Romeo and Julius in the Tropics: The 1938 Zedenschandaal as a Case Study of the Intersection between Colonialism and Homosexuality in the Dutch Indies

Abstract

In this thesis, the 1938 Zedenschandaal is analyzed in the light of the exportation of the Dutch gender regime and colonial ideologies of European superiority. During the Zedenschandaal, a large number of European men with high positions in the Dutch Indies elite were exposed as homosexuals. News reports mainly focused on these European arrestees. The research question for this thesis is: “Why was public judgement focused on the arrest of European men during the 1938 Zedenschandaal in the Dutch Indies?” This question is answered with an analysis of the exportation of the Dutch gender regime to the Dutch Indies in civilizing projects; an analysis of the influence of colonial and orientalist ideology on the Dutch Indian homosexual context; and an analysis of Dutch Indian newspaper articles which covered the Zedenschandaal and which also mentioned “Natives”. Although the exportation of a Dutch gender regime, in the form of e.g. the Ethical Policy, framed “Natives” as a source of a lack of (sexual) morals, a focus on “Native” arrestees in the Zedenschandaal would clash with colonial ideas of European superiority. “Natives” were already framed as morally deviant, thus “Native” homosexual behavior did not shock Europeans as much as European homosexual behavior. Furthermore, “Native” men had continuously been framed as feminine, passive, and submissive, in opposition to European men who were framed as masculine, active, and dominant. This role division was transferred to the framing of “Natives” within homosexual context. Therefore, “Native” men were not highlighted as the main perpetrators in the Zedenschandaal. Thus, this thesis demonstrates that the focus of public opinion on European arrestees can be explained as a logical continuation of colonial ideology.