University of Pittsburgh- Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education

"Secret Sex": Youth, Agency, and Changing Sexual Boundaries among the Dani of Papua,
Indonesia
Author(s): Leslie Butt
Source: Ethnology, Vol. 46, No. 2 (Spring, 2007), pp. 113-132
Published by: University of Pittsburgh- Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education
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"SECRET SEX": YOUTH, AGENCY, AND

CHANGING SEXUAL BOUNDARIES
AMONG THE DANI OF PAPUA, INDONESIA

LeslieButt

University of Victoria

eastern Indonesia, young men and women are

In contemporary
Papua,
increasingly exploring novel sexual practices enabled in part by rapid economic
development in the province. In particular, indigenous Dani youth are engaging
in "secret sex," a highly structured set of clandestine activities. Young Dani
women also practice transactional sex with migrant Indonesian men. This article
argues against the use of the term agency to describe these new sexual patterns.
Using results from a large survey on sexuality and from in-depth interviews, the
data suggest multiple constraints shape youthful behavior. The combination of
cultural codes, kin, and parental intervention, alongside thedisempowering effects
of the commodification of sex in a frontier economy, together create conditions of
relative powerlessness. Youth are primarily reacting to conditions around them,
rather than acting with intention, when they transgress sexual norms. (Sexual
practice, youth, West Papua, agency, frontier economy)

Among Melanesian populations, youth are perhaps thegroupmost subject to the

effectsof"hypermodernity"-the radical accelerations of timeand space, and the

boundaries(Foster1999). In Papua, Indonesia's

dissolutionof traditional
easternmost
province,a siteofongoingpoliticalviolenceandactiverepression
by the Indonesian state since its takeover in 1969, youth experience high-speed

economies.In thecentralhighlands
modernizationtypicalof otherfrontier
region, young men and women forsake rural subsistence production for the
charms of town,and often travelgreatdistances in search of temporary,uncertain

Novel transitory
workopportunities,
opportunities.
wage labororotherfleeting
novel encounters with highlymobile strangers,and quick and novel means to
escape traditional opprobrium and censure mean thatyoung people can more
readily engage in social and sexual relations once unknown or condemned.
Increasing mobility also offers the opportunity for a wider range of possible
sexual behaviors, such as associating sex with formsof cash payment, having a
large number of casual sexual partners, or having sexual relations free of
familyconstraints. In Papua inparticular, these changing patternsoccur against

a backgroundof rapidlytransforming
Indonesiandevelopmentobjectives,
withneoliberaleconomicpolicies,both
whichcombineaggressivestatecontrol
dependent on the flux and flow of "fast capital" entering and exiting the
province.

ETHNOLOGY vol. 46 no. 2, Spring 2007, pp. 113-132.

ETHNOLOGY, c/oDepartment ofAnthropology,The University of Pittsburgh,PittsburghPA 15260 USA
Copyright? 2008 The University of Pittsburgh.All rightsreserved.

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113

114

ETHNOLOGY

betweenchangingsexual patterns
This articleexplorestherelationship
among a particular set of sexually active Papuan youth, theDani of the central
highlands region.A focus on youth offersa partial refutationof dominant trends
within literatureabout youth and agency. It has become something of a truism
to assert thatyouth are central figures incontests of social change: "youth are as

of culturalchange"(Bucholtz2002:530,Van
oftenagentsas theexperiencers

Vleet 2003, Wulff 1995), who also push the boundaries of the acceptable. In
some studies, socially transgressive acts, such as engaging in sexual relations
outside of marital norms, have been seen as critical cultural practices through

from
whichyoungmen andwomendisplayagency,anddistinguish
themselves
theelders and kinwho might tryto enforce otherkinds of actions (Bennett 2005,

Bucholtz2002, Cole 2004,MandersonandLiamputtong

2002, Smith2000,
Wardlow 2004). In thisarticle, I suggest the fieldof sexual relations offersa poor
avenue for assessing the agency of youth. Rather than assume that changing

sexualpracticesresultfromyouthful
agency,I show that
multipleconstraints
regulateactions.
Youth engagingin sexuallytransgressive
behaviorare seen to express
theiractions.Some scholarsof youthand childrenin thesex
agencythrough
industry in particular have argued that sex work offers a means to articulate
agency. Young girls and boys articulate a semi-choate awareness of agency in

their
workas an alternative
toacceptingcontainment,
andexpresswhatKnauft
internal
(2002) calls thecomplexandconflictual
dynamicsof subjectivity
that
action.AccordingtoChernoffs(2003) studyof anAfrican
impelor constrain
bargirl,forexample,youngwomen readtheexpectations
ofothers,
play roles,
mediatedisparatelifestyles
invariedsocialenvironments,
argueagainstcultural
stricturesthat seem to them spurious and outdated,while retaining the sense of

culturalvalues and ideologiesas moral codes forbehavior.They take the

challengesof lifeinstride.
describestheattitude
Chernoff
ofbargirlsinAfrica
on chance sexual encounters: these "can signify confidence . . . a game of
exploration and pursuit . . . an aptitude for fun,can proclaim a hope for love"

2003:68). Similarly,inher studyof childprostitutes

(Chernoff
inThailand,
Montgomery(2001)notesthatagencyamongtheseyoungboysandgirlsisabout
based on partialknowledgeor
"makingsense of one's own difficulties,
anunwillingness
tosee things
....As faras possible,thechildren..
differently
are active agents in theirown lives . . . developingstrategiesforcoping"
(Montgomery
2001:90,see alsoMontgomery
1998).Theirself-image
isheavily
dependenton believingtheyhave controlover facetsof theirlives,and in
denyingtheexploitativesideof theirrelationships.
One way theydo it is by
creatingnew euphemismssuch as "friend"to replacethemore value-laden
"client,"pragmatically
makingthebestof a bad situation.

