Sastra wangi

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.

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".

[4] Despite the controversy, the 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 -- taboo-breaking even.

[2] 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.

[8] M. Taufiqurrahman, writing in The Jakarta Post, notes that several works by the sastra wangi movement have been well-received internationally.

[10] Meanwhile, novelist and literary scholar Sapardi Djoko Damono wrote that the future of Indonesian literature was "in the hands of women writers.