World Wide Wave

21 Oct 2013

Indonesia: Traditional dictates modern lesbian life

Asia/Pacific

Kate Walton is an Australian ex-pat queer woman working for a national women’s organisation in Indonesia.

“I was living in quite a small, rural town and the situation is very different than in Jakarta.” In the rural village, same-sex attracted women living as men. Many of them had been thrown out by their families for being so masculine.

“Both the state and society’s ideal image of a woman is that she should be a wife and a mother. To be anything else is quite strange,” says Ms Walton.

A lot of young lesbians end up in arranged marriages. Some choose to do this out of filial duty. Other choose to enter into lesbian relationships that replicate the dominant paradigm.

But the future, particularly in cities like Jakarta, is looking better. “There’s an increasing amount of support available.” Feminist activists broke off from a traditional group to form their own LGBTI-friendly group. And Ms Walton reports that you can find support groups on the Internet.

Perhaps most hopeful is the growing support for transgendered people.

“Transgendered people are more accepted because of their more traditional role in society. They often traditionally filled spiritual roles.”

And the future may not be so grim. “People are becoming very open about their sexuality.”

Learn more from our podcast or on W3JOY’s Indonesia webpage.

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