The Gay Plauge Lurks in Jakarta

Agree or disagree - It's there and could kill you!


The grungy movie theatre in Senen, East Jakarta, was full on the weekend, dark and hot from the lack of air-conditioning.


The carpets had that sticky feeling, like walking with a Velcro floor and slippers. (Best not to ask what caused the adhesive nature of the floor).
Some of the audience squelched their way between the seats as a Japanese teen movie played on the big screen. Those still seated seemed not to mind.





Two men in the corridor between the seats brushed arms, exchanged glances, and, without saying a word, moved to the corner for anonymous oral sex.

Inside the rundown auditoriums of the Grand Duta theatre, such occurrences are regular.

In Indonesia, to be out and gay remains a taboo. Gay community members are straightforward about their sexual orientation among themselves. However, facing the social pressure of Indonesia's heterosexist society, they hide their sexual orientation when returning to the mainstream.

Most significantly, they also hide their sexual orientation from their families. An HIV/AIDS activist said most of the middle-aged men inside the movie theatre lead double lives. "Most of them hide their sexual orientation from their wives and children," he said. He said he knew of a couple that had been together for 15 years, who both had wives and children of their own.

"Their relationship is on-again-off-again, because one or the other of them always cheats with another guy. But it's never because of a woman," he said. "If people know that Grand is a gay place, some members of society might want to close it down.

But that wouldn't make gay people disappear, because they are part of (this) society. (Closing these places down) would rather make it more difficult to identify them, making HIV/AIDS prevention harder among this group," he said.

Islamic conservatism, even in societies like Indonesia which is apparently more enlightened than their Middle Eastern counterparts are not “kicking in” to stop the spread of these diseases, and worse, preventing education taking place which could save so many.

Scarier still, the gay community has to remain underground, forcing them into heterosexual relationships and opening the potential spread of infection to a group who may otherwise have been considered low risk, that is to say, unsuspecting wives and girlfriends.....