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International Journal of Indonesian Studies Autumn 2015
marital , monogamous , reproductive , and noncommercial . It should be coupled , relational , within the same generation , and occur at home . It should not involve pornography , fetish object , sex toys of any sort , or roles other that male and female . Any sex that violates these rules is “ bad ”, “ abnormal ”, or “ unnatural ”. Bad sex may be homosexual , unmarried , promiscuous , nonprocreative , or commercial . It may be masturbatory or take place at orgies , may be casual , may cross generational lines , and may take place in “ public ”, or at least in the bushes or the baths . It may involve the use of pornography , fetish objects , sex toys , or unusual roles .
This is what Gagnon and Simon explained as a sexual script theory where sexuality is produced , shared , and forced to follow a blue print and is used as guide to analyze the perfect gender . As a blue print , sexual scripts serve as a cultural consensus to define sexuality . Such a dominant sexual script affects at the level of perception as to the good and perfect couples , the sexual relations that should appear and sexual emotions ( Waskul and Plante , 2010 , p . 151 ).
Indonesian ’ s understanding of contemporary sexuality is very limited . This situation is probably a result of the heteronormative norms dictated and sustained by the New Order Era ( era Orde Baru ) government . The New Order government based its Nation-State on the heterosexual archetype of the nuclear family consisting of a husband , a wife and children , with the nation ’ s president and his wife as parents ( Johan , 2011 , p . 200 ). Marriage is oftentimes viewed as the basis of society . Sexual intercourse aims primarily for procreation , which consistently serves to build a nuclear family ( Yulius , 2013 ). Thus , according to the Indonesian government , the only legal marriage is a marriage between a man and a woman ( Johan , 2011 , p . 205 ). This notion has prevented the emergence of a homosexual culture in Indonesia society as homosexuality is considered a deviance and immoral practice against the norms of society ( Johan , 2011 , p . 200 ). For the reason stated above , gay , lesbian , and waria are considered deviants and their identity is perceived as penyakit masyarakat ( social problems or illnesses ). These people have been forced to ‘ linger in the closet ’ and it is deemed taboo to talk about them publicly ( Johan , 2011 , p . 200 ). It can be said , thus , that the LGBT peoples in Indonesia are victims of prevailing social norms ( une victime de normes sociales ) ( Chauvin and Lerch , 2013 , p . 12 ) that arise in a society and which are legitimized by the State through social representation and the hegemonic gender belief system .
In fact , in reality , people who behave homosexually are informally welcomed by most of modern Indonesian society . It means that a person who displays homosexual behavior will be accepted as long as he or she does not trigger any trouble in the society ( Johan , 2011 , p . 203 ). But , actually , according to Oetomo , cited by Johan ( 2011 , p . 204 ), there are many problems facing gay men especially in current Indonesian society . The first issue is that many Indonesian gays , lesbians , and warias feel insecure and self-doubting . They feel guilt-ridden , not normal , awkward , and unrighteous because of their condition . Their greatest fear is to be rejected by their family and condemned as a sinner by their religion . There are many negative stereotypes , judgments , and the misinterpretation of