The footprints of heteronormativity in Indonesia, rooted in Dutch colonialism, create two distinctions of spaces: dunia normal (normal world) and dunia gay (gay world). Normal world functions as a reality in which religion (institution) and heteronormativity could live together. In contrast, the gay world is a space where queer (both lesbian and gay) individuals live anonymously—a hidden and pleasurable space. In The Gay Archipelago: Sexuality and Nation in Indonesia, anthropologist Tom Boellstroff introduces the conversation about the two distinguished worlds in Indonesia. The two worlds are separated because of oppression and the prolonged heteronormativity in Indonesia's history.1
Moreover, the experience of oppression and scapegoating threats against gay individuals in Indonesia makes the gay world a safe space for gay individuals. For example, 56 queer folks were imprisoned under the framing of a sex party.2 This issue bombarded many gay individuals and referred to moral panic. The option of being closeted gay is unbearable. While gay communities in Indonesia face legal, social, and religious challenges, the gay world is a hidden and safe space for queer individuals to connect with each other.
Nowadays, through the Space feature (a live audio conversation) on X, formerly known as Twitter, gay individuals transform this platform into a gay world. The Space feature allows real-time audio discussions among X users. This feature enables both closeted individuals and openly gay to connect and discuss issues affecting Indonesian gay individuals–an opportunity to use an alternate X account or second account with a hidden identity. The use of the gay code “Boti” or “Topita” often signals these conversations of Indonesian gay individuals.3
Despite as a safe space, the conversation of gay individuals in the Space intersects with interreligious dialogue, sexual health, kinship, and queer identity in Indonesia. During Ramadhan, for example, one Space room discusses how gay Muslim individuals manage fasting (puasa), with one audience member also speaking on behalf of the Christian community. Moreover, some rooms of the Space spotlight sexual health topics–a rare topic in the normal world such as STI, PrREP access in Indonesian healthcare, and HIV and AIDS prevention. The Space then bonds Indonesian gay individuals and creates a new concept of Indonesian kinship: an online gay kinship, and it interrogates the identity of being gay in Indonesia.
As such, this paper examines the lived experience of gay individuals from the Global South perspective, where it is interrelated with oppression and threats in the gay world. To collect the data, this paper utilizes Digital Ethnography, which captures the experiences of gay Individuals on X, specifically in Space, through online ethnography in the room of Space. Furthermore, this study will provide insight into the dynamics of Indonesian gay individuals, intersecting with various aspects of interreligious dialogue, sexual health, kinship, and identity.
Endnotes:
1. Tom Boellstroff, The Gay Archipelago: Sexuality and Nation in Indonesia (Princeton University Press, 2006), 91.
2. See: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-police-arrest-56-men-jakarta-gay-sex-party-2025-02-04/ and Aloysius Efraim Leonard, “Stop with the LGBTQ scapegoating,” Jakarta Post. https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2024/12/14/stop-with-the-lgbtq-scapegoating.html.
3. Boti: Bottom (being penetrated role) and Topita: Top (penetrating role). These words, derived from Indonesian Language, refer to a welcoming code (hidden code among Indonesian gay individuals) on the Space.
Through the Space feature (a live audio conversation), X, formerly known as Twitter, serves as an alternative platform for conversations between openly gay and closeted gay individuals in Indonesia. Amid scapegoating threats and oppression toward LGBTQ individuals, gay Indonesians–using alternate accounts– transform this platform into a gay world. Using Digital Ethnography methods, this paper exposes lived experiences of Indonesian gay individuals on X, where the conversations intersect with interreligious dialogue, sexual health, kinship, and queer identity in Indonesia.