Transfeminism as a Social Movement: The Struggle to Fight for Trans women’s Rights in Indonesia Post 2016 LGBT Moral Panic

Abstract

The condition of the LGBT community in Indonesia has worsen over the years, especially for trans women. In my first encounter of trans women group in 2011, trans women are longing for peace and fulfill of their human rights and away from the discrimination. Five years forward, in 2016, this condition has worsened, `and the LGBT moral panic emerged because an Indonesian campus created a study group for gender and Sexuality. This moment triggers mass organizations, and media to spread hate and discrimination against the LGBT community. This happens because Indonesia society still fears and denied gender and sexuality outside the heteronormative system. One example of many cases is how in February on the same year, a hardline Muslim group were trying to close and destroy a safe haven of Islamic trans boarding school for trans women community in Jogjakarta. However, the trans women community manage to rebuild their school on the following year. This thesis tries to uncover the condition of trans women in Indonesia how trans women fight back against the system and manage to rebuild themselves from the LGBT moral panic, and how they fight the heteronormative system. The concept that are used to uncover the phenomena are transfeminism and social movement. I use this concept to analyze on whether the fight of heteronormativity that is happening in the country could be identified as transfeminism movement in Indonesia. The research’s objective is not to redefine the Indonesian trans women movement, but to expand and shine a light of the situation. This research points out the fight for social change that trans women in Indonesia are doing such as providing safe have to learn, pray, and survive. Expand their capabilities, while at the same time use their capabilities to make social change to educate society about trans women lives and rights, while also forming networks to enforce equality.