What’s Wrong with Being Fabulous?
Musings on the misunderstood LGBT community in Indonesia.
First of all, I’m straight. I just happen to have a couple of bisexual, lesbian, and gay friends. And I am chill with them. I accept them and I want them to have equal rights.
Indonesia is, as the Jakarta Globe puts it, is “still far from a rainbow nation”. Though the issue of the LGBT community spans as far back as the 60s, it had its ups and downs in public discourse. Recently, the issue is experiencing an “up” phase, after a support group on sexuality at the University of Indonesia (SGRC) was accused of being an “LGBT community”. Of course, the allegations made no sense, because the group was a counseling group and study group for issues of gender and sexuality. But, they have already received many death threats.
However, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. In 2007, gay activist Hartoyo was physically and verbally abused by his neighbors in his own house. His only crime was that he was gay.
Here, I don’t seek to argue for or against the LGBT community. I personally believe that everyone deserves equal rights, regardless of sexual orientation. However, instead of engaging in useless debate with fundamental conservatives who think that LGBT is a “disease that needs to be eradicated”, I am more concerned of Indonesian society. Are we seriously living in a society where it is wrong to be fabulous?
Being gay (or bi, trans, or lesbian) in Indonesia is not illegal. Under the Constitution and positive law, being LGBT is not criminal act nor is punishable by law. However, local bylaws, such as in Sharia-enforced Aceh, state that being LGBT is explicitly illegal. Aceh is known as a “special autonomy province”, one of three provinces where special privileges are given to the governments of the province. In Aceh, aside from positive Indonesian law, Sharia law is enforced, and under Sharia law, being gay can result in a serious punishment. But it’s better not to tell anyone you’re gay anywhere in Indonesia. Over the years, gay activists have been confronted by mostly conservative Muslims who consistently spout that homosexuality is a sin and unacceptable behavior in Indonesian culture. The most radical Islamists, the FPI or Islamic Defenders Front, have gone on record saying:
They choose to be with people of the same sex and it is a crime in our religion. If the government doesn’t want to do anything about them, we have to.
Now, on to my thoughts.
Indonesia is praised as being a tolerant, pluralistic country. How can it not be? Over 300 ethnicities live in the archipelago. But at the same time, it is also a hypocritical country, especially when it comes to issues of sexuality. When confronted with issues of sexuality, especially those they are unfamiliar with, the first weapon that people brandish are “values” and “religion”.
The first thing that people do when confronted with an “abnormal” issue to quickly judge and see the issue from a narrow perspective. In this case, LGBT is often viewed solely from the traditionalist perspective, where ‘official’ marriage should only be between a man and a woman, and that LGBT goes against human nature (i.e. “God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve”). With added conservative Islamic values, LGBTs are further demonized with being sinful or mentally ill, or in more extreme cases, a threat to the country.
Where did all the tolerance go suddenly? If we were truly tolerant, why isn’t the LGBT community accepted yet? I find it highly hypocritical of a country that praises itself for tolerance being so opposed to LGBTs.
I believe that a lack of proper sexual education and too much emphasis on religious education is at the root of the problem. Sexuality is still deemed a taboo subject in Indonesia, one that needs strict moral policing and guidance. Sadly, in public schools, the curriculum doesn’t allow a scientific approach on sexuality. Though the human reproduction system is taught in Biology, there are no further discussions on sexuality in the social setting, which I think is important. As a result, this hole is filled in with religious dogma that often shuts down critical thinking and forces students to view sexuality as a “black-and-white” matter. What I mean by this is that the accepted form of sexuality is strictly limited to “man-woman”; all other forms are deviant and should not be engaged in. At its very core, I think this is what shapes the biased perspective on the LGBT issue.
More open discussions should be conducted about LGBT in public discourse. The fact that many people are voicing out their concerns, albeit still founded on myths and not scientific evidence, about LGBT is promising, as it will give rise to more people researching and forming opinions on the matter. After that, it’s only a matter of time until the issue is fought at the legislative level. In 2003, a bill that would criminalize LGBT was proposed and rejected. Maybe in the future, a more inclusive bill will be proposed.
Perhaps it would still be a long time until the LGBT community is fully accepted in Indonesia. Maybe it may never be accepted at all. We’ll just need to wait and see.