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"SECRET SEX"

115

evidencethatyoungpeople can display

These studiesprovidecompelling
andthatthiscapacitycanbe a critical
sexualpractice,
their
intentionality
through
of thelivesofyoungsexworkers.
feature
Nonetheless,thisarticlearguesagainst

theuse of the termagency todescribe the intentionalityof the sexual actions of

Dani youth,many of whom engage in transactional sex thatcan be labeled sex

ofkinobligations,
ofglobal
work.InPapua, theconstraints
alongwiththeeffects
optionsthatfocusingon agency
capital indailypractice,createsuch limited
experience.
Agencyemphasizes
resultsina distorted
visionof on-the-ground
ways inwhichactioniscognitively
individual
languageanddesires,and"all the
and emotionallypointed towardsome purpose"(Ortner2006:134), at the
of thescopeof thebroaderstructures
ofconstraint
expenseofa fullexamination
which regulatebehavior.The cases fromhighlandsPapua might be better
withinstilldominantnormsand
understoodas youthfulactionstakenfrom
aboutdeviantsexualbehavior,inwhich stigma,sanctions,and
expectations
shape
parentalinterests
retributions
shapeactionon theonehand,andpowerful
on theother.The cases also showhow local transformations
brought
responses
andpoliticalcontrol
aboutby Indonesia'sincreasing
investment,
militarization,
thatare disem
overPapua constrainoptionsand createyouthsubjectivities
powering. In other words, the term"agency" focuses on the sex act as a key

avenue to understanding
individualpower and personaldecision-making,

whereas sexual intercourse, I argue, is a small and often insignificantpart of a

faroutweighthe
complicatedstoryinwhich socialand economicconstraints
sexacts.
of seemingly
subversive
liberating
potential
thispoint.The first
describesthecurrent
Two data setsheredemonstrate

practices of "secret sex" engaged in by young Dani men and women in the

townofWamena, Jayawijaya
Secretsex showshow a pattern
frontier
district.
as agentivebymany concernedPapuan
of new sexualpractice-understood
parents and elders, and articulated as such by youth themselves-is

in fact

of traditional
within a framework
structured
ideologiesof correctsexual

behavior. Second,

the case studies of young Dani women who have had

orwho engageincommercialized
sex showthepivotal
unexpected
pregnancies
roleof outsideforces,including
newcomers,and
kin,clan,non-indigenous
the influxof a cash economy, in shaping outcomes. Rather than "agency," I
suggestwe view theyouthful actions takenby theseyoung women surrounding

sexas primarily
reactions-notacts fullof intention-inresponsetosituations
of relative
powerlessness.1
RESEARCH CONTEXT
Researchdiscussedinthisarticledrawsfroma qualitativeandquantitative
AIDS prevention
most
surveyconductedas partof a larger
projectthroughout

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1 6

ETHNOLOGY

regions of Papua in2001 (Butt et al. 2002), and fromqualitative interviewswith

sexualrelationships
conductedin
youngDani women engagedinnon-marital
2003 and 2005.2 All themen and women have had sexual relationships before,
and all had at least threeyears exposure to themulti-ethnic urban lifestyleof

hub.
and transport
Wamena, theregion'sadministrative
PriortoIndonesian
occupationof theprovincein 1969,severalresearchers
described Dani andWestern Dani patternsof sexuality, courtship, andmarriage.
One of themost strikingfeatures thenwas what O'Brien (1969) calls fluid and

wherealliancesare formed
andbroken
with lightning
ofmarriage,
brittleforms

speed, and where 44 percent of marriages end in divorce. Women who were
opposed tomarriage choices made by theirparents,who were abused by their

husbands,whose husbandsneglectedto pay theagreedbride-price(usually

several pigs), or who fell in love with someone else, would often run away.

women also foundthem

of personalvolition,
Alongside thisclearexpression
selves constrained
by genderideologiesthatvalued domesticskillssuch as
and patrilinealformsof descentand patrilocal
gardeningand child-rearing,
andgavebirth
residence
wherewomen livedwith thehusband'sfamily
patterns
tochildren
who perpetuatedthehusband'sline.Deviant sexuality,including
was oftenpunishedthrough
which included
rape,
payment
sanctions,
ofa fineof
a pig to the girl's kin when a man was the sexual aggressor. When a young
woman ran away orwas caught inextra-maritalrelations, she could be physically
beaten by hermale kin to punish her forbringing shame to their family or for

notobeyingtheir
ofMelanesian
wishes.The fluidnatureofkinrelations
typical
societies, where it ismore importantto act like kin than to be kin (Scheffler

2001), is presenthere.Women deployed this flexiblerealityto negotiate

and theirchildren
wheneverpossible,
advantageoussituationsforthemselves
on occasionpatrilineal
descentrules.As Peters(1975:28) summa
overriding
rizes,womenwere subjecttomen in thissociety,but they
were by nomeans
subservient.
Hotly debatedhas been theextenttowhich thesefluidrelations
were a
manifestation
ofpatterns
of sexualbehavior.
Did runaway
wives leave tohave
extra-marital
orwere theysimplyavoidingdifficult
domesticsitua
relations,
tions?
Were thesepatternssimplyan extension
of a sanguineattitudetowards
sexualrelations(ButtandMunro2007)?How frequently
were codes
premarital
ofpostmarital
monogamyactually
observedbybothhusbandandwife?Heider's
(1976) research
postulatesa low levelof sexualenergyamongtheDani, such
thatsexwas unconnected
tofluid
Incontrast,
maritalrelations.
researchfromthe
1990s (Butt 2005) supports studies byO'Brien (1969) and van der Pavert (1 986)

thatpremarital
andextra-marital
suggesting
relations
weremore commonthan
Heider noted.All theseclaimsmust remainconjectural,
however,given the
What remainsconstant,
privatenatureof sexualacts inDani society.
however,

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"SECRET SEX"

117

are concernsvocalizedby elderson theerrant

women.
ways of irresponsible
womenwho evade institutional
Thenas now,male elders
constraints
worryabout
of marriage, domesticity, and nurturance.What has changed is the range of

optionsavailable towomen to use newfound

kin-based
mobilityto thwart
of tradition
havemore toworrythem
Elderkeepersandpromoters
expectations.
than they had 40 years ago, when warfare, physical violence, and marriage

more readilythanthepacification,
helpedkeepwomen "in their
place" a little
aboutby Indonesianization.
legalprotections,
andnew culturalforms
brought
Since the Indonesian takeover, theairfield at thecenterof theBaliem valley
and Dani territoryhas become a main administrative and transporthub for the

how thecollusionbetweenglobal
highlandsregion.Tsing (2000) documents
and localdreamsofprofit-taking,
financialinvestment
patterns
largelyfreeof
createsa frontier
cultureinplacessuchasWamena,whereIndonesian
regulation,
of exploitation:
"themigrantdreamsof a regional
migrants
pushtheboundaries
ofpreviousruralresidents
frontier
cultureinwhich therights
couldbewipedout
tocreateaWild West sceneof rapidand lawlessresourceextraction:
quick
profits,
quickexits"(Tsing2000:121,McGibbon 2004).Wamena has become
a bustling
andbusytown
wheresupport
fortraditional
cultural
practicesisshared
numberof itsresidents.
by a limited
Migrantsfromotherhighlandtribes,in
particularin-migrants
fromthenearbyterritories
of theWesternDani, have
moved toWamena. Many of the50,000 Dani living in the surroundingBaliem
valley also travel toWamena regularlyor live in town.

