Homosexuality in Indonesia is generally considered a taboo subject by both Indonesian civil society and the government. Public discussion of homosexuality in Indonesia has been inhibited because human sexuality in any form is rarely discussed or depicted openly. Traditional religious mores tend to disapprove of homosexuality and cross-dressing.
In Indonesia, where religion plays a dominant role in society, and where more than 80 percent of the population are Muslim, homosexuality is not punishable by national law, but condemnation of homosexuality has been voiced by many religious leaders. The national criminal code does not prohibit cross-dressing or adult, non-commercial and consensual homosexual conduct between consenting adults, although it does contain a higher age of consent for same-sex sexual conduct, and there are some reports that police have sometimes harassed gay or transgender people using vaguely worded public indecency laws. Indonesia's northwesternmost province of Aceh (the only province in which shari’ah is applied), has a sharia-based anti-homosexuality law that punishes anyone caught having gay sex with 100 lashes.
Beyond the national laws, overt violence against gay or transgender people, by civilians, is still rare. Generally, such violent intolerance is restricted to members of religious vigilante groups such as the radical Islamist groups.
The general public is becoming more aware of the existence of gay and transgender people through greater press and media content, but this has not necessarily led to greater tolerance. In particular, there have been more depictions and discussions of homosexuality in the Indonesian news media, also depictions of gay lifestyles in Indonesian television and films. Indonesia does have a reputation as being a relatively moderate and tolerant Muslim nation; however, the recent survey revealed that intolerance of minorities is growing, with the highest level of hostility directed at the gay and lesbian community. The Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) found in its most recent poll conducted in 2012 that 80.6 percent of its sample population objected to having gays or lesbians as neighbors. The figure has jumped significantly from 64.7 percent in 2005.
In recent years, LGBT people in Indonesia are facing growing hostility and intolerance. In early 2016, LGBT people and activists in Indonesia faced fierce opposition and attacks of homophobia and hate speech, even launched by Indonesian authorities.
Coming out to family and friends is seldom carried out by LGBT people in Indonesia, as they are more afraid of rejection and social backlash. Nevertheless, there are some rare examples of understanding and acceptance by the family of LGBT people.
Public view In Indonesian culture, sexuality in any form is considered a taboo subject and often immediately judged as an obscenity. Sexuality, let alone homosexuality, issues are considered a very private matter that must be confined only within bedrooms. In Indonesian culture the concept of malu (shame/embarrassment or 'losing face') is prevalent. Indonesian people are generally tolerant towards homosexuals but prefer not to talk about it because of the strong culture of malu in Indonesian society. Waria, the male to female cross dressers for a long time have played their parts in Indonesian culture. Numerous Indonesian traditional performances such as lenong and ketoprak often featuring transsexuals as an object of jest, humor and ridicule. While ludruk drama and lengger lanang dance performance featuring male cross dresser as female dancer. Even today, gay and transsexuals can be found performing in Indonesian television and entertainment industry. In Indonesian view, it is quite acceptable to have transsexual or cross dresser entertainers or public figures. It is usually considered as a funny thing, unless it were to happen in their own family where having effeminate sons are often considered as a disgrace to the family.
Due to its perception as a humorous taboo, homosexuality is used as a punchline for Indonesian jokes, most notably in the Jomok internet subculture, which is named as a portmanteau of the words joke and homok (Indonesian slang for homosexual) and refers to the creation and distribution of online content featuring recontextualised images or video clips of gay pornography actors, usually with the intent of shocking viewers and with emphasis placed on clips featuring actors of black origin to subvert hypermasculine stereotypes of black men. Content affiliated with the Jomok trend, specifically those featuring American adult content creator Perrell Brown, better known by his stage name Dreamybull, were first posted by Indonesian internet users in 2021 and accumulated 1.7 billion views on TikTok by 2023. Exposure to Jomok-themed humor has extended to online content outside Indonesia, including satirical and misleading posts on Facebook involving public figures and political events.
A 2019 Pew Research Center opinion showed that 9% of the Indonesian population believes that homosexuality should be accepted by society, while 80% believes it should not. The percentage of Acceptance for Homosexuality was a gradual increase from the census conducted by the Pew Research Center earlier in 2013, which shows that only 3% of the Indonesian population believes that homosexuality should be accepted, whereas 93% believes it should not.
Opposition to homosexuality Traditionally Indonesians are quite tolerant towards LGBT people, as long as they keep quiet and stay discreet about their private lives. However, this level of tolerance is not extended towards LGBT rights movements, which recently faces fierce condemnation launched by Indonesian authorities and extended to public sphere. The anti-LGBT rhetoric began in January 2016 when Higher Education Minister Muhammad Nasir said LGBT people should be barred from university campuses.
