Gay not synonymous with gigolo: Activist

Gay not synonymous with gigolo: Activist

JAKARTA (JP): A gay rights activist took exception to Jakarta
Police for equating gigolos with gays.

"Being gay, transsexual or straight has nothing to do with
good or bad morals," Marcel Latuihamallo, head of the Fraternal
Association for People of the Same Heart (IPOOS), a gay
organization, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Police cannot assume that because gigolos are people who revel
in sex that they are automatically "gay or transsexual", Marcel
said at Mitra Indonesia, a center which provides HIV/AIDS
counseling.

Police made this connection following last week's arrest of
male masseurs accused of being employed as prostitutes by a
language school in Tebet, South Jakarta, which served as a front
for massage services.

"Being poor is different. If one is hungry and has neither the
skill nor the opportunity to earn a decent living... whether he
or she is gay, straight or transsexual, that person could end up
working as a prostitute," Marcel said.

He said he knew homosexuals who had become prostitutes for
money, recognition and to overcome inferiority complexes.

Marcel said IPOOS, which began with five members in the early
1990s, now had over 500 members.

"The actual number of gays in Jakarta runs in the thousands.
They are mostly Muslim and yes, they are very religious," said
the lecturer at the School of Sociology at the University of
Indonesia.

IPOOS was founded along the lines of Stonewall, a United
States organization which fights for the rights of gays and
lesbians.

"Since the formation of IPOOS, gays from across the nation
have participated in congresses on gay rights and activities in
Kaliurang, Bandung in West Java, and recently in Bali," he said.

"Every Wednesday at midnight, IPOOS members meet and discuss
and do everything... mind you, IPOOS is no sex club."

Members range in age from high school students to 50-year-old
men, and the members have various interests, ranging from reading
to sports.

"Members include teachers, students, lawyers, etc. ...just
like normal people. We only have two lesbians in the group
though... lesbians here are pretty tough to get out in the
open."

IPOOS also has an entertainment division which helps members
develop careers, including singing.

He did say that some of the organization's members were
gigolos. "We give them the chance to change professions."

Marcel said many Indonesian gays were married to women. "They
marry and have babies with their wives... it's funny. They call
themselves gays and they get married.

"The head of the Malang gay association in East Java has a
child and so does the head of the Bandung gay association. An
IPOOS entertainer who is a drag queen suddenly announced he just
had his first born.

"They don't want to be called bisexual though. They say that
there's no future in being gay, that they can't continue being
gay forever... as if it's a choice. Some sleep with their wives
but imagine male partners. They're shameful.".(ylt)