Wamena isalso a destination

pointfor
migrantIndonesians,
military,
police
andentrepreneurs.
These areusuallyIndonesians
forces,
businessmen,
of Indo
Malay descent-glossed as "straight
hairs" (rambutlurus)by Papuans,who
as "curlyhairs"(rambut
identify
themselves
keriting).
Theyhave relocatedfrom
otherprovincesand are aroundhalfof thetown'spopulationof 15,000.They
bringwith them theirown values about appropriate sexuality, some ofwhich are

heavilyinfluenced
by statedirectives
promoting
modestyandmonogamy(Butt
2005). Some also see Papua as a place where theymight act freeof the sexual

constraints
bindingthemathome.
In addition,theIndonesian
militaryand police forceshave a dominant

presence in the region. There is an armory inWamena, a districtpolice office,

andnumerousoutpostsinpoliticallyvolatilerurallocations.The Indonesian
theformal
militaryiswidelyseenas controlling
sexwork industry.
Theyappear
to regulateactivitiesin brothels
where Indonesian
women fromelsewhere
are broughtin and commandhighprices fortheirservices(approximately
Rp. 100,000orUS$10). Incontrast,
Papuanwomenengagedinthesex industry
tendtobe street-based
andmobile, freeofmilitaryregulation,
and chargefar
less(approximately
Rp. 50,000orUS$5). Themilitaryhavealso beenaccused
of distributing
across theprovince.Pornography
pornography
"fromIndia,

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118

ETHNOLOGY

as one informant
Thailand,Japan,Denmark,everywhere!"
noted, iswidely
available. Many soldiers are also active participants as customers inmore formal

Othersalso cohabit
withor takeon regular
Dani girlfriends
sexworkcontexts.
relation
when theyarepostedinruralareas.Inter-racial
marriageor long-term
and
remain
rare.
shipsbetweenPapuans
Indonesians,
however,
relatively
For many Dani andWestern Dani, Wamena is a potentmelting pot where
people out to thwartcultural expectations of theirhome community find ample

todo so.Despite theallureof its"townlifestyle"

opportunity
(hidupkota)and
itspromise of "free sex" (seks bebas), Wamena

is equally well known as a town

wheredeviantbehaviorisquicklynoted,andwhere thosemisbehaving
might
find themselves in thehands of angry relativeswho catch them in the act. The

sectiondescribesthe"secretsex" strategies
following
youngmen andwomen
use to engage in sexual relationswhen they travel to town. Secret sex is a good
example of thepractices labeled as evidence of agency and self-control thathave

foryouthsexualpracticeselsewhere.
beendocumented
SECRET SEX

Western Dani and Dani boys and girls claim to have more sex,with more

thandid peopleof their

The resultsof our large
partners,
parents'generation.
conductedin2001 (n=196) across theprovinceof Papua, offersome
survey,
evidenceof changing
patterns
of sexualbehavior.
Respondentsaremore likely
to have sex at a younger age than in the past. The study noted a strong trend
among unmarried respondents under 25, all ofwhom had had sex by the age of
19 (n=3 1). In contrast,among respondentsover age 40, only 53 percent said they
had had sex by theage of 19 (n=44). The studyalso notes a strong likelihood that
young men and women will now engage in sexual relationswith someone they
describe as a "friend" or an "acquaintance." Among youth under 25, almost half
said theywere under the age of 15 when they firsthad sex (43 percent, n= 10),
and 75 percent (n=23) of them said theyhad had short-term,casual sex with a

friend
oracquaintance.
These figures
shouldbe takenas indicative
of a possible
trend
thanas empirically
rather
verifiable
statements.
Nonetheless,thesefigures

do suggest a trend towards sex at a younger age, with a wide range of partners,

outsideofmarriageor seriousrelationships,
theprovinceofPapua.
throughout
Inqualitativeinterviews,
Dani andWesternDani youthsituatetheabove
trendsin termsof traditional
expectations
and sanctions.
As Yimu, a young
sexuallyactivemale notes:"Sex issupposedtoconform
totheparents'
word. It
used tobe likethat,
butitisdifferent
Then
now;girlshave sexandgetpregnant.
theyare allowed to continue having sex. Or theyhave a lotof sex and theyare

justallowedtocontinue.Itmakes for
manyproblems;
manypigs are sacrificed
His friend
Abaliv describeshis sexuallyactivelifestyle
topayfines."
as deviant:

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"SECRET SEX"

119

"We have sex randomly (sembarang), and thenwhen we get found out we are

toldtomarrythegirl.Butwe can'tbecausewe need supportfromourparents

and theymight not give it; thewoman might not be suitable to livewith us. I am

will be a problem
notsupposedtohave sexoutsideofmarriage,because there
and a fine tobe paid." Engga reinforceshow sex has moved outside ofmarriage
in theeyes ofmany: "It used tobe, ifyou had sexwith a woman, there'd be tribal
warfare, so you did not play around.Having sexwas just formarriage, but now
it's not like that,so we just have sexwhenever. But now we are told: 'You are
in school, so don't have sex because thepig or themoney thatwill have to be
paid as a finewill be a sacrifice of the property that is supposed to pay your
school fees.' That's what they say," statesEngga, "but I do itanyway."

and sanctions,
Withinthisframework
of expectations
youngmen andgirls
to
the
social
describe specific
strategies
theyemploy engage inextra-marital
Theirresponses
canbe summarized
undertherubric
of "secret
sexualrelations.
sex." In one sense, secret sex looks like a modification of the running away

strategies
younggirlsused touse togaincontrolof theirdomesticand repro

ductive lives.And yet, these youth have sex inways thatare so specific, and so

structurally
similar,thatit challengesa simpleconnectionbetweensexual
of secretsex illustrate
this.
practiceandagency.Five characteristics
First,secretsex is clandestine,
hiddenbecausecouplesfearbeingcaught.
They fear being found out by relatives, and being forced to pay fines or being

forcedtoundergosanctionsfordeviantbehaviors.
Youngmen andgirlswill go
will notgetcaughtby relatives,
toextraordinary
tohave sexwherethey
lengths

elders, or gossiping friends.They go to emptyhouses or dark alleys inWamena,

and toemptystorageshedsorabandonedvillagehomesoutsideof town.

