Abstract
Situating LGBT activism in a gendered, Asian migratory context, this study asks why and how LGBT migrant workers are able to organize themselves and come out publicly as lesbians, bisexual women, or transgender people in Hong Kong. Which factors are enablers for this phenomenon? A comparison of two migrant groups, namely, the Filipinos and Indonesians, who reside in the same city, will shed light on both the commonalities and diversities of their understanding of LGBT rights as well as their approaches for engaging in the LGBT movement. The study examines the different immersed contexts of the two migrant groups rather than homogenizing “migrant domestic worker” as a universal description of these women. The study adopts an intersectional approach to examine how multiple subject positions, including gender, race, class, and non-citizen status, affect migrant domestic workers who have a same-sex relationship in the host city as well as their practices and activism. Besides, it also adopts an inter-Asia approach to shed light on the flows of knowledge as well as inequalities among Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Indonesia and provide insights into how LGBT activism in Asia is culturally hybrid and diasporic. Qualitative research methods, including participant observation and in-depth interviews, were conducted from 2016 to 2018. I attended LGBT parades and events and conducted in-depth interviews with three Filipinos, two Indonesians, and two Hong Kong people. I also used data from my earlier field work in 2010 to 2012.
Introduction
LGBT activism has been flourishing in Asia. Pride parades or other LGBT 1 -related cultural activities, such as film festivals, are becoming increasingly more prevalent in many cities. Hong Kong, 2 which self-proclaims as a global city in Asia, has no laws that criminalize LGBT people. 3 The city also publicly celebrates diversity with LGBT pride parades and LGBT film festivals annually. In 2016, I was informed by a left-wing grassroots organization that a group of Filipino domestic workers had organized their first-ever LGBT Migrants Pride parade in the previous year and were planning the second parade. The first public LGBT event in Hong Kong was the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) parade in 2005, which took place 14 years after the decriminalization of homosexuality. A decade later, Filipino domestic workers were able to organize their own LGBT parade. Although female same-sex relationships among migrant domestic workers is not a new phenomenon in Hong Kong, I was taken with admiration about the Migrants Pride parade. It takes tremendous courage, aside from time, energy and money, to organize a public event on LGBT rights. My curiosity about the parade ignited my interest to study how LGBT migrant workers in Hong Kong become involved in LGBT activism.
Situating LGBT activism in a gendered, Asian migratory context, this study asks why and how LGBT migrant workers are able to organize themselves and come out publicly as lesbians, bisexual women, or transgender people in Hong Kong, but not yet in other East Asian cities, such as Taipei, which share a similar Chinese culture, economic development, 4 LGBT movement, 5 and also reliance on Southeast Asian migrant workers. Which factors in the political and cultural contexts of Hong Kong are enablers for this phenomenon? And, what are the inter-Asian flows of LGBT knowledge among Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Indonesia that shape the ideas of sexuality rights and the meanings of LGBT pride? How do Filipino domestic workers and their Indonesian counterparts understand their LGBT rights similarly and differently? What are their different approaches to LGBT activism?
Previous works on LGBT activism in developed Asian cities have focused on how activists negotiate between the Western discourse of LGBT movement and the post-colonial political environment. Kong (2011) discussed the LGBT movement strategies in Hong Kong, including both normalization and radical queer politics, and the important role of post-colonialism in the movement. Ng (2018) noted that Singaporean LGBT activists are deliberately emphasizing their national identity and establishing networks with local groups because their LGBT event, Pink Dot SG, was criticized for being overly “Western” with funding from foreign corporations. These works have highlighted how local activists negotiate their strategy, thus highlighting their cultural identity and uniqueness without catering to a Western dominant ideology. However, there is the absence of academic attention on the social hierarchy between citizens and migrants in LGBT activism and also the plight of LGBT migrants in a post-colonial city. If one of the goals of LGBT activism, particularly in a post-colonial Asia, is to address cultural specificity and develop movement strategies that cater to those living in the city, there is an urgent need to deepen current understanding of LGBT migrants on their perceptions and views of the social movement, especially when migrant workers contribute to a sizeable population of the city. In Hong Kong itself, migrant domestic workers constitute 5.2% of the city’s population. 6
LGBT activists in Asia have used a wide range of approaches to express LGBT rights without alerting local authorities and conservative religious and cultural forces. Engebretsen (2015) addressed how mainland Chinese activists have developed specific strategies to avoid government censorship while harmonizing their activities with the global ideology of “pride” and public visibility. Lee (2013) documented that a Malaysian LGBT group strategically adopted an inconspicuous approach through artistic performances to advocate for LGBT rights which successfully circumvented government censorship. These studies show how LGBT activists sustain their activities in relatively less liberal societies. Although Hong Kong is more receptive to LGBT activities and the government is more or less tolerant, LGBT migrants would need to develop creative approaches to avoid the scrutiny of their employers in the host city as well as potential censorship from their home government. Therefore, their notions of LGBT rights needs to be addressed in light of a double marginalized status, that is, as an LGBT individual and a migrant. Not only are they positioned on the lower rungs of the social hierarchy, but these LGBT migrants are also influenced by the cultural ideologies and religious forces of their home country.
