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)