At the
sametime,they
will nothave sex inplaceswhichareconsidereddangerousin
local terms.
Having sexoutside,inruralsites,isunderstood
topoison thesoil,
andmake couplessick.All therespondents
render
gardensinfertile,
said they
never had sex on theground.
Second, secret sex relies heavily on brokers toarrange.Men or girlswill seek
thehelp of a friend,ormore likely a relative, to help solicit a partner.Brokers

helpprotect
againstgetting
caught.Forexample,oneyoungwoman lookingfor
fun inWamena gets her older female relative (kakak) to approach a youngman
and ask him, "Do you likemy friend?" It is very rare fora woman to approach
a young man on her own, and almost equally rare for a young man to do the
same. Brokers sometimes get paid. "If itworks out, I get some tipmoney after
the fact,"Enggani says. Brokers can also help with theawkward work of finding
out a potential partner's tribalaffiliation.Among theDani andWestern Dani,

whichmeans that
mostyouth
will nothave sexwith
moietyexogamyprevails,
ownmoiety.Brokershelpclarifythesocial statusofpotential
someoneof their
partners.

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120

ETHNOLOGY

Third,secretsexoccursalmostexclusively
between
Papuanpartners,
despite
the large number of Indonesians in town.As one female informant,
who regu
larlyaccepts cash for sex, noted: "If it's a Papuan man, he will send a friend.If
an Indonesian man wants to have sex with me, he will just arrange it for
himself." The ready availability of Indonesian men willing to pay for sex in
Wamena reinforces thepoint thatPapuan youth go out of theirway to engage in
secret sex with other Papuan youth, rather than engaging inmore impersonal
sexual relationswith non-Papuan partners.Some girls explain thatPapuan youth

are a knownentity,
with expectedcodes forbehavior,
whereas Indonesian
migrantsarenot.3
Othersnotethatsanctionsimposedon them
would beworse
if theywere caught having sex with Indonesian men because

it connotes a

commercialtransaction.
Fourth,secretsex is strongly
associated
with socialevents.Funerals,gov
ernment
events,churchgatherings,
rituals,and themarketplaceare places at
whichyouthfromdifferent
tribal
and seekopportunities
groupscongregate
for
sexualrelationships.
These eventsare common;it ispossible forsomeoneto
travelaroundtheregion,attending
publiceventsnon-stop.
Fifth,secretsex ismuchmore likelytotakeplaceoutsideof a person'stribal
boundaries. In otherwords, aWestern Dani woman ismore likely touse a broker
to engage in sexual relations inWamena, which is far fromWestern Dani terri
tory, than she is in her home community. In the reverse, a Dani woman from
Wamena ismuch more likely to go to aWestern Dani community if shewishes

toengageinnon-sanctioned
sexualrelations.
Mobilityallowsgirlsinparticular
toescapetraditional
sanctions
andpunishments.
Mobilityandboundary-crossing

also make iteasier fora young man to refuse topay a fineor to escape paying it

thanitwould be ifhewere surrounded

by relatives
demanding
payment.
Last, secretsex involvesgift-giving.
Exchangeof goods orpromisesisan
important
feature
of theseencounters.
Not onlyareexchangerelations
embedded
intheexpectations
ofassistanceandprotection
from
butsexualrelations
brokers,
are consistently
understoodin terms
of gift-giving.
A Westem Dani boywill
regularly
offera ritualbraceletas a preludetosexualencounters.
Dani girlswill
say a gift is expected, thoughwhat thatgift is appears less importantthan the

of it:betelnut,cigarettes,
givingand receiving
alcohol,clothes,and foodare
given,as ismoney.The giftshouldbe givenaheadof time;ifnot,
commonly
girlswatch closelyforpaymentafterwards.
A complexsystemof promissory
notes(locallyknownas "cukibon,"or "sex IOU") has developedinWamena,
where giftsof cash or goods for sex can be negotiated on a payment plan.

Girlswho give freely

of themselves
and do not receivegiftsof anykind
a senseof shameandmoraloutrage.
articulate
The outragegirlsexpresssuggests
thatgifts have complex meanings among theDani. The role of the gift as con

stitutive
of personshas beenwell-arguedfortheregion(e.g.,Strathern
1988),

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"SECRET SEX"

121

but here it seems to play a complex rolemediated by a changing sense of the

potential
valuesof thegift.The giftisa placewherenew contestsoverabstract
relationships-the
powerofmoney inparticular-getexpressed.The giftcan
nowbe used toacquiresomething
sex.Thuswemight
hardtoobtainpreviously:
see theurgency of girls expecting a gift, the token nature of many of the gifts

of thepromissory
notesystem
as strate
given,and therapidinstitutionalization
gies used by youth to render the intangible into tangible form.Money is
intangible, but a gift of betel nut for a night of sex is not only tangible, it is

The promissory
worksas an incite
convertible
intostatus.
notesystem
rapidly

ment to consume, and inparticular to consume sex. This is an example of how

evolvefrom
forms
ofpower,self-interest,
andself-aggrandizement
establishing
a materialbasis forintangible
concepts.
AccordingtoFoster (2002),people
contestand testthelimits
of thetrust
relationship
embeddedina casheconomy
inmultiple ways.4 In Papua, people use sex. Sex provides a means to test,and

theabstractsystem
rendertangible,
of a casheconomy.5
Youth thenappropriate
thepowerofmoneyforpersonalends.Perhapsthisiswhy secretsex is so inex
pensive (a handful of betel nut, forexample, costs Rp. 1,000 orUS$0. 10); it is

theactof spendingthat
matters
more thantheactof sex itself.Ironically,
then,

one of theways youth appear to articulate agency is by firmlyenmeshing

inrelations
of consumption.
themselves

To summarize, a young Dani girlof 16,who can now travel to town to attend

schoolor go to themarket,andwho wishes to exploresexual relationships

withoutenmeshing
will almostcertainly
get together
family
obligations,
witha
femalerelative;shewill attenda publicevent;shewill haveherfriend
negotiate
themeeting with a Papuan youth, ensure it is safe sex inmoiety terms, and
arrange fora quiet place; shewill meet up with theyoungman fora very short,

in-the-dark
encounter
whichmay only last a fewminutes,exchangingor

receiving a small gift; and she will ensure to the best of her abilities thather

herinfluential
neverhearof theencounter.
parents,
kin,andherpartner's
parents
Eti's experiences fall into this trend.She went with an older female relative to

a nighttime
braceletexchangeparty;a so-called"traditional"
WesternDani

dance where lewd songs are sung in thedark and people are given thechance to

theirinterest
demonstrate
intheoppositesex.The femalerelative
had recently
returned to the region, and introduced her to a boy who

liked her. They

bracelets.
ina nearbyhut,and
They thenhada briefsexualencounter
exchanged
Eti returned
homewithoutarousingthesuspicionofherparents.
At firstblush, theseare theactionsof a girlwho explicitlyassertsher
willingness to break cultural codes, and to engage in non-sanctioned sexual

