Ignorance and hostility a fatal combination

Although often incorrectly labeled waria -- an acronym from wanita (woman) and pria (man) -- transsexuals are not necessarily homosexuals.

Nor are they transvestites who are men with a phobia for cross-dressing. For true transsexuals the need to become totally male or female can be a life-and-death matter -- literally. Some researchers claim only 50 per cent survive beyond age 30; social oppression, personal shame and never-ending bigotry frequently lead to suicide.

Gender and sex are separate, though often confused. In transsexuals, the area of the brain that determines gender identity is in conflict with the reality of different sex organs.

Transsexuality is also known as gender dysphoria -- mental trauma regarding gender. It can be experienced by people who are born either male or female.

It is believed to be caused by hormone mix-ups that may be linked to the mother suffering stress at a critical time during pregnancy, though the evidence is unclear. About one in 30,000 babies is born transsexual. The phenomenon also occurs in animals.

The condition should arouse compassion and understanding. In other cultures transsexuals are often revered and considered to have special mystical powers.

In the Indonesia of the 1960s positive attitudes toward the handicapped were rare. It was to take another 40 years before the nation had a near-blind man as head of state. Last century, the different were persecuted, even by the church.

During the early days of the New Order regime there were no open bookshops full of modern texts on sexuality, no Internet to browse, no "Dear Doctor Love" newspaper columns. Sex in its many manifestations was a taboo topic, particularly in regional towns.

Although Indonesian society is now more open, in many communities people like Lina may still be subject to hostile stares and whispered comments -- actions that can seriously damage the emotionally frail.

-- Duncan Graham