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