Journal Review

Muhammad Hafizh Caesaro

392624 / Indonesian Society and Culture / A Class
Review of Patterns of Resistance and Transgression in Eastern Indonesia: Single
Women's Practices of Clandestine Courtship and Cohabitation by Linda Rae Bennett
This journal depicts the complexity of being in a relationship in Indonesia, especially
for single women, and how these women are trying to transgress the status quo in different
manners. The issues that arise due to the current situation are also discussed in the paper. For
the purpose of research, Bennett travelled to the region of Mataram, a city on the Eastern
Indonesian island of Lombok. She spent a total amount of 21 months collecting personal data
from the locals.
Bennett recognizes the seemingly prevalent pattern of clandestine relationships for
many young women in urban areas of Indonesia. She believes that this is a way that these
women are trying to have autonomy of their own selves. She also saw that premarital sex is
becoming more common, although it is neither becoming more accepted nor visible. Bennett
uses two stories to classify the most common types of transgression towards the current
gender norms and sexual ideals among young women in Mataram.
The first story comes from a girl named Ulfa, a straight-A student, who is denied of
her right to be in a relationship by her father. Due to many external factors, she then engaged
herself in a clandestine courtship, the so called pacaran backstreet with a guy named Adlin.
She had to make ways to keep her relationship in secrecy from her family, an effort supported
by her friends. The relationship then burgeoned into one that is sexual. The couple had to be
very careful in picking their time and hiding their traces. The relationship dynamics of this
couple challenged many local assumptions regarding the social regulation of youth sexuality.
The relationship lasted over a year, until Adlin had to move to Java to continue his study. The
family of Ulfa however, did not realize that there was ever any relationship between Ulfa and
another guy. Ulfa succeeded in keeping her purity while she is still able to explore her
sexual desires.
The second story came from Nyoman. She engaged herself in a forbidden
relationship with Arif who came from a different religion. Nyoman rejected her old believe
(Hindu) and adopted Arifs (Islam). She then was kicked out of her house and had to move to
Arifs house with his divorced mother. She received many threats and derogatory comments
as people around her found out that she cohabits with Arif, as cohabitation is frowned upon in
Indonesia. Later on, Arif became very hostile and abused Nyoman, as he also received threats
from his own father. Nyoman then had to move to many different places before ending up in
Lombok. She had to live with people like her, with their shared marginality, working as a
hostess, while Arif can live a normal life with a woman he recently married.
These two stories show how Indonesian women are living in a very unfortunate and
oppressing situation. While a clandestine courtship may be a viable option, it causes many
unwanted consequences. As secrecy becomes a priority in a clandestine relationship, peoples
willingness to access reproductive health services and products diminishes. As women are
continuously raising their voices to resist the oppression, more support from many different
institutions, including from the government, should be amassed to alter the status quo.