Lip-sync contest for transvestites

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.