Eti exploitshernewlyimportant
relations
withdistant
kinandwith
relationships.

kinwho are also peers, relations formed in town and throughnew activities such
as going to school or working. In thepast, close kinwould have had a stronger

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ETHNOLOGY

presence in her life and might have more readily stopped her from attending
parties or having pre-marital sex. Eti knows what she's supposed to do: "My
parents toldme not to have sex before Iwas married. But I do itanyway." She
makes choices to engage in sexual relations, even though these place her at risk
of being caught and punished.
On theother hand, Eti's behavior is strikinglyshaped by cultural codes, and

herown doing.She conformstocultural

most of theseare reinforced
through
ideals about where to have sex,who to have sex with, what kind of sex tohave,
and how to avoid punishment. She avoids sex with non-Dani men. She will not
engage in sexual relationswithout kin mediation. Last, she says it is pressure
frommen, not her own volition, which findsher having sex. She is not all that
interested in sex: "I am notmotivated to have sex personally on my own, but
men suggest it,so I agree to do it." She was forced into sex once: "I became his
girlfriendeven though I didn't want to." In otherwords, what is expressed as

with intention
totransgress
sexualboundaries-canalsobe seen
agency-acting
of relative
with regard
as theopposite,as reactionstosituations
powerlessness
toculturalandgenderideologies.
Wardlow (2006:12) termsthis"encompassed

agency," where adultHuli women's "capacities foracting on the social order are

withinandmobilizedforplanslargerthanthemselves."
alwaysalreadycontained
Wardlow persuasivelyshowsthatcontainment
what adultwomen are
affects
ismore powerfulstillincurtailingthe
capableof doing. I arguecontainment
rangeof actionsofyoungunmarried
girls.As Parker(2005:13)notes,thepossi
bilityof women's agencydepends largelyon theirage and theirstructural
withinthefamily.
position
The followingthreecases exploreinfurther
detailtheargument
thatsexual
viewedas actionsoccurring
transgressions
amongyoutharebetter
withinbroader
structural
conditions.Individualcase studieshighlighttheways themultiple
constraints
of family,
andeconomyaffecttheoutcomesof individual
kin,culture,
sexual practices. All thegirls in thecases engage in secret sex, and in two cases

thisleads tomore commercialized

forms
of sexwithdifferent
typesof sexual
partners.
INDIVIDUAL CASE STUDIES
Sherly:Sex as Opportunity
Sherlywas bornand rearedin thecentralBaliem valley,juston theout
ofWamena. She was a strong-minded
skirts
younggirl,whose disinterest
in
Christian
morals caused herparents(strong
Christiansand employeesat the
missioncompound)considerablegrief.
Her parents
wantedher to succeed in
schooland become a government
her
olderbrothers.Instead,
like
employee

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"SECRET SEX"

123

Sherly liked to skip school, hang out with her friends, and enjoy the town

lifestyle.

"Myparents
neverlookedafter
me," sheclaimed,"they
wouldpay for
my schoolfeesbutnotfor
Iwantedlikecigarettes,
andwentoutand
betelnut,ornicenewclothes.I feltembarrassed,
things
found people to have sex with. My fatherwas ashamed ofmy behavior, so he would hitme, and
I got angry too, and so I had more sex."

By the time Sherly was 12 years old, she said she was regularly engaging in

all indigenous
witha seriesofboyfriends,
sexualrelations
youngmen fromthe

Baliem valley. She dated Donny forseveralmonths. Donny was an active partici

andengaginginsexualrelations
pantinthetownlifestyle,
drinking,
smoking,

with many women. Donny was an expert billiard player and sought tomake a

careful
livinggamblinginWamena's onlypool hall. Sherlywas extremely

during her sexual encounterswith Donny tomake sure no one fromher father's
tribalgroup, or anyone her parents knew, had any ideawhat was going on.Much
of the time she sneaked out at night when her parents were sleeping. An

important
feature
of thesesexualencounters,
Sherlynotes,was secrecyand the
All theboysshedatedgavehermoney,especially
exchangeof gifts.
Donny.
At aroundage 13,Sherlybecamepregnant,
butdidnot tellDonnybecause

"that boy, he's always out with otherwomen, so I didn't want to tell him. Plus
he hung out with a gang of boys which also made me scared to tell him." His

and lackof familyin town,gave him considerable

irresponsible
lifestyle,
freedomtopursuemultiplesexualpartners
expectation
outsidethenormative
that
marriage
mightevolve fromrelationships.
Sherly'sparentsdidnotpursue
Donny,althoughthey
mighthave exacteda finefrom
him,because theyknew
hisparentslivedfarawayandwould nothelphim.Instead,theytookSherly's
newbornas their
own.AccordingtoSherlyandherparents,thechildbelongsto
her fatherbecause her boyfrienddid notmarry her: "The baby is theblood ofmy
parents, the blood of my father's clan." The child will call her grandparents

and"father,"
andSherly
will be knownas "sister."
"mother"

Sherly's parents are among thegroup of adultDani parentswho lament the

of town,andwho areconcerned
aboutthedecliningsexual
negativeinfluence
morals of thenew generation.At the same time, theyfollow a widespread norm
of eagerly allowing theirdaughter to live in town inorder to go to school. They

asserttheirchildwill regulateherself,andwill displayappropriate

behavior
which conformsto parentalteachings,evenwithoutparentalsupervision.
thechildwithinclan
Sherly'sparentsagreetoraisethebaby,happilyenfolding
whichwill be largely
controlled
obligations
bythefather.
Stigmaandshameover
their
unwedmotherhood
do factorintheir
daughter's
decision,butperhapseven
more so, it is vital for them to ensure thechild is raised as a blood descendant of

Theiractionsstrongly
Sherly'sfather.
shapeSherly'slifeexperiences.

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ETHNOLOGY

were also affected

in the
Sherly'sexperiences
byDonny's lackof interest
child.When thereare fewerandmore superficial
kin networks
monitoring
andfleeting
sexualrela
behavior,
Donnycanmore readily
engageinsuperficial
tions.Donny's actionsare typicalof youngmen who,when pressedby the
parents of a pregnant girl, can cross theirarms and say, "I can't, and Iwon't,

accept thisproblem."The familiesand thegirlconcede thereisnothingthey

can do nowadays when a boy refuses to takeon theresponsibilities of bride-price

andmarriage.

