By Yanti B. Sugarda

Family Values, Sex and The Gender Role

Urban people are strongly and consistently supportive of the marriage institution. People think and live in terms of family life. To be an adult single person is the exception, not the norm. Urban adults prefer marital happiness to material wealth. The majority of urban people are married at 20 years and above. Views on premarital sex remain conservative, but Balinese urbanites are least strongly against it. However, as is probably universally the case, men are less likely than women to feel that premarital sex is wrong. But on average the majority people at all levels agree that it is better to wait for wedded bliss.

In the working arena 80 percent of the holders of top management positions are still men. However, especially in the Jakarta scene, there are winds of change that will alter the

picture in the future Women are beginning to free themselves from general stereotyping, where the traditional view is that women are men’s partners.

Women are becoming more aware of current issues and of their role in society, as they have become more educated and better informed. They aspire to become independent and have empowered themselves to create their own life.

A study on Asian women showed that there are several types of them. Those who are high-achievers are dynamic and independent, while those who are active are dynamic and socially embedded. The new feminine type are those who are socially embedded, caring and quiet.

The cool ones are quiet and independent. It seems that Indonesian women are mostly of the socially embedded, caring and quiet – the new feminine type.

On the home front, the majority of adult men and women tend to agree that men should do their share of housework. Men have gradually become use to the concept of being partners with women on the same level. Only 14 percent of men feel they should be exempted from doing chores at home. The popular terms for this segment is “traditional husband”.

Mall Behavior

A more exciting way to spend leisure time is to go to the mall. Urban people are real mallgoers. The mall is not only a place to shop, but also to “be with other people of the same class”, to be where the crowds are, to go out with the family, to window shopping and to eat. To teenagers the mall means being together with friends to ngeceng, a popular term for getting eyefuls of the opposite sex.

Many teenagers admit that the greater the chances there are of meeting other teenagers, the more they become conscious of their appearance. Being caught for following the latest trends in appearance is vital. This applies not only to girls but also to boys.

To teenagers the availability of game facilities is also an important part of mall life. Also, the presence of restaurants and cafes, where people can meet and talk. Most of all, malls have 21

Cineplex showing the latest box office movies. Teenagers start to date, on the average of 16, and movie houses are their favorite dating destinations. Because of the dominant preference among urbanites to socialize with their peer group , most residential areas as well as malls are clustered in homogenous classes. The are malls for the upper-end expenditure levels and for the middle to lower expenditure levels. Residential areas are also positioned with certain segments in mind.

The Great Socializers

The majority of urban adults had been active in organizations during their school period, from scouts organization and sport club to student governing bodies, student newspapers and religious groups. As adults, the majority of them participate in group activities. Three-quarter of urban people to attend pengajian or mosque groups once a month, while two-third belong to social community organizations, women’s groups and parent-teachers associations.

A popular form of group activity is arisan, which is both a socially and economically beneficial activity, where groups gather on a regular basis to have discussions and collect a certain amount of money from members to be raffled on a rotating basis. Each group member has the same opportunity to win the raffle in one of the arisan gatherings, which is also a form of saving money. Sometimes the prize is not money but a valuable household appliance, such as microwave oven or a TV set.

Money and Wealth

A study at the top-end level of household expenditure groups indicate that most affluent urbanites have a car and live in houses more than 100 square meters in size. Banking practices are also high. However, investment in stocks and shares is lower in Jakarta than in other Asian capitals.

More than 50 percent of the affluent carry plastic money, either credit cards or charge cards. The charge cards is a newer concept, but urban Indonesians have taken immediate preference for it. The main reason for this is that there is no debt being made and the interest placed on the credit card purchase installment repayment is perceived to be high. Individual Indonesians avoid being in debt, as the concept of debt is linked to religious beliefs as well as the concept of credit interest. The religious belief s are the underlying reasons for the emergence of Islamic banks.

Does money bring happiness? Top household expenditure groups tend to describe themselves as happy, while those with less

money are likely to describe themselves as unhappy.

Shopping Behavior

Supermarkets have become very popular and are visited by three-quarter of urban households. The popularity of supermarkets is namely caused by its reasonable prices, comfort, convenience, neatness and cleanliness. Also, the frequent discounts sales and

bonuses offered. The use of ‘hypermarkets’ is also growing, although those who use it are still those at the top-end of the social classes.

Although the allure of supermarkets and hypermarkets is growing, they have not completely replaced traditional markets, which are still preferred to purchase meat, fresh vegetables and fruits. The opportunity to bargain is also a motivating factor to shop at traditional markets – Indonesian housewives just love to bargain!

When there is no time to shop at the market, there are always the daily visits of hawkers, who bring bread, fruit, vegetables, meat and fish to the front doors of urban dwellers. The hawkers either push fruit/ vegetable carts or use bicycles. Besides supermarkets, traditional markets and hawkers, there are still provision stores (warung), minimarkets and 24-hours stores, where one can buy urgently needed bread, coffee, sugar or other supplies that have just run out of stock at home.