Research questions
Enriching the discussion of LGBT activism in Asia, this study focuses on Asian migrant workers in Hong Kong who have organized LGBT-related activities and aims to answer the following questions: What instills pride in these migrant domestic workers of their same-sex sexuality? How do they find space and resources to show their versions of pride despite their migrant status and the stringently gendered working conditions? A comparison of two migrant groups, namely, the Filipinos and Indonesians, who reside in the same city, will shed light on both the commonalities and diversities of their understanding of LGBT rights as well as their approaches for engaging in the LGBT movement. While both Filipino and Indonesian domestic workers are supposedly immersed in a very similar working condition in Hong Kong, nevertheless, their family and education background, involvement in social and labor movements, and attitude toward LGBT issues in their home country shape how they receive, understand, and interpret the international human rights framework and global queer knowledge.
Research framework
Inspired by queer migration scholarship, this study adopts an intersectional approach to examine how multiple subject positions, including gender, race, class, and non-citizen status, affect migrant domestic workers who have a same-sex relationship in the host city as well as their practices and activism (Cantú, 2009; Espin, 1996; Luibhéid, 2008; Manalansan, 2003). Nash (2008) has been critical of some of the intersection theorists for assuming gender and race as trans-historical constants without a sufficient understanding of the social processes that have contributed to the formation of these categories. In light of this critique, this study critically examines the different immersed contexts of the Filipino and Indonesian workers rather than homogenizing “migrant domestic worker” as a universal description of these women.
Based on the idea of Asia as Method, Leung and Yue introduced a new paradigm called “queer Asia as method” (Yue, 2017: 21). Asia as Method was originally proposed by Japanese intellectual Takeuchi Yoshimi in 1960 and partly inspired Chen Kuan-Hsing, a leading scholar in inter-Asian cultural studies, in building his approach that synthesizes Asian history, culture, and politics (Chen, 2010). Queer Asia as method argues for the importance of investigating “the flows, boundaries, and hierarchy of global queer knowledge production” in Asia without presuming that “Asia” is a fixed area (2017: 21). Besides, this study borrows the notion of inter-Asian referencing by Iwabuchi (2014), who states that Asian experiences are never homogenous. Inter-Asian referencing examines the common experiences of modernization, urbanization, westernization, and globalization and, as such, contributes to deepening understanding of how people in Asia similarly and differently experience social changes. Tang et al. (2019) further expand on “queer Asia as method” and “inter-Asian referencing” by conducting a comparative study among three East Asian regions, namely, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan, to understand how their social structure and family and kinship institutions (by taking both the degrees of similarities and differences into consideration) are shaping the views of LGBT individuals on same-sex partnership and its legal recognition differently. Adopting an inter-Asia approach, this study will shed light on the flows of knowledge as well as inequalities among Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Indonesia and provide insights into how LGBT activism in Asia is culturally hybrid and diasporic (Wilson, 2006).
The article is organized according to the spaces that Filipino and Indonesian LGBT workers express their gender and sexuality. First, the study examines the semi-public space, where the Filipino and the Indonesian workers have organized their tomboy pageants. Second, the focus then shifts to the public space, where the workers organized the pride parade and other LGBT-related activities. This study will examine the intentions and the impacts of the activities held in the semi-public and public spaces respectively. I will also compare their approaches to demonstrate the difference in pride between the Filipino and the Indonesian groups, and also their relationships with the Hong Kong LGBT organizations and the regional migrant networks, and their reception and usage of the international human rights framework. The attitudes of the Philippine and Indonesian governments toward LGBT issues will also be discussed.