Are Sherly's sexual actions with Donny an act of individual agency? Is she

she
asMontgomery(200 1)argues,that
asserting,
bycallingDonnya "boyfriend"
is re-negotiating the relationships between sex and marriage as a means

to

Or isSherlydisempowered
becauseherchild is
counterparentaloppression?
inher father's
to serveclan and descentinterests
appropriated
patrilineage?I
to look toSherly'ssexual relationships
as the
argue it is counterproductive
of the
pivotalpointforunderstanding.
Instead,I suggestthattheappropriation
infantby thegrandfather is themost telling social act in this tale, for itaffirms
the capacity of male elders to regulate the lives of girls under their tutelage

of thekindsof sex theyarehaving-secret,not-so-secret,

irrespective
paid,or
otherwise.
The next case studyprovides a contrast toSherly's case in thatPrisca reacts
strongly against her parents and acts in a way that can readily be seen as

Yet constraints
on heractionsarealsopresent.
agentive.
Prisca: Sex as Defiance

Prisca is a feisty,sociable 13-year-oldWestern Dani girl,who was born and

raised in theWestern Dani town of Bokondini. She has had no schooling. She

hadanuneventful
ruralchildhood,
butwhen shewas nine,herparents
moved to
Wamena.
while shewas nineand stillliving
Prisca's firstsexualencounter
occurred
inBokondini;"beforeI had breasts,"she said.One of hermother'srelatives
came and slept beside her one night.He called toher several times,andwhen she
did not wake up he took off her clothes and raped her. Her father forced the
man's family topay fivepigs incompensation. She was scared ofmen fora long

timeafterthat.
Priscajoinedherparentsin
Wamenawhen shewas around11yearsold.An

Indonesian man fromSulawesi, who was working on building a new market,

told her parents he wanted tomarry Prisca (saya mau kawin is the ambiguous
phrase he used, which can mean "I want tomarry" or "I want tohave sex"). He

toofferthem
returned
Her parentsagreed,
repeatedly
money fora bride-price.

even thoughPrisca did notwant him because he offeredmoney: "If theguy has

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"SECRET SEX"

125

money theparentswant to receive him; if the girl doesn't want to receive him,

Prisca'sparentsaccepted
theparentsjusthitherandhither,"Priscaexplained.
inexchangeforhimspending
a downpayment(uangmuka)on thebride-price

a nightwith theirdaughter. Prisca sleptwith thisman, but triedtokeep him away

by hittinghim. He hit her back hard, in themuscles of her upper arm,which
disabled her temporarilyand stopped her frombeing able to hit him anymore.
Then he raped her. He did this twice, over two nights, and gave her parents

withherparents:"Why
Rp. 500,000(US$50) each time.Priscawas reallyangry
do you give me to him, he rapes me and hitsme?" He started coming to visit
regularly,under the approving eyes of her parents. In total,he gave her parents
threemillion rupiah (aboutUS$300). One day he departed forthecapital and left
fourmillion rupiah (US$400) in thecupboard just forher, not her parents. She
took thatmoney and lefther parents: "I couldn't be at peace with my parents.
New ideas took hold of me. I justwanted to getmarried well and have a good
life,"Prisca said. She took some clothes and went to livewith distant relatives

inWamena.

While living away fromher parents,Prisca did what shewanted. She went
to dances and parties, to hotels and bars. She sniffedglue, and got drunk. "I've
been to thevillages of Pilamo, Trendy,Wesaput, Pikhe, and Siara Jaya toparties
or to have sex. The importantthing is themoney." She has had many episodes
of secret sex with Dani boys. But most of thepeople she likes to have sexwith

or indigenous
with good salaries.
now are Indonesians,
officials
government
up toRp. 500,000(US$50),which shesays is thetopprice
Theypayanywhere
she has ever received for a night of sex. The best kind of arrangement iswhen

sexualencounter
a promissory
theclientsetsup ameetingtime,
(bakujanji),and

pays her in installments.Itmeans theyare happywith theservice, and "if they're

happy, they'll call me again."

Prisca's sexpartners
isa secret."Ithas tobe secret,"
Everything
involving
shesays.She has recently
tolivingathome,butdoesn'ttellherparents
returned

what she does. She just comes home, cooks, eats, changes clothes, and leaves.
They don't see what's going on. Indonesian army personnel want to have sex
with her, she says, but she doesn't want to because she says they are gossips;
they'll tell on her. "The importantthing is for it to be secret," she notes. If her

would everhear,shewould thenhave toconfessto them,

becausewhat
parents
she is doing is a sin. So, farbetter overall never to get caught!

Prisca's reactiontoherparents'
willingnesstosellher sexuallyresembles

whatWardlow (2006) calls "negative agency" amongHuli women of Papua New

Guinea. Huli women deliberately use sex as a means to enact revenge against

kin.Huli womenwho takeup

violentand abusivehusbandsor irresponsible
sexualactivitiesforpersonalgain alonghighlandroadsare called "passenger
women."These women do make choices,Wardlow (2006) argues,but in

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ETHNOLOGY

of commoditization
conditions
of social relations.
demoralizing
They embrace
ofpassenger
theidentity
womenbecause itsymbolizesrebellionandautonomy
to them.Yet thesewomen are takingon thisnew identityas a reaction to feelings

ofbetrayal
andexploitation,
inparticular
totheexploitation
ofchangesinbride
price values which enrich the familybut not thegirl, or in response to formsof

husbands.
exploitation
by their

Many adult Dani women who takemoney in exchange for sex also express

ofnegativeagency.Inmanycases,they
a form
violatemoietytaboos
deliberately
inpaid sexualrelationships
inordertopunishtheir
husbandsforneglectingto
providefoodand shelter.
Women talkabouta husbandwho "getsferocious"
leaves themwithoutfoodor
(bikinganas), who wounds thememotionally,
economic resources, and thereby forces them to seek out sex as a means to

Prisca isyounger,
butuses a languagesimilarto
relievetheir
emotional
distress.
theseolderwomen. InPrisca's case,assertions
ofnegativeagencywere articu
latedinoppositiontoparentswho fellshortof her expectations.
Priscauses

secret sex to gain autonomy fromher parents, and to getmoney to buywhat she

desires.
Yet at thesame time,Prisca isbecomingimplicatedincash relationships
whereherdominantrolearguablyserveshersexualpartners'statusclaims.The
IOU system she relies on todraw customers is similar to thepayment systemher
parents set upwith her "fiance" fromSulawesi. Both are promissory sex payment

