Yogya gays in search of identity

Yogya gays in search of identity

By Singgir Kartana

YOGYAKARTA (JP): "Yogyakarta is a haven for gays" read a
banner put up for several days on the River Progo bridge, which
leads to the city of Yogyakarta from Jl. Wates. The provocative
banner was put up in conjunction with Gay and Lesbian Solidarity
Day in March.

Has Yogyakarta become a favored place to live for the gay
community. How does the surrounding community react to their
presence?

Do not be surprised to learn that gays have for a number of
years considered Yogyakarta a comfortable place to live in.
Yogyakarta's residents generally tolerate the presence of gays;
besides, Yogyakarta, as a center of education, always welcomes
newcomers. Gays may find life in Yogyakarta to be comfortable
because the city is home to two gay organizations, Jakin, which
has about 50 members, and the Indonesian Gay Society (IGS), which
claims over 400 members. Interestingly, most members of the two
organizations are university students.

IGS coordinator Faisal, 23, estimated there were more than
2,000 gays in Yogyakarta, most of whom were from other areas.
Their professions range from businessmen, employees of private
enterprises, civil servants to workers on construction sites.

Popular night hangouts for a get-together or a date are
Borobudur Cafe, Java Cafe, Papillon Discotheque, Purawisata and
the Northern Palace Square.

Due to the continuing stigma, gays continue to try to blend in
with the surrounding community. In terms of physical appearance
and behavior most cannot be differentiated from heterosexuals.
However, gay people have developed a dialect to identify each
other.

"We have a special kind of language that we use among
ourselves. We have a secret code and will change it the moment we
find out that this secret is leaked. We used to wear an earring
in our right ear. When the code became known to outsiders, we
devised a new one," said Hanung, 32, who runs a laundry business
and is initiating the establishment of an organization of gay
environment lovers.

Gay people often conduct activities for fun, such as having
get-togethers at cafes, chatting sessions and trips to tourist
attractions. However, the activities are not regularly scheduled.

Members of Jakin and IGS have a rather more regular schedule
for their activities. They meet often, including to assess the
use of their codes. Jakin, in addition, publishes a special
magazine under the same name. The magazine contains information
about gay life in Yogyakarta and its surrounding areas. Besides,
every Jakin member enjoys the counsel and advice from Lentera
PKBI (the Indonesian Planned Parenthood Association), a non-
governmental organization dealing with sexual health advocacy.

"The assistance provided by Lentera PKBI is intended more than
anything else on sexual health, for example by providing
information on sexual health, condoms and counseling on safe sex
activities. In reality, gays are vulnerable to HIV infection,"
said Antok, one of the volunteers from Lentera PKBI.

Jakin chairman Zoel, 25, said their organization thought up a
number of activities for the benefit of the public, such as fund-
raising activities for the poor. Unfortunately, he said, many of
the plans were not realized because of the community's own
concerns about acceptance.

"If we do something, we wonder if it will be acceptable to the
community because we are a minority social group which the
community has never socially recognized," said Zoel, a student of
the school of economics of a private university here.

Compared to Jakin, IGS has a clear program. Perhaps, as all
its members are university students, its activities have
intellectual and political nuances. Apart from publishing its own
magazine, New Jaka-Jaka, IGS has often carried out national-scale
activities such as observing National Gay and Lesbian Solidarity
Day. IGS organizes discussions on important social problems every
second Sunday of the month. It also conducts political campaigns
related to equal rights.

"We do not have any more problems related to narcotics and
drugs. As far as I know, none of our members use narcotics and
drugs," Faisal said emphatically.

What is the response of the people of Yogyakarta to the
presence of gays among them? According to most gays, the people
in Yogyakarta assume an open attitude toward them. As long as the
gays do not disturb public interests, they are free to carry out
their activities. Gays in Yogyakarta say they have never met any
obstacles in carrying out their activities although they openly
declare that they are gay. Nevertheless, they still think twice
about organizing social activities in public places.

Faisal admitted that part of the community still harbored
negative views toward gays. He said it was the result of the
inability of some gays to be part of the greater society and
"some do inappropriate things in public".

Yogyakarta has its own historical value in the birth of one of
the fist gay organizations in the country. It was here that the
Yogyakarta Gay Brotherhood was set up in 1985, three years after
the establishment of the country's first gay group in Surakarta.
In 1987 the organization changed its name to IGS. The city was
host to the first Lesbian and Gay Congress in 1993. To cap all
this, it was also in Yogyakarta, to be exact at the building of
the Indonesian-French Institute (LIP), that the National Gay and
Lesbian Solidarity Day was recently observed.

"In Solo (Surakarta) we once experienced a sad event," said
Faisal, who is a student in architecture at a private university.
"Well, we can say it was a threat.

"In September 1999 while we were having our national working
meeting at Dana Hotel, a group of youngsters claiming to be from
the Mosque Youth Forum came and threatened us. Eventually, we had
to cancel our meeting."

Gays perhaps should be thankful that Yogyakarta has provided
them space for their activities. Unfortunately, when the
community begins to welcome their presence, it is the gays that
have set up their own exclusive groups and keep a distance from
society. As a result, public opinion has it that groups of gays
are fond of holding secret parties. This is reason enough for the
community to harbor suspicion toward gays.