The influence of the “decadent West”: Discourses of the mass media on youth sexuality in Indonesia

Type Journal Article - Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific
Title The influence of the “decadent West”: Discourses of the mass media on youth sexuality in Indonesia
Author(s)
Issue 18
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2008
URL http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue18/harding.htm
Abstract
The sexual and reproductive health (hereafter referred to as SRH) of Indonesian adolescents is of growing concern for many parents, religious leaders, education providers, policymakers and other groups within Indonesian society. The effects of socio-economic change, modernisation and globalisation have resulted in more freedom and autonomy for Indonesian youth, and many are becoming increasingly liberal in their attitudes, ideas and behaviours regarding sex and sexuality.[2] A combination of biological, attitudinal and behavioural changes have contributed to an increased likelihood of premarital sex among contemporary Indonesian adolescents.[3] This is evidenced by, for example, the increasing number of pregnancies, abortions, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV/AIDS[4] cases among unmarried adolescents in Indonesia.[5] This is of great concern because it indicates not only that many Indonesian adolescents are changing their attitudes toward sex and sexuality, but that these changing sexual behaviours are risky. In a review of 22 NGO adolescent reproductive health programmes in Indonesia, Inga Mepham discovered that 'youth appeared to be involved earlier and partaking more often in high-risk sexual behaviour than their target youth of previous years.'[6] Various other in-depth and micro studies show that considerable proportions (between 10 and 60 per cent) of Indonesian adolescents are engaging in premarital sexual activity.

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