While Priscadoes gainmoney formaterialgoods,herpartnersalso

systems.
gain.Prisca's sexualserviceenhancestheirstatusamongtheir
peers.Using the
"sex now, pay later" system allows men to purchase sex, and establish them
selves as people able tomanipulate the introducedcash economy for theirown

benefit.
Given that
aremarriedIndonesian
manyofPrisca'ssexpartners
bureau
crats, it is they,rather thanPrisca, who have primary control over thenature of

thesexualencounter,
and itis they
who promoteandmanipulatethepromissory
owndesires.
paymentsystemtoservetheir
In contrast with these secret sex cases, a final case study describes an

informant
who has becomemuchmore enmeshedinpaid sexualrelationships.
Salomina is a Dani woman living and engaging in commercial sex in aWestern

Dani village.Her case emphasizeshow fewoptionsforsocial supportremain

open toherafterfullyabandoningsecrecyinhersexualrelations.
Salomina: Sex as Survival
Salomina is an 18-year-oldDani girlwith a grade threeeducation. Some
times called Salo, shewas raisedmostly by hermother, as her fatherabandoned
the familywhen she was an infant.Fractious relations on her mother's side
meant thatSalomina spentmost of her early yearsmoving back and forthfrom

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"SECRET SEX"
Wamena
she was

127

to aWestern Dani village. When Salo was 12 and living inWamena,

raped by a relative who assaulted her when theywere watching

television
alone together.
Afterthat,they
hadconsensualsex together
on several

occasions, and she calls him her first boyfriend. She then had two other

inquick succession,
boyfriends
met through
friends
indowntown
Wamena.At

the time, shemade sure thesewere acceptable sex partners according toDani
categories of incest: "I would ask them, 'hey, are you my brother?' and two of

themsaid 'no,we're notrelatives,'so I tookthemas boyfriends."

Her fourthboyfriendwas an Indonesian man. He took her to livewith him

in a Western Dani village where he had short-termwork. With thisman,
Salomina engaged in forms of sex, such as oral sex, which went against

traditional
idealsof healthysexualpractice.In exchangeforsex, she received

cash, food, and clothing on a regularbasis. This experience appears to have set
the scene forSalo tohave sex forgoods or cash without relyingon secret sex as
a means tomeet partners. She now gets visited by potential clientswho set up
meetings for later in the day or night. If no clients visit her, shewill go out to

recruit
potentialcustomerslaterintheafternoon
at the
market.She isa favorite
withlocalsoldiers,
whom
she
will
with
regularly
bartersexforfoodbecausethey
have a steady supply of it.She has now had sex with many men, "too many to

count,"shesays,andexpectspayment
of somekind.
Whilemanypeoplecallher

a sexworker, she sees having sex formoney as ameans of providing food forher

ailingmotherandheryoungerbrother.
Salo's

account of early childhood rape, coercive forms of sex with non

and seemingconsentby hermotherforhercommercialsex

Papuanpartners,
transactions
claimsthatsexworkoffersan avenuetoagency.On
problematizes
theone hand,Salo recognizesthevalue of sexual intercourse
withoutstrings
attached, and appropriates thatvalue for her own benefit. She uses sex as a
means toautonomy.Her mother probably has amore varied food diet, and better

medical care,thanifshe livedoffhersubsistence

garden.However,Salo, like
many otherDani women who are involved inpaid sex, has many tales of abusive
encounterswith soldiers,where violence is used as a threatto ensure a range of

sexual activities.
Most Papuans fear the Indonesian
military,and girls in

particular do not feel they can refuse soldiers who want sex, nor are they

will be paid iftheyengageinrelations

confident
they
withsoldiersifeither
party
is drunk. Salo has had a variety of unpleasant encounters like this,and she tries

wherever
possibletoestablishgood,long-term
withrespectful
relations
clients.
Salo's case also illustrates
clearlythatabandoningsecret-sexstrategies
has specific costs in termsof who she can solicit as a sexual partner, and what
the nature of that relationshipwill be. She now relies on non-Papuans as sex
partners.They operate exclusively in cash transactions.Salo has to estimate the
value of thegoods she barters forsex, ratherthanaccepting theexchange of sex

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ETHNOLOGY

She has severedherselffrompotentially

fora giftas a symbolictransaction.
Salo has
kinand friendships.
kinrelations,
relyinginsteadon distant
protective
littlechoice but toopen herselfto relationsthatare highlyexploitativeand
degrading, as in one case where soldiers about to depart aftera work stint in the
region threatenedher at gunpoint if she did not engage in anal sex with one of

themforRp. 15,000(US$1.50).The autonomythatSalomina isable toexhibit

Salo
andsupportive
kinshipnetworks.
protective
comesat thecostofpotentially
on
trust.
As
based
new relationships
andmustnegotiate
worksamongstrangers,
she
andeconomically
dominant,
woman servicingthepolitically
an indigenous
when someonesolicitsherforsex.
usuallyendsup havingtodo thetrusting
DISCUSSION
natureofcontemporary
social
The particularly
quick,mobile,andtransitory
fornew forms
of sex.But seizingthese
opportunities
lifeinWamena generates
anactofagency.The case studiesdepictedinthis
isnotnecessarily
opportunities
article show thatyoung men and girls are acting inways thatare new but also
highly conditioned by cultural norms. Secret sex isperhaps a safeway of carving

becauseverylittleinitisactuallynew.Engaging
of autonomy
outanexpression
a negotiated
in secretsex is a highlycircumscribed
expressionof autonomy,
of relative
powerlessness.
reactiontosituations

The drive touse sex, or the threatof sex, as ameans to autonomy or to resist
oppression has deep roots inDani culture. Along with a traditionof fragile

marriages,
many youngPapuansalreadypossess externalculturalviewpoints
derivedfromextensiveregionalcontact,trade,andexchange(Biersack1996).
These facilitate using sex or its threatas a means to escape local strictures.The

violence,and of the
corruption,
Dani are highlyawareof ethnicdifferences,
of Indonesiansinthe
mechanismsof thestate,giventhehighnumber
regulatory
Dani arealso attunedtothe
inadministrative
matters.
regionand theirinfluence
hypocrisy towards sex, where an official will condemn sex work in a public

a brothel
ofparts
Militaryregulation
minuteslater.
speechandbe seenentering
also
ofpornography
and controlover thedistribution
of thesexwork industry
enhanceawarenessofunequalsocialrelations.
Such experiences appear to create expectations ofwhat is possible. Sex is a

way exposespeople tonew

butexpandingfrontiers
inthis
means toautonomy,
Dani youthholdappearto
forms
of coercionandoppression.
The expectations
thanthemoves towardsautonomydescribedfor theBumbita
be different
Arapesh inPapua New Guinea:

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"SECRET SEX"

129

Parents do not lose all authority,nor do secondary social agents gain all control; ratherautonomy
ismore valued by individual and group. A new kind of adult sociality enters intoadolescent social
transactions. . . the adolescent isnow amorally consequential agent. (Herdt and Leavitt 1998:2 1)

