005), "Sexuality and Gender among Contemporary Indonesian Youth" (with Lyn Parker 2008), and "Women and Gender Politics in Asia and the Pacific" (with Petra Mahy 2012)

Sharyn Graham Davies is Associate Professor in the School of Social Sciences and Public Policy at AUT University in New Zealand. She is an anthropologist who focuses on gender and sexuality in Indonesia. More recently, Sharyn’s research has broadened to examine ways in which policing and surveillance impact gender and sexuality. Key publications include Gender Diversity in Indonesia (2011) and Challenging Gender Norms (2007). In 2014, Sharyn was awarded a Fulbright award to present her work at a number of universities in the US and she will spend four months at Cambridge University on a Leverhulme Visiting Professorship