The national broadcasting commission emphasize a policy banning TV and radio programs that make LGBT behavior appear "normal", saying this was to protect children and teenagers who are "susceptible to duplicating deviant LGBT behaviors". The Indonesia Psychiatric Association classified homosexuality, bisexuality and transgenderism as mental disorders. Some even went to conspiracy theory rhetoric; Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu called the LGBT movement a "proxy war" to brainwash Indonesians, that received "foreign funding", while pointing out funds from United Nations organizations like UNAIDS or Western governments and foundations.
There have been a few incidents of LGBT people being harassed. LGBT groups are now working to set up safehouses and draw up evacuation plans in case of need. In Yogyakarta, in February 2016, 23 LGBT activists were roughed up by police, who told local media they stopped them from holding a rally to avoid a clash with a hardline Muslim group holding an anti-LGBT protest nearby.
In February 2016, the public discourse and debates on homosexuality and LGBT issues has intensified with the occurrence of high-profile cases of alleged homosexual misconducts, involving Indonesian celebrities. First, an accusation of sexual approach and harassment done by TV personality Indra Bekti upon several men. Followed by the case of dangdut singer Saiful Jamil, who has been named a suspect in a sexual assault involving an underage male fan.
On the other hand, amids fierce hostilities, some officials have defended the LGBT community - including Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan. "Whoever they are, wherever they work, he or she continues to be an Indonesian citizen. They have the right to be protected as well," Pandjaitan said.
History Because of the culture of shame attached to homosexuality, homosexual activity is rarely recorded nor depicted in Indonesian history. Unlike in other Asian cultures such as Indian, Chinese or Japanese, homosexual erotica in paintings or sculptures are almost nonexistent in Indonesian arts. A rare exceptions is the 18th-century account of alleged homosexuality of Arya Purbaya, an official in Mataram court, although it is not clear whether it was actually based on truth or vicious rumors to disgrace him.
The Javanese book Serat Centhini composed and published circa 1814 in Surakarta, mentioned several account of bisexuality and homosexuality practice in Javanese society. Story in this book which took place circa 1630, mentions that one of the main character, Mas Cabolang and his attendants encountered homosexual couple the Jathilan dancers in Ponorogo region. Mas Cabolang and one of his handsome attendant encountered more sexual experience with women as well with the jathils men. There are also an incident where he and Nurwitri, one of his handsome and effeminate entourage, encountered a homosexual affair with the regent of Wirosobo.
However even though homosexual relationship portrayals were rarely recorded locally, it exists and there are local terms used to describe it. In the traditional matrilineal Minang society, homosexuality exists between older men called Induk Jawi ( mother cow) with younger men called Anak Jawi ( calf). Objective Minang observer who had not been influenced by western homophobic attitudes attested to its existence. Anthropologists have attributed this relationship in the exclusively male Surau, which is a local mosque used to taught Islamic teachings with pubescent boys, but also to the relationship between teachers and students of Pencak Silat. In that respect it is similar with the homosexual relationships attested in Pesantren in Serat Centhini. Although it could also take the form of mairilan relationships between the older students and the younger students (the mairil). The relationships continue until after heterosexual marriage with the men's wives usually aware of her husband's mairil partners. Other terms used include amrot-amrotan (from Arabic Imrot meaning women) and musahaqoh to describe lesbian relationships between female students.
Western observers have also noted other examples, including from Hurgronje who noted homosexual relationships in Aceh between aristocrats Uleebalang and their teenage slaves from Nias, and also between Acehnese traders from eastern coast. His works also mention of homosexual relationships in Surakarta-Yogyakarta, and in West Sumatra among the Minangkabau. Hurgronje findings concur with Dr. Julius Jacobs who conducted research in Banyuwangi among the Balinese in the late 19th century. Madurese-Dutch dictionaries compiled by missionaries P. Penninga and H. Hendriks mentioned 'dalaq' meaning 'schandjongen' (catamite). Its derivative word include 'adalaq' (passive form 'kadalaq') which means anal intercourse. Dalaq relationships usually exist between two boys or teenagers who are best friend. Considering the compilers were Christian leaders, they presumably condemned such act, its inclusion probably indicates how common this relationship among the Madurese. These homosexual behaviors were usually common in communities where its members are exclusively one sex (i.e. all males) or contacts with opposite sexes are prohibited, presumably resulting in a dearth of available sexual outlets. However, 'homosexual' in this section doesn't mean that its participants identifies with it as a label or identity, as is the meaning in western society.
Although waria, male to female transgender performers and prostitutes have long played their role in Indonesian culture, the Indonesian gay men and lesbian women homosexual identity has only been recently identified, mainly through identification with their western counterparts through film, television, and media. Prior to Suharto's New Order regime local Indonesian culture of gay and lesbi did not exist.