Youth sociality in Papua, I suggest, develops in response to two sets of con

of fastcapital.In contrastto
straints:
culturalnorms,and theregionalinflux
Herdt andLeavitt's argument,
parentsin thecases describedabove sustain
amountsof control.Sherly,forexample,is notexpectedtoact as
significant
with herparents,but ratherto
a "morallyconsequentialagent" in relations
displaya highdegreeofpassivity.
In partialcontrasttoSherly'sexperiences,
Prisca's refusalto livewith
parents that sell her for sex could arguably be called an act of agency. How
ever, the termswithin which Prisca acted are not ones forwhich categories

ThusPrisca'sdetermination
tomake "a
previously
existedincultural
practice.
of idealized,
bydreaming
highlyconservative,
good life"forherselfisexpressed
ofwhat agencymight
Prisca ispushingtheboundaries
domesticrelationships.
look likeforyounggirls inHighlandsPapua. Salomina,too, isbreakingnew
soldiers,
andengaginginsex
groundbyproviding
sexualservicestoIndonesian
acts seen as dangerous to herWestern Dani friends.Prisca and Salomina are on

thecuttingedge of sexualchangenotbecause theyare somehowbraverand

withthe
wiser thantherest,
butbecausetheyengagemore fullythanotheryouth
isnot,however,thesameas having
newcomersintheregion.
This engagement
or of
of payingbride-price,
agency.These newcomershave no expectation
Unlike their
theyhave a com
honoringexchangerelations.
Papuanpartners,
of sexualrelations.
modifiedunderstanding
economicand
Theyarethedominant
officials.
politicalforcesin theregion-themilitary,
police,and government
These men make Prisca thinkshe can make her dreams come true.
Like Salomina, themore Prisca engages in sexual relations for cash with

the
herself
distancedfrom
cultural
more likelysheistofind
categories
outsiders,
shemightexpressto
that
herevenas theycontrol
her.The intentionality
protect

defyher curfew is a reaction to a host of constraints,and not a positive assertion

of herabilitytocreate"motivatedtransactions"
(Sewell 1992:2).Agencyvia
sexuality under any conditions remains an inchoate and fragile affair,rendered

more fragilestillincontemporary
presenceandexpec
Papua by theincreasing
tationsof outsiders.It is thusarguablethatthemost important
experience
shaping Prisca's lifewas not Prisca's rape as a young child, nor her decision to
ask forcash for sex, but theact of being beaten on the arm by an outsiderwho
taught her that there are more ways of rendering a woman docile than by

of kin,exchange,andconsumption.
genderedrelationships
sex
Powerlessnessisgenerated
bymanymeans.Episodesofnon-consensual
and domestic violence pervade thenarratives. Still, it is reductionist to explain

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130

ETHNOLOGY

incipient sex work arising from secret sex as a result of poverty or domestic

abuse.Many of thegirls in thestudyhad access to subsistencelifestyles,

but
mosthadparents
with religiousambitions
orwhowere government
employees.
tothe
modem aspirations
the
stateor the
Conforming
relentlessly
trumpeted
by
churchseemstoprovidethemostopportunities
fortransgressive
of sex,
forms
notdomesticor sexualabuse.As these
modernyoungwomen increasingly
enter
intonovelsocialsituations
wherethey
withnon-Dani
mighthavesexualrelations
orwithPapuanacquaintances,
partners
theyarevulnerabletoabuse.Inaddition,
youthwho have been placed inpositions where secret sex is easy do not yet have

a repertory
of culturallanguage,
or sharedexperiencestodrawfrom
categories,
so as to come to termswith thenew formsof exploitation thatarise. The absence

of a discourseof oppressionamongyouthsustainspowerlessness.
Prisca'senergy,
andabilitytonegotiatethesex tradesuccess
assertiveness,
fullyseemsevidenceof agencyembeddedin secretsex.But foreveryPrisca,
there is a Sherly,who was led on by her parent's expectations, then rejected by

herboyfriend's
cavalierlackof interest.
Her babyisenmeshedinherfather's
kin
andSherlyisstuckathome,unwillingly
networks,
backat school,andunderher
parents'
watchfuleye.ForeveryPrisca,thereisa Salomina,
whomoved fromthe
of secretsexata youngage tocommercialized
gift-giving
relationships
relation
of theconstraints
ships.Itwould trivializethecomplexity
thatconditionthe
girls' livestoemphasizeinthisarticlethesuccessstories,
whereenergy,
charm,
anddetermination
andappeartodemonstrate
pushboundaries
agency.The youth
involvedinsecretsex intheBaliemvalleyareyouth
who primarily
follownorms
established by others,who toe the line, and who as a result face old and new
formsof physical violence, old and new formsof disvalued labor, and old and

new forms
of oppression.

NOTES
1. Sexual relationships as practiced in thePapuan town ofManokwari have been described as
"the romantic underground" (Hewat 2008). Patterns there differ from those in the highlands
in that there is less commodification of sex, and a clearer sense of intentionalityon the part of
young lovers seeking romance (see also Bennett 2005). A possible explanation for thismay be
the effect of exacerbated levels of racism and economic inequities characteristic of a frontier
culture prevalent in the highlands.
2. Research was funded in 2003 and 2005 by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council of Canada, and in2001 by Family Health International. I am grateful toChristine Jourdan
and to JeanMitchell for extensive comments on this article and immeasurably improving the
argument, which was first presented at the 2004 meetings of the Association for Social
Anthropology inOceania. Field research assistants Penina Walilo and Febe Mabel provided
invaluable assistance, and I am grateful to the studyparticipants for sharing the stories that shape
their lives.
3.
See Butt et al. (2002) for a detailed discussion of differences in sexual relations and sexual
expectations between Indonesian and non-Indonesian partners. In addition, a series of rumors

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"SECRET SEX"

131

circulate about dangerous Indonesian soldierswho abduct and rape Papuan women. These rumors
can exacerbate perceived differences between Papuan and Indonesian partners.
4. As Foster (2002) argues, one of themost importantfeatures of hypermodern times is how
people respond to influxes of high-speed capital. In particular, a cash economy is an abstract
system. People have to trustrelations thatare distanciated in theirnature, such as a bank's ability
to transforma paycheck obtained for physical labor into cash, and for that cash in turn to be
accepted at a local store.

5.
For example, when asked about their top priorities, homeless, glue-sniffing young boys in
Wamena asserted that themost importantthing for them on a given day was to have sex. Food,
clothes, and a place to sleep took second place. Sex offers themeans to transform theirexperi
ences of absent kin relations, rootlessness, and marginalization into something tangible.

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