Playboy in Indonesia?

I appeared on the cover of Playboy, Spain edition last August. I think everyone and their mothers know about that if you live in Indonesia. Lets just get that fact out in the open. Now, I have this blog for a reason and one of them is to be a medium for my voice for matters that concern me most. This is one of those moments.

I have been asked by a large number of Indonesian media about two things:
1. How do you feel about Playboy being published in Indonesia?
2. How do you feel about potentially appearing as the first cover of Playboy Indonesia?

I respect Playboy as an internationally known publication. Everyone from legendary Marilyn Monroe to Pamela Anderson to Madonna to Cindy Crawford have benefited from their professional relationships with the magazine. I have made a personal decision as a model to also follow that route last year. This decision certainly wasn't popular in my own country. Heck, it was a huge disappointment for my parents too. I regret that part of it. For that, I am sorry.

For my parents who I love very much, and for them alone, I have made another personal decision to not pursue that line of work anymore. Being on the cover of Playboy can be considered peak of any model's career. As they say, "Been there done that."

However, I was aware of one thing; I appeared in a country that does not consider Playboy and nudity as taboo. My appearance was never intended for consumption of Indonesia. How many Indonesians do you now read Playboy Spain? My pictures circulating on the internet happened without my being consulted. I do not have rights to those pictures. Not offending my countrymen was one of the criteria of my decision making process in appearing in Playboy Spain.

So now we are going to have Playboy Indonesia. It's hard to imagine a magazine with a very specific and uncompromising character published in a country where the same character is considered taboo. Why I ask? I am just a model, but when people ask my personal opinion about Playboy Indonesia, that would be my short answer. I mean really, what kind of content adjustment do they need to make so Playboy can be accepted by Indonesians? That is like asking TIME magazine to only do gossip or Hollywood celebrities news. Not gonna happen.

If you were to put gado-gado in McDonald, they would probably call it Mac-Gado-gado. Whatever content adjustment that is planned for Playboy Indonesia, it is still Playboy magazine. Period.

Should Indonesian Government stop Playboy from appearing? No. Especially if Playboy Indonesia already have legal documents to publish the mag. Should Indonesians who are unhappy with having Playboy in Indonesia voice their opinions? Absolutely. I am proud the fact that Indonesia, in many cases, can be considered more democratic than even the US. Heck, we vote our President directly, Americans do not. So let us debate without hurting each other. Be angry using our voice instead of our fists. You don't like Playboy in Indonesia, speak with your wallet. Don't buy it.

So, should Playboy be in Indonesia? In my personal opinion, I do not believe they should until TIME magazine started to write about Hollywood celebrities only :)

How do I feel about potentially being on the first cover of Playboy Indonesia? Just like my pictures circulating on the Internet... not much I can do about it. I do not have rights of my old pictures, so they can requests those pictures without my approval. If Playboy Indonesia ask me to be on the first cover, I will humbly decline such request.

There ya go.. my personal opinion.

Tiara

PS: Teman-teman press Indonesia, untuk tambahan, bisa dilihat disini.