Research methods
I attended parades and events organized by both the Filipino and Indonesian lesbian organizations, and other LGBT-related activities, from 2016 to 2018. I conducted in-depth interviews with activist leaders, including three Filipinos, two Indonesians, and two Hong Kong people, and a member of an Indonesian lesbian group. I also conducted participant observation in Indonesian pop dance groups from 2010 to 2012. I was affiliated with one pop dance group and through them, became acquainted with other similar pop dance groups. Pseudonyms are used in this article to protect their identity. English was used in the interviews with the Filipinos, while Bahasa Indonesia and Cantonese were used in the interviews with the Indonesians. I used Cantonese when interviewing the Hong Kong people. All translations of Bahasa Indonesia to English, and Cantonese to English are mine.
Semi-public space: Pageants that feature masculine women
The migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong are granted 1 day of rest per week. On Sundays, Victoria Park in Causeway Bay and Chater Road in Central are common socializing spots for Indonesians and Filipinos, respectively. I observed there is one particular kind of activity in the migrant communities—pageants that feature masculine women. 7 The pageants are held in semi-public spaces, such as a community hall 8 or an auditorium of a secondary school. 9 These venues have a stage and are properly equipped with amplifiers; therefore, they accommodate dancing and singing performances.
Previous scholarly works have critically examined how LGBT individuals claim their cultural citizenship through performances and pageants. In the US, Manalansan (2003) documented how Filipino gay men in New York City claim their cultural citizenship in beauty pageants. Bailey (2013) discussed the ballroom culture among queer bodies of color in Detroit. In Asia, Yue (2017) addressed the
It is worth noting the meanings of the performances that feature masculine women in a gendered migratory context when the body and gender appearance of migrant domestic workers are subjected to the surveillance of the (female) employers. Constable (2000) addressed the tensions between the wife and the migrant domestic worker, who is usually much younger. The wife might perceive the domestic worker as a sexual threat; a seductress of her husband. Constable also noted that the wife applies disciplinary techniques to control the gender appearance of her domestic worker. Some employers de-feminize their domestic worker by demanding short hair and a conservative appearance (Lai, 2020). While the migrant domestic workers are subject to a position that is inferior to their employer and relinquished control over their gender appearance, they are, on the other hand, encouraged to explore and appreciate their masculine attributes, such as wearing short hair and men’s tees and shorts. Some of the migrant domestic workers find that their masculine appearance is well received as there are performances that feature masculine women in the migrant community (Lai, 2020). Heteronormativity relegates migrant domestic workers to the inferior position of “sexual threat” but also unexpectedly draws out and normalizes their masculine attributes.
Both the Indonesian and the Filipino migrant workers have addressed the meanings of the Sunday performances to them, and particularly the sense of pride from the performances.
These competitions are held in semi-public spaces where passersby have no inkling of the event unless they enter the venue. The semi-public spaces provide a sense of security because Hong Kong people, particularly those who do not like migrant domestic workers showing off their bodies or female masculinity, do not see the performances. The Sunday performances are a crucial space for migrant domestic workers to exhibit their gender and sexuality in a relatively safe environment. Although the competitions are imposing idealized standards on the contestants of what is considered to be masculine and handsome and how confidence ought to be portrayed in posture, the competitions recognize and instill in them a sense of pride of their gender image and elevate their status in the migrant lesbian community.
On stage, both the Indonesian tomboys and Filipino butches show off their flat chest and do not smile much when they walk the catwalk. Besides, there are also “off-stage” performances. Before and after the masculine lesbians approach the stage, their partner would sit with them. They would show their relationship by holding hands in public. When the performance was finished, the masculine lesbian would join her partner. The couple would hug and kiss each other. While this same-sex intimacy between the couple is never shown on stage, nevertheless, it is a kind of performance offstage as there is an “audience” at the venue who witnesses their actions.
