Nature or nurture: What is there behind transsexuality?
JAKARTA (JP): Rejection or indifference: These are the two most common reactions transsexuals have to deal with in our society.
Given the fact that transsexuals face extreme prejudice and a lack of acceptance, experts have tried to figure out whether people are born transsexuals or whether it is socially developed. Is it through nature or the nurturing a person receives?
Budi Matindas, a psychology lecturer at the University of Indonesia, explained that there were two opposing theories on transsexuality.
The first argument states that transsexuality is the result of genetic factors. Experts touting this view argue that recent research has found evidence that biological factors are related to human sexual preferences.
The majority of transsexuals believe this theory. Many feel that they were born with the wrong body.
The second theory claims that transsexuality is socially developed.
"The urge for a transsexual man to become a woman usually occurs when he is seeking his identity. During this time, he may experiment with various available alternatives," said Budi, adding that such experimentation may be the result of curiosity or the desire to seek excitement.
Social factors also contribute to this theory. According to Budi, peer acceptance, family recognition and general social pressures may be behind the reason why some men and women start to associate their gender identity as being opposite to their physical body.
"The attention a boy gains from acting effeminately during adolescence may lead to pleasure, which he seeks to fulfill again. This attention may come in the form of anger, or laughter."
The burdens of male responsibility may be another contributing factor for some men who find they have an urge to be a woman.
As a psychologist, Budi leans to the second theory.
"Unlike animals, our sexual attraction is not based on chemical reactions in our body such as scents. It usually comes through a cognitive process," said Budi.
Budi argued that for some men, seeing transsexuals in the Taman Lawang area of Menteng was exciting. He claimed that such excitement does not originate from sexual urges, but from curiosity.
"According to societal norms, this activity is not right. Yet the need to fulfill a desire may overcome the boundaries set by society," Budi said
"So for many people, visiting Taman Lawang is similar to sightseeing, much like going to Borobudur or Ancol."
The sexual behavior of people seeking a sexual encounter with one of the transsexuals offering sex in Taman Lawang cannot be simplistically explained, he said, since it is formed through individual experience.
Budi explained by saying that every individual has their own taste in food and drink. Sexual preferences are developed individually in much the same way.
"When a person loves durian, you call this taste. But when he likes transsexuals as a sexual partner, you call this deviation. This is not right," he said.
"Once a certain taste is formed, there will be a strong urge, both consciously and subconsciously, to fulfill it," he added, explaining why customers regularly returned to transsexual prostitutes.
There are several erroneous beliefs regarding sexual contact with transsexual prostitutes.
Many clients of sexual transactions in the Taman Lawang area do not use condoms. The reason is that AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases are not taken seriously.
The deputy director of the Pelita Ilmu Foundation, Syamsu Rizal Djauzi, said this trend was dangerously common.
"Some men still believe the myth that having intercourse with transsexuals is safe.
"Since many transsexuals do not have vaginas, some foolishly believe that they will not pass on sexually transmitted diseases," Syamsu said. (46/ylt)