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International Journal of Indonesian Studies Autumn 2015
Homosexuality in Indonesia : Banality , Prohibition and Migration ( The Case of Indonesian Gays )
Wisnu Adihartono Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales ( EHESS ) Marseille
Wisnu Adihartono is a PhD candidate in sociology in Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales ( EHESS - Centre Norbert Elias ( CNE ) UMR 8562 CNRS ), Marseille , France . His research interests are sociology of gender , gay studies , masculinity studies , sociology of migration , sociology of the family , and sociology of everyday life . wisnuadi . reksodirdjo @ gmail . com / wisnu . adihartono @ ehess . fr
Abstract
A State and a national identity are formed on the basis of mutually unifying thoughts and beliefs through the process of social imagination and social representations . Through these two processes , peoples also have rights to determine which thoughts and beliefs are acceptable and which ones are not . Thus , issues relating to homosexuality cannot be avoided . Indonesians consider homosexuality as a set of abnormal acts and contrary to their religions . In Indonesia , homosexuals are denied access to power and have almost no access to pursue their rights . Consequently , in order to survive , Indonesian homosexuals usually must hide their orientations , or in extreme cases , they move to other , more tolerant countries . Through face-to-face interviews with several gay Indonesia who lived in Paris , the study on which this paper reports sought to establish the reasons for the participants ’ migration to Paris . It also sought to establish the motives for the choice of Paris as a city of destination . I particularly focus on gays ( gay masculine and / or gay feminine ). This research was entirely conducted with qualitative methods . Thus in this paper , several short stories that have been collected from the participants are recounted and analysed .
Keywords : Indonesia , Social imagination , Social representations , Homosexuality , Gay , Migration
Introduction
The idea that homosexuality is a disease is widely shared in Indonesia . Many LGBTIQ ( lesbian / gay / bisexual / transgender / intersexed / queer ) suffer the consequences of a severely homophobic society . According to the report of International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission ( 2007 ), Indonesian LGBT people are often targeted for human rights abuses due to their sexual orientation , gender identity and gender expression .
A straightforward example of how Indonesian LGBTIQs are discriminated against was when the “ Queer Film Festival ” was held in Jakarta in 2011 in cooperation with a number of European Cultural Centers . A very conservative Islamic organization -- the Front Pembela Islam or the Front of Islamic Defenders ( FPI ) -- went to the French Cultural Centers and attempted to close the festival . According to FPI , the movies that were being screened were pornographic or at least contained elements of pornography . To attempt to close the festival , the FPI threatened to burn some of the cultural centers that were responsible for