It is worth noting the different types of masculinities exhibited by the Indonesian tomboys and the Filipino butches on stage. The Indonesians favor a hip-hop style with baggy pants and over-sized tees. In her earlier study from 2002 to 2005, Sim shared a similar observation about the dress code of Indonesian tomboys, which was “baggy pants, large shirts and baseball hats” (2010: 44). During my fieldwork between 2010 and 2012, Justin Bieber, a young Canadian male singer who started his career on YouTube and eventually gained popularity in the United States, was one of their reference sources for masculinity. At the time, Bieber was an icon of youth masculinity exemplified through hip-hop dancing. The Indonesian tomboys also referenced Mitha from The Virgin duo, an Indonesian tomboy idol, who favored a metal rock-and-roll image with an electric guitar, and wore thick eyeliner and metal accessories.
In contrast, I observed a different type of masculinity exhibited by the Filipino lesbians, who rarely dye their hair or wear baggy pants or metal accessories. Instead, they prefer a mature-looking, middle-class type of masculinity through Western men’s suits. To accommodate the theme of “hunks,” the contestants of Les’ Hunks wore men’s suits and black coats to emphasize their robust body shape. Their educational background may be a clue to understanding their preference for this type of masculinity. The official number provided by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, Office of the President of the Philippines, shows that 46.6% of overseas workers documented from 1988 to 2018 have an education level of college or higher (Commission on Filipino Overseas (Office of the President of the Philippines), 2018). My experience in interacting with Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong also resonates with the official statistic that it is not a rarity to see college educated Filipino overseas workers. For example, the three Filipino domestic workers whom I interviewed are college educated. Their tertiary education suggests that they might come from at least a middle-class family as they can afford the school fees. I argue that the middle-class background in the Philippines has shaped the esthetic and preference for business suits, a symbol of middle-class masculinity.
Another explanation for their preference for men’s suits is their resistance against the Filipino stereotype of tomboys. Fajardo (2008) noted that tomboys in the Philippines are marked by a lower social class status. In the Filipino popular culture, tomboys are often associated as poor or working in low-paying service-industry positions as bus conductors, security guards, factory workers, or overseas migrants. A labor activist said in a documentary film that many Filipino tomboys worked abroad as overseas contract workers because they cannot find jobs in the Philippines, where companies usually require female employees to wear blouses and skirts (Fajardo, 2008). Subjected to a social class stereotype, Filipino tomboys, who have a college degree and now work in a metropolitan city, prefer a middle-class masculinity—this can be explained as a form of resistance against the stereotype as well as their self-identification with the middle-class social status.
Public space: Exhibiting migrants’ pride
There are no laws in Hong Kong that prohibit discrimination against sexual orientation. 11 Since the nature of domestic work is perceived as a low-status job in Hong Kong, employers tend to think that they are more superior and can control their migrant workers, including their gender appearance and even their personal life. My previous works (Lai, 2018, 2020) revealed that some Hong Kong employers do not tolerate the same-sex relationships of their domestic workers. They would directly interrogate their domestic workers when they have suspicions about their sexual orientation; some even fired the worker.
It is worth noting that discrimination against same-sex sexuality is not just from employers but also the migrant community. Although same-sex relationships among migrant domestic workers are visible in their socializing venues on Sundays, both the Filipino and Indonesian workers have told me that same-sex relationships are not fully recognized in the migrant community yet. They are not supposed to speak about their sexual rights publicly. For example, should a worker speak up when she is fired by her employer on the grounds of her sexual orientation? How should a worker respond to her parents when she is pressured to go home and get married? The Filipino and Indonesian activists shared a similar view that most of the average workers would simply keep silent when confronted because they hold a conservative or religious perspective and feel that a same-sex relationship does not deserve equal treatment. Subject to this context, there are lesbian organizations 12 established in both the Filipino and the Indonesian migrant communities.
It is important to contextualize the emergence of these lesbian organizations in a broader picture of migrant activism in Hong Kong. Filipino migrant activism had begun in the city since the 1980s (Lim, 2015). The migrant activists asserted that “domestic work is work”; they trained and organized workers to participate in policy advocacy and demonstrations; they also built transnational solidarity with migrant workers from other parts of Asia (Hsia, 2009; Lai, 2018; Lopez-Wui and Delias, 2015). The migrant activism has provided a fertile ground to nourish migrant workers about their sense of self and dignity that they are not merely overseas workers but also humans—humans with thoughts and aspirations. I argue that the visibility of migrant activism in the city has conveyed a message to the broader migrant community that overseas workers should strive for aspirations despite their migrant status. There are migrant workers who organized among themselves and formed social groups. Some of the social groups are consisted of migrant workers who are in same-sex relationships; these groups organized pageants and dancing competitions featuring butches or tomboys. But this type of social groups rarely speaks up publicly. It was till 2006, a formal lesbian organization eventually emerged in the Filipino migrant community.
