Lip-sync contest for transvestites

By I. Christianto

JAKARTA (JP): What a stage! Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Connie Francis, Celine Dion and some local dangdut singers, including Cici Paramida, shared a stage, performing their best. But halt! They were all fakes. It was a lipsync contest for transvestites.

This is the second of such contests, dubbed Pentas Sejuta Bintang or Stage of Million of Stars. Dozens of gorgeous transvestites -- they look more attractive that the average woman -- took part in the event, held at New Stardust 2001 Disco and Bar, at Sarinah building on Jalan Thamrin, Central Jakarta.

"The event has become something 'sacred' for the transvestites," said Iwan of Is&I Club, the organizer. "They can perform and feel that they have somehow been recognized by the public," he said.

Some 40 transvestites were expected to participate in this year's contest.

Last year's contest attracted some 30 participants and was held at the less prestigious Moonlight Disco in the capital's Chinatown. Unlike several other nightspots in the city, which have predominantly gay visitors only on certain nights, every night is a gay night at Moonlight Disco.

"We found Stardust to be much better. We're also very glad that Stardust provides Rp 6 million in prizes," he said.

"We are specializing in entertainment for the transvestite and gay community. The market is suggesting, as I understand it, that transvestites and the gay community in general, everywhere, are spending more for entertainment," he said.

The contest is held in five weekly sessions this month. The first three sessions are selection stages. The final is on this coming Thursday.

"Every Thursday in June has been dedicated to the transvestites," said Iwan.

He said that in the first session, only four transvestites participated. The number doubled in the second and third weeks.

"There's no promotion for the contest. Just like gossip, it is spread from mouth to mouth. But we're convinced that the event will be even more successful," he said.

Iwan, who is planning to hold other contests like Miss Transvestite, said that transvestites have it in their nature to show off. "They want to show what they have, particularly their beauty," he said.

And the response of the audience is encouraging.

Stardust's manager Samsyuddin agreed that the event was expected to grab more guests.

He said that some 300 guests came to the club every Thursday night when the contest was held.

"Usually less people come here, except on Friday night," he said.

Stardust includes a restaurant, disco and karaoke. Disco time usually starts at 10 p.m. until late. Most of the guests on Thursday night are of the gay community.

During the lipsync contest, the juries judge the participants' performance, lipsyncing skills, dress and spirit in determining the model singer.

Most participants tried their best to perform well.

Take Monica, 28, who performed Celine Dion's The Power of Love during a session. She dressed just like the real singer and performed in very high spirits.

She told The Jakarta Post that she took part in the event because it was a rare chance for transvestites to "go public".

"It's a good event. Transvestites like me can express ourselves freely and we feel that the public acknowledges us," she said.

She admitted that most people still label transvestites as weird, unwanted creatures.

"But here we are. Believe it or not, we do exist. I have to admit that in many ways, public treatment of us depends on ourselves. I mean, how we act and behave will cause reactions. So through such an event like this contest, we have the chance to show that we have skills. Not just at being prostitutes as people know," she said.

There's been a social destructiveness against transvestites. In many societies, people express fear and apprehension when talking about transvestites.

Many transvestites, meanwhile, must suppress their desire to dress like a girl or to play with girls, and to avoid the company and games of boys. Often, their parents pressure them to do what feels wrong for them and does not fit with their image of themselves. As transvestites, or confused children at an earlier stage, have a hard time fitting in, they often become isolated and many are loners who suffer from depression.

It's common to hear about transvestites being undermined, beaten, and, most of the time, ostracized by family and friends. Discrimination against them also occurs in greater society.

Transvestites are people whose self perception does not match their physical bodies. Many people mistakenly believe transvestites are gay, but transsexualism is not about sexual orientation; it's about gender identity.

Sexologist Boyke Dian Nugraha said that the simplest way to define transvestites is as a woman who's trapped in a male body.

"Who they are inside does not match who they are physically," he said.

There are a number of categories in transgenderism or people who are gender dysphoric. A transsexual is a person whose sexual identification is entirely with the opposite sex; or a person who has undergone or about to undergo a sex change operation. A transvestite is someone who adopts the dress or manner or sexual role of the opposite sex. A cross dresser is also someone who adopts the dress or manner or sexual role of the opposite sex.

Most Indonesians first heard of transsexualism in 1973, when a man named Iwan Rubianto traveled to Singapore for a sex-change operation. After the surgery, Iwan took the name Vivian Rubiyanti.