Erwin Arnada

Erwin Arnada may soon officially be a man on the run. His crime? Publishing a toned-down version of Playboy Magazine for an Indonesian audience. Playboy Indonesia did not use any nudity in any of its pictures. Critics, like those in the video below, even claim that there are racier magazines available for sale throughout the country, but that it was the word Playboy and its link to American culture that fundamentalist religious groups had a problem with.

I will not argue with countries trying to protect their culture from American momoculture, but if you look at the headlines on the cover of one of the three issues of Playboy Indonesia that made it into print, you see that it features an interview with one of Indonesia's foremost political and cultural icons: Pramoedya Ananta Toer.

The laws used to put Erwin Arnada soon on the run are Indonesia's ant-pornography laws, which are also used to subjugate gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) people. Sticking to the subject of my blog, the question is: is this sexist?

It's certainly problematic on many levels, especially those involving human rights, but many people would argue that pornography is sexist as well.

Personally, it's my hope that Erwin Arnada doesn't wind up becoming a fugitive or going to jail.