A Filipino migrant domestic worker by the name of Marrz Balaoro founded
Both the Filipino and the Indonesian lesbian organizations venture out and promote visibility with rainbow flags and other rainbow-themed props. They demonstrate the notion of pride by using similar phrases and words, such as opposing discrimination, advocating for human rights, inclusion, and equality. Their expressions, indeed, echo the international human rights framework that has begun to protect LGBT workers. As noted by Franzway and Fonow (2011), international agencies, such as the International Labour Organization (ILO), have been advocating for the rights of LGBT workers. The ILO has released a report on the discriminations faced by LGBT workers in the workplace (ILO, 2007). They have also published a pamphlet that informs employers on how they can eliminate discriminatory practices (ILO, 2009). More recently, they started the “PRIDE Project” in 2012 to promote rights and equality across workplaces in different countries, including three Asian countries: Indonesia, India, and Thailand, in the first phase of the project (ILO, 2016). Worker rights have now been extended to the broader ideal of human rights, which encompass the LGBT rights of workers.
Despite sharing the idea that “LGBT rights as workers’ rights,” how the Filipinos understand and interpret LGBT rights differ from their Indonesian counterparts. The following compares and examines the differences, particularly how the Filipino and the Indonesian activists position the LGBT movement in the broader social context. In other words, what particular message do they want to send, who do they want to connect and collaborate with, and in what ways? How do they make pride
Filipino: LGBT migrants are migrants
Filipino migrant organizations have been leading the migrant labor movement in Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific region.
13
Indeed, many Filipino migrant workers are already armed with organizing experience before they arrive in Hong Kong which contributes to the migrant movement overseas (Hsia, 2009). I interviewed Gabriela Hong Kong Chairperson, Shiela, who shared that she already has a good understanding of migrant issues prior to her arrival in Hong Kong because her parents are also migrant activists: My mother told me about
Filguys leader, Marrz, also informed me that she had organized a women’s group during her college years before she came to Hong Kong.
The Filipino migrant organizations have identified international solidarity as a means to resist exploitation resultant of capitalist globalization and neo-liberalism (Lim, 2015). The idea of international solidarity is also embedded in the Filipino migrant organizations. Marrz related the plight of Filipino lesbian workers to social and economic injustices. In an opening speech at a forum on LGBT rights held on Chater Road, Marrz said, “We dream of a society when migration is a choice and not forced for the need of survival.” The organizers of the Migrants Pride parade invited the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body (AMCB), a regional platform for Asian migrant workers, to participate as one of the co-organizers. Apart from Filipino unions, they also invited local grassroots and left-wing organizations as well as the organizers of the Hong Kong Pride parade to take part in the parade (Lai, 2018). The networks that Migrants Pride have made show that they aim to build international solidarity and champion for the rights of LGBT migrants across Filipino and Hong Kong organizations as well as the Asian regional networks. Both Filguys and Gabriela Hong Kong shared their hopes of extending their current efforts to the Philippines, especially to the smaller towns (i.e., not Manila) which have a large working class population. Their idea of international solidarity binds Hong Kong and the Philippines through “grassroots Filipinos” and aims to benefit the grassroots LGBT Filipinos, who are in the Philippines.
