Younger gays, transvestites have courage to come out
Younger gays, transvestites have courage to come out
If there was one person known to talk in seminars or discussions
about the gay and transvestite communities in Indonesia as
recently as five years ago, only one name would probably have
come up: Dede Oetomo, chairman of GAYA Nusantara and a
sociolinguist from the Surabaya-based Airlangga University.
But now, the gay and transvestite movement, which was founded
in the 1980s by Dede, who is now 51 years old, has new faces.
Young members are more daring about coming out and demanding
recognition from the state and society.
Mamoto Gultom and his partner Hendy Sahertian of the Pelangi
Kasih Nusantara Foundation (YPKN) in Jakarta, Widodo of the
Pelangi foundation in Yogyakarta, Lenny Sugiharto of the Srikandi
Sejati foundation or Irma of the Surabaya Transvestites
Association (Perwakos) are outspoken members of the younger
generation of activists, advocating the rights of gays and
transvestites.
"State recognition for gay relations is important. It could
probably reduce frequent partner changes among gays and, then,
decrease the risk of HIV/AIDS," Mamoto said on the sidelines of
The National Meeting: Sexuality and Men's Sexual Health, in
Puncak, West Java, last week.
Mamoto, a medical doctor who graduated from the Indonesian
Christian University and has had a relationship with Hendy for
seven years, said recognition would give more gays the courage to
come out.
Besides state recognition, Irma said, many transvestites hoped
that the community could learn to accept them.
"I was sad when one of my friends died. People refused to
prepare the body for burial. So, we bathed the body and prayed
for him ourselves," Irma said at the meeting.
Some transvestites are demanding to be able to use their
chosen female names and photographs on their ID cards rather than
being forced to use their male given names.
Only in Papua can transvestites select from three different
kinds of ID cards, one which identifies them as male with their
given name, one that lists their female identity, or one which
identifies them as transvestites rather than as male or female.
"The Papua administration is very supportive of transvestites.
I'm carrying my female ID card now because the meeting's
committee gave me plane tickets with my female sexual identity,"
Henny Hamdi, chairperson of the Papua Transvestites Communication
Forum, said.
Widodo said gays and transvestites who wanted to achieve
recognition by the state and society in general should also join
other movements, instead of becoming exclusive.
"We in Yogyakarta are often involved in rallies with farmers
and join discussions on human rights, the arts and the mass
media," Widodo said.
Islamic activist and women's rights advocate Lies Marcoes
Natsir suggested that the gay and transvestite movement use a
three-level approach: state, religion and grassroots, as has been
resorted to by the feminist movement, especially in Indonesia.
"At the state level, we can influence policy that can give
recognition to gays and transvestites," Lies, who is also an
executive at the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace
(ICRP), said.
She said the movement could also cooperate with some
progressive religious experts to reinterpret religious texts in a
manner more friendly to gay and transvestite communities.
She emphasized the importance of a grassroots movement that
would require the unity of gays and transvestites in struggling
for their demands.
A. Junaidi