Is it nature or nurture?<\/p>\n
Adrian Smith, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Psychiatrist and noted Muslim scholar Prof. Dadang Hawari
\nbelieves environmental rather than genetic factors lead to gender
\ndisorientation.<\/p>\n
\"Basically, nearly all babies are born the same. It all
\ndepends on an individual's psychosexual development during early
\nchildhood. The process of sexual imitation and identification is
\ndetermined by how a child is raised.\"<\/p>\n
Many waria and psychologists think otherwise. \"I believe this
\nis nature,\" performer Avi said. Her mother agreed. \"Avi was the
\nonly child in the family who always wanted to be a woman. She
\nused to play with girl's toys at home right from the word go.\"<\/p>\n
Scholar and gay activist Dede Oetomo thinks that both aspects
\nplay their part; that certain individuals are born with certain
\ngenetic dispositions yet these are often only released or
\nexaggerated through particular environmental circumstances or
\nconditions.<\/p>\n
He also believes that people's sexuality varies according to
\nthe combination of three factors: gender role, sexual orientation
\nand biological sex.<\/p>\n
Among waria there is a great deal of variation in sexual
\norientation and gender role. Some are homosexual, some bisexual.
\nHowever, there are also some transvestites who are heterosexual,
\nmarried and have children, but they like to dress up and behave
\nlike women in their free time, sometimes in secret. Some waver
\nbetween being a transvestite and transsexual all their lives.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, Dede considers any generalization on gender
\ndisorientation problematic.<\/p>\n
\"Gender is about how you feel rather than your physical
\nappearance. People become confused when what they feel is
\ncontrary to what gender role society expects of them, based
\npurely on their biological sex\".<\/p>\n
Dede estimates there to be some 10,000 waria living in Jakarta
\nand a further 10,000 in Surabaya.<\/p>\n
Attitudes were not always the way they are today. Dede
\nbelieves the role of waria in Indonesian society was downgraded
\nin the wake of the world religions and western industrial
\nculture. He cites their important traditional role as shamans,
\nclairvoyant and healers among peoples such as the Dayay.<\/p>\n
On stage, they were more than the \"figures of fun\" that they
\nare often now typecast as, or are pressured to play up to. Their
\ncombination of gender gave them dual wisdom, understanding and
\ncommunicative prowess.<\/p>\n
And, as for the future, Dede remains optimistic.<\/p>\n
\"I choose to be positive. The waria community will at times
\nencounter the moral police but they are likely to become more
\naccepted in mainstream society with the enlargement of the middle
\nclass in Indonesia and their accompanying bourgeois values.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/is-it-nature-or-nurture-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}