Love & Dating

Sexuality remains a mostly taboo topic in Indonesia, and even dating has its conservative detractors here (who insist Indonesians should instead just get married as young as possible in order to avoid “sin”). But just because many people here don’t want to talk about it, doesn’t mean that sexuality and dating aren’t a huge part of life here. Jakarta is relatively more liberal about these issues than most other Indonesian cities, and dating is a pretty normal part of life for most young people in the capital, with dating apps like Tinder being quite popular. But sex before marriage is still considered a major moral sin by many in the capital - even Indonesian women’s magazines that promise tips for better sex on their covers always offer their advice in the context of married couples. We hope to demystify some of these issues by writing about sex and dating in a way that is honest and true to people’s experiences without the judgements or hang-ups that typically characterize the Indonesian mainstream media’s treatment of those topics. We are open-minded but believe strongly that people should have total autonomy over their own bodies, that people should be treated the same no matter their sexual orientation, and that sex is not an inherently good or bad thing but a complex topic that should be treated as such.