The Migrants Pride parade has addressed the LGBT issues within the framework of international solidarity, in which the common antagonists are global capitalism and neo-liberalism. They frame the situations faced by LGBT migrant workers as double discrimination which stems from both global capitalism and homophobia. The following statements of Migrants Pride will show how they frame “pride” with an emphasis on international solidarity and situate LGBT activism as a part of the greater class struggles for social and economic justices because LGBT migrants are also migrants. They also aim to spread their message to non-Filipinos; therefore, their press releases and statements have English versions. The following are excerpts of their speeches, press releases, and statements from 2016 to 2019. The LGBT fight for equal rights and against discrimination is part of the overall struggle for socio-economic and political changes… “popular” issues of the LGBT focus on gender, tolerance and the passage of an anti-discrimination act. However, the LGBT are still mainly affected by problems based on their economic standing. (2016 speech by the organizer, recorded in the parade) We are divested of our integrity not only as migrants, but, even more as lesbian migrants. We are victims of sexual abuses, exploitation and discrimination existing on our domestic environment compounded with racism… Migrants pride march aims to promote not only our issues against slavery and discrimination but also to intensify our call on issues on wage increase, regulation of working hours, and health and safety programs for domestic workers. (2017 press release) We must continue to build on, strengthen, and bring LGBT people, migrants of all nationalities and Hong Kong locals together to not only celebrate sexual diversity and but struggle collectively for a common vision—for freedom from discrimination and social exclusion, for social justice, and towards the transformation of a society where everyone, regardless of our race, sex, gender or age, can live in justice, harmony and genuine peace. (2018 statement) Migrants Pride aims to highlight migrant domestic workers’ (MDWs) call for living wage and changing social concerns that perpetuates discrimination and exclusion in society, according to the organizers… Exclusion of MDWs from important labour laws such as the Statutory Minimum Wage put all MDWs, including LGBT migrants, in a condition vulnerable to abuses and exploitation. (2019 press release)
Centered in their articulation of pride is the emphasis on Filipino solidarity and economic justice. Gabriela Hong Kong Chairperson, Shiela, noted that class is the most pressing issue among Filipino LGBTs: “LGBT people of the poorest classes and LGBT people of the professional and elite classes are treated differently. No one will make you a laughing stock if you’re an elite. Class dictates what you can say in society.” The pride of LGBT migrants therefore means to stand up against both homophobia and economic injustice.
It is important to contextualize their audacity to speak up for LGBT rights through a more in-depth understanding of the position of the Philippine government. The Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong, as an authority body that represents the national government of the Philippines, has been promoting LGBT knowledge to their nationals. Since 2017, the Philippine Consulate has held an annual talk entitled “ Their work is sometimes impressive. But when it comes to policies, they try to divert your attention… Nevertheless, President Duterte is trying to support LGBT people. He said that he accepts LGBT people, whatever that means… but it’s not so bad. At least he’s quite open minded.
A supportive stance by the consulate instills pride in the Filipino workers. Although Marrz understands that there would not be any immediate policy changes, she still appreciates the receptiveness of the Philippine government.
Indonesian: Normalization strategy
Different from the Filipino approach, the Indonesian lesbian organization, Dunia Kita, did not actively make connection with migrant unions. Instead, the group reached out to a lesbian group in Indonesia as well as the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) through social media. An Indonesian lesbian, who was a member of ILGA, then connected Dunia Kita with the Hong Kong LGBT groups, who then provided information to Dunia Kita on the venue to organize their events. Besides, one of the Hong Kong LGBT groups also sent two representatives to attend the events held by Dunia Kita. Their presence and support motivated Joy to organize regular activities on Sundays, such as discussion sessions on LGBT issues at Victoria Park. Joy became increasingly bold and confident about the work of Dunia Kita. When Joy told me that her group plans to attend Pink Dot, I asked her whether her group has prepared to come out in public because pictures or videos might be taken of them without their knowledge during the event. Joy confidently said, “We are ready for it!” Having received support from LGBT groups, Dunia Kita was not keen on establishing relationships or developing collaborations with other migrant organizations. They rejected an invitation from an Indonesian migrant group to become an affiliate organization member (Lai, 2018). Joy valued the connections with the LGBT groups much more than those of the other Indonesian migrant organizations.
Their notion of pride has little to do with the international solidarity and more with individual achievement and discipline. The perspective of class struggle has never been mentioned by the group at all. Dunia Kita mainly focuses on lesbian issues, primarily individual problems, such as how to manage confrontations with employers or pressure to marry. Besides, Dunia Kita once organized a clean-up activity and all of the members wore plastic gloves and carried trash bags to collect trash in Victoria Park. In the past, the local media had reported that migrant domestic workers occupied part of the pedestrian walkway on their rest days which was subsequently filled with litter. Joy saw that it is important to provide a positive image of Dunia Kita and allow both the Indonesians and Hong Kong people to understand that they care about the city and want to keep it clean.
