Graphic designer Jeje lives in Jakarta and identifies as trans. As a child, when she was unsure of what to draw, she naturally began painting the feminine figure. She says she has to explain to people that she had a good upbringing and nothing happened to her. “I have always been this way.” She says today, representation exists beyond the field of arts–in sectors like healthcare and even politics. Government programs in Indonesia assist trans people in getting official ID's, health insurance, and bank accounts. But in 2020, the government began drafting new laws that will criminalize the trans community for existing. And in 2019, the Indonesian parliament proposed revisiting a criminal code that would make any relationship outside of the heterosexual traditional marriage illegal. Here's how Indonesian artists like Jeje are responding, and how activists like Shinta Ratri and Kusama Ayu for paving the way for more people to fight for trans rights.
Graphic designer Jeje lives in Jakarta and identifies as trans. As a child, when she was unsure of what to draw, she naturally began painting the feminine figure. She says she has to explain to people that she had a good upbringing and nothing happened to her. “I have always been this way.” She says today, representation exists beyond the field of arts–in sectors like healthcare and even politics. Government programs in Indonesia assist trans people in getting official ID's, health insurance, and bank accounts. But in 2020, the government began drafting new laws that will criminalize the trans community for existing. And in 2019, the Indonesian parliament proposed revisiting a criminal code that would make any relationship outside of the heterosexual traditional marriage illegal. Here's how Indonesian artists like Jeje are responding, and how activists like Shinta Ratri and Kusama Ayu for paving the way for more people to fight for trans rights.
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