{{Short description|Indonesian literary genre}} {{italic title}} [[File:Ayu Utami.JPG|thumb|Ayu Utami, whose 1998 novel ''Saman'' has been credited as starting the {{lang|id|sastra wangi}} movement]] '''{{lang|id|Sastra wangi}}''' (also spelled '''{{lang|id|sastrawangi}}'''; literally 'fragrant literature') is a label given to a new body of Indonesian literature written by young, urban Indonesian women who take on controversial issues such as politics, religion and sexuality. Initiating the movement was writer Ayu Utami's best-selling first novel, ''Saman'' (1998), a contemporary view of Indonesian society published two weeks before the downfall of President Suharto.<ref name=lipscombe>{{cite news|last=Lipscombe|first=Becky|title=Chick-lit becomes hip lit in Indonesia|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3093038.stm|access-date=December 18, 2011|newspaper=BBC|date=September 10, 2003}}</ref> Large numbers of similar works by young women have followed.
==Label== The controversial label {{lang|id|sastra wangi}} originated among predominantly male critics in the early 2000s to categorize such young, female writers as Ayu Utami, Dewi Lestari, Fira Basuki and Djenar Maesa Ayu.<ref name=junaidi/><ref name=tiojakin>{{cite news|last=Tiojakin|first=Maggie|title=Change, she wrote|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/03/29/change-she-wrote.html|accessdate=December 18, 2011|newspaper=Jakarta Post|date=March 29, 2010}}</ref> <blockquote>There's always a tendency to categorize literary work, and {{lang|id|sastra wangi}} is one such category ... The media came up with [the name] because we weren't the typical writers who used to lead the local literary scene. Beyond that, I don't know the meaning or significance of {{lang|id|sastra wangi}}. —Ayu Utami<ref name="tiojakin"/></blockquote>
Feminist writer Julia Suryakusuma notes that reception of the label has been mixed. Those against the label argue that it demeans women, as if it "implies the authors are secondary and unintellectual, producing inferior works popular only because of looks and sensuality".<ref name=suryakusuma1/> Despite the controversy, the {{lang|id|sastra wangi}} label has resulted in publicity and focused attention on the writers' style, word use and subject matter. Suryakusuma writes that "they cross sectors of class, ethnicity and religion, do not bear the psychological, political and ideological burdens of the New Order and explore daring sexual themes{{snd}}taboo-breaking even."<ref name=suryakusuma1/>
The label has met with criticism from the writers themselves. Djenar Maesa Ayu, known for works such as ''Jangan Main-main Dengan Kelaminmu'' and ''Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet!'', considers the categorization "a kind of sexual harassment of her work".<ref name=junaidi/> Mariana Amiruddin, manager of the women's magazine ''Jurnal Perempuan'', argues that the label categorizes women based on their bodies, and as such does not consider their work as serious as that of male authors.<ref name=junaidi/>
==History== The {{lang|id|sastra wangi}} movement is generally considered to have been initiated by Ayu Utami with her novel ''Saman''.<ref name=janssen>{{cite web|last=Janssen|first=Peter|title=Indonesia's Literary Ladies|date=October 19, 2003|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2003/10/19/indonesia-s-literary-ladies.html|work=Newsweek Magazine|publisher=The Daily Beast|accessdate=December 18, 2011}}</ref><ref name=sulton>{{cite news|last=Sulton|first=Agus|title=Sastra Wangi Aroma Selangkangan|url=http://oase.kompas.com/read/2010/04/01/01481963/Sastra.Wangi.Aroma.Selangkangan|accessdate=December 18, 2011|newspaper=Kompas.com|language=Indonesian|date=April 1, 2010}}</ref> Arising after a period of heavy repression during Suharto's New Order government, the work inspired other young women writers to publish similarly-themed works, including poems, short stories, and novels.<ref name=suryakusuma1/> Critics{{snd}}mostly male{{snd}}labeled the nascent movement {{lang|id|sastra wangi}} and took offense at the lack of femininity in the works.<ref name=junaidi/>
Utami's first novel, which fused sex and politics, was regarded as introducing a dramatic Indonesian literature, and led other young female writers such as Djenar Maesa Ayu and Fira Basuki to boldly take on subjects once considered forbidden for women.<ref name="tiojakin" /> Utami herself has continued to write works with similar themes.<ref name=taufiqurrahman/>
==Themes and commonalities== A. Junaidi and Suryakusuma, writing in ''The Jakarta Post'', note that sastra wangi writers have several things in common.<ref name=junaidi>{{cite news |last=Junaidi |first=A. |title=Women reject categorization, defend literary voice |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2005/03/13/women-reject-categorization-defend-literary-voice.html |accessdate=December 18, 2011 |newspaper=Jakarta Post |date=March 13, 2005 |archive-date=January 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104212104/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2005/03/13/women-reject-categorization-defend-literary-voice.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The works tend to be launched in cafes and bookstores, with celebrities and reporters invited.<ref name=junaidi/> The writers themselves are younger women, generally entering the industry around the age of 30, and often physically attractive.<ref name=suryakusuma1/>
