It was almost 2pm in one of the outer western suburbs of Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city of more than three million inhabitants. Merry, 50, a transwoman, had just alighted from a bemo, or public transport van, to head home after a day spent busking. Home is a three square metre room she rents for just under US$25 (S$33.6) a...
It was almost 2pm in one of the outer western suburbs of Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city of more than three million inhabitants. Merry, 50, a transwoman, had just alighted from a, or public transport van, to head home after a day spent busking. Home is a three square metre room she rents for just under US$25 a month.
"My eatery caters to people around here and they are mostly poor, so sometimes they eat here but can't pay and ask me to put it on their tab. That's why I still need to go busking at least three times a week to supplement my income.""I was once married to a woman and we have a son. I raised him from the money I got from busking on a daily basis. I didn't have any other skills.
Damayanti is a spokesperson for Surabaya's association for transwomen, Perwakos. The organisation has 586 members and is funded independently through subscriptions from members and public donations. Today, while transgender performers can still find acceptance in Java's hinterland, attitudes in major urban centres like Surabaya are increasingly conservative.
Wijaya gave the example of how, in 2016, then defence minister Ryamizard Ryacudu claimed the LGBT movement was an example of the "proxy war" waged by foreign countries to "destroy Indonesian cultures without firing a shot".
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