The liberal argument says yes, with reservations. Free speech is absolute, but misogyny disguised as transgression is still misogyny. Many Pujangga Binal works are criticized by feminists for confusing liberation with the male gaze on violence.
Her work was banned in several cities in West Java, but it also won the Sastra Khatulistiwa Award (Borneo Literary Award). The paradox is the point. Not all Karya Pujangga Binal is dark or violent. The poet Joko Pinurbo (who denies the label) often flirts with it through humor. Consider his poem about peeling an orange that turns into peeling a woman's clothes, only to find another orange. Or the poem where Jesus comes down from the cross to buy a pack of cigarettes. Karya Pujangga Binal
Critics vilified her. "Sastra Sampah" (Trash Literature), they screamed. Djenar replied: "Kalau laki-laki menulis klitoris, itu seni. Kalau perempuan menulis penis, itu porno. Saya menulis rahim yang busuk karena Indonesia tempatnya." ("If a man writes a clitoris, it's art. If a woman writes a penis, it's porn. I write about the rotting womb because that is where Indonesia lives.") The liberal argument says yes, with reservations