The works usually deal openly with sexuality, traditionally a taboo subject in Indonesian women's literature.<ref name=junaidi/> This includes homosexuality.<ref name=junaidi/> Suryakusuma notes that the traditional patriarchal view of sex, with the man as the subject and woman as the object, is reversed in these works, with women aggressively seeking and enjoying sex.<ref name=suryakusuma1/> The diction can be explicit, with terms such as ''penis'' and ''vagina'' being common.<ref name=junaidi/> The diction and subject matter are often "shocking".<ref name=suryakusuma1/> Although works from a female perspective have been common in Indonesian literature, with works by Nh. Dini from the 1970s including references to sexuality, they were generally within the realm of social mores; the {{lang|id|sastra wangi}} movement tends to go against these mores.<ref name=Garcia/>
==Reception== M. Taufiqurrahman, writing in ''The Jakarta Post'', notes that several works by the {{lang|id|sastra wangi}} movement have been well-received internationally.<ref name=taufiqurrahman>{{cite news |last=Taufiqurrahman |first=M. |title=Critics, what Critics? |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/10/29/critics-what-critics.html |accessdate=December 18, 2011 |newspaper=Jakarta Post |date=October 29, 2009 |archive-date=January 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111044824/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/10/29/critics-what-critics.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Suryakusuma notes that the {{lang|id|sastra wangi}} works have "spearheaded literary development" in Indonesia since ''Saman'' was released.<ref name=suryakusuma1>{{cite news |last=Suryakusuma |first=Julia |title=Can literature act as a vanguard for gender equality? |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2006/12/29/can-literature-act-vanguard-gender-equality.html |accessdate=December 19, 2011 |newspaper=Jakarta Post |date=December 29, 2006 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304213537/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2006/12/29/can-literature-act-vanguard-gender-equality.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Although historically, Indonesian literature has not been commercially successful within the country, with most novels selling only several thousand copies and even large publishers only producing print runs of 3,000 or less, works by Djenar Maesa Ayu and Ayu Utami have sold tens of thousands of copies. ''Saman'' itself sold 100,000 copies.<ref name=Garcia>{{cite news | last = Garcia | first = Michael Nieto | date = 1 October 2004 | title = More than just sex | newspaper = Inside Indonesia | url = http://www.insideindonesia.org/edition-80-oct-dec-2004/more-than-just-sex-2607217 | accessdate =19 December 2011 | archivedate=5 November 2011 | url-status = dead | archiveurl=https://archive.today/20111105114748/http://www.insideindonesia.org/edition-80-oct-dec-2004/more-than-just-sex-2607217}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Watson |first=Paul |title=Beneath the burqas |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-feb-25-ca-taboo25-story.html |access-date=December 19, 2011 |newspaper=LA Times |date=February 25, 2007}}</ref>
The poet Taufiq Ismail was heavily opposed to the {{lang|id|sastra wangi}} movement, writing that "genital literature had gone too far".<ref name=Asrianti>{{cite news|last=Asrianti |first=Tifa |title=Women, youth and traditional cultures raise their voices |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/12/27/women-youth-and-traditional-cultures-raise-their-voices.html |accessdate=December 19, 2011 |newspaper=Jakarta Post|date=December 27, 2009}}</ref> Meanwhile, the novelist and literary scholar Sapardi Djoko Damono wrote that the future of Indonesian literature was "in the hands of women writers".<ref name=Asrianti/>
==Notable members and works== [[File:Nova Riyanti.jpg|thumb|Nova Riyanti Yusuf]] [[File:Dewi Lestari.JPG|thumb|Dewi Lestari]] *Ana Maryam :*''Mata Matahari'' (''Eye of the Sun''; 2003) *Ayu Utami :*''Saman'' (1999) :*''Larung'' (2001) :*''Bilangan FU'' (2008) *Dewi "Dee" Lestari :*''Supernova'' heksalogi * Dinar Rahayu :*''Ode Untuk Leopold von Sacher Masoch'' (''An Ode to Leopold von Sacher Masoch''; 2002) *Djenar Maesa Ayu :*''Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet!'' (''They Say I'm a Monkey!''; 2002) :*''Jangan Main-Main (dengan Kelaminmu!)'' (''Don't Play [with your genitals!]''; 2004) :*''Nayla'' (2005) *Fira Basuki :*''Jendela-Jendela'' trilogy (''Windows''; 2001) *Maya Wulan :*''Swastika'' (2004) *Nova Riyanti Yusuf :*''Mahadewa Mahadewi'' (2003) :*''Imipramine'' (2004) :*''3some'' (2005) *Ratih Kumala :*''Tabula Rasa'' (''Law of Feeling''; 2004)
==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== *{{cite book|last=Diah Ariani Arimbi|title=Reading contemporary Indonesian Muslim women writers|year=2009|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|isbn=978-90-8964-089-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rrhGD6ztEgoC&dq=sastra+wangi&pg=PA85}}
Category:Sexuality in fiction Category:Indonesian literature Category:Literary movements