The “pride” exhibited by Dunia Kita means to be able to enjoy financial autonomy (i.e., the purpose of working overseas), ability to handle confrontations diplomatically without upsetting the employer or parents (i.e., the content of their discussion sessions), and lastly, their national pride of being Indonesians through good deeds in Hong Kong (i.e., the clean-up activity at Victoria Park). This is a normalization strategy
14
that was used by many LGBT activists in the Western societies as well as in Hong Kong during the 1990s (Kong, 2011). It is interesting to see that the normalization strategy used by Dunia Kita echoes the Indonesian local ideology of achievement (
The normalization strategy seems to be outdated in current LGBT activism as it has been criticized for assimilating into the mainstream, heteronormative society. The following will examine the position of the Indonesian government towards LGBT people in the recent decade. It will lead to an understanding of why Dunia Kita prefers this normalization model, even though the group has already learned of a more radical approach while attending the Migrant Pride parade. The following is a brief overview of the position adopted by the Indonesian government on LGBT issues in recent years.
The Indonesian government has shown a hostile attitude and even taken actions against LGBT nationals since 2016 (Boellstorff, 2016). There are reports about raids on gay bars and saunas (Human Rights Watch, 2017a). While there are no laws in Indonesia that criminalize homosexual acts, the pornography law is used to arrest people in the gay scenes. Even worse, raids have escalated to private settings, including hotel rooms and a residential compound (Human Rights Watch, 2017b). The Indonesian government has also changed cultural, medical, and education policies against LGBT people (Boellstorff, 2016; Wieringa, 2017). Anti-LGBT sentiments continued to increase during the 2019 Indonesian presidential election campaign. In September 2019, serious riots broke out in Jakarta in response to the proposal of penal code changes, which would criminalize consensual sex outside marriage (The Straits Times, 2019). Since same-sex couples cannot get married in Indonesia, they would violate the penal code if they are found to be engaging in sexual activity or living together. The proposed revision of the penal codes in Indonesia has caught the attention of the United Nations rights chief who stated that the proposed changes are discriminatory against the LGBT community (Kapoor, 2018). Unfortunately, President Joko Widodo did not call for a delay in passing the revisions until severe riots broke out in September 2019 in Jakarta. The above news of the intolerant attitude of their government serves as a background to understanding why Dunia Kita prefers a more conservative approach. The leader, Joy, then further explained about her movement strategy in relation to the lesbian group in Jakarta with whom she had made connections.
The Jakarta lesbian group has offered advice to Joy and mailed booklets on LGBT rights to her. The connection has helped Dunia Kita to disseminate information on lesbian rights and LGBT issues in Bahasa Indonesia. On the other hand, the connection has also increased the awareness of Joy on the current situation that LGBT individuals face in their country. She said: Actually the group in Jakarta has a low profile. They are also afraid of being identified in Indonesia.
I proceeded to ask if she would continue Dunia Kita after she returned to Indonesia. She said: I have a lot to tell society. I want to write about lesbian issues, but don’t want to disclose my identity. You know, Indonesia is not a safe place for LGBT people.
I then asked: how do you know that Indonesia is not safe? She explained: First, LGBT issues are related to the policy of the government. Do you know that if someone wants to challenge the government, then the person must be very smart? For example, like having a doctoral degree.
15
I would also have to get a doctoral degree if I want to challenge the government. But I don’t have a college degree. I’m also not powerful enough to challenge the government. Say that I’m a daughter of a very rich man. Then it would be different. In Indonesia, the worst thing is being looked down on. I have nothing, no college degree or money. That’s why the leader of the group in Jakarta is studying for her law degree. She’s finishing up her study and will receive a formal degree in law. She will use her knowledge to continue her activism because now she knows the laws of Indonesia.
She considers socio-economic status, including both education level and family background, as crucial factors and prerequisites for any LGBT person to gain respect and the ability to advocate for LGBT rights in Indonesia. Ria, a 29-year-old core member of Dunia Kita, echoes her views. At the time of the interview, Ria was planning to return to Indonesia in 2 months as her contract in Hong Kong was almost finished. She was divorced and is a mother of a 10-year-old daughter. Ria said that she intends to live with her tomboy partner in Indonesia, who was 39 years old at the time, and working at a real estate agency. According to Ria, her tomboy partner is well respected in the company despite her unmarried status in middle age. Ria associated the respect that her tomboy lover received at her company with the achievements of the tomboy.
The flows of information from Indonesia to Hong Kong, including the LGBT-related news reports, update about the lesbian leader in Jakarta, and respect that Ria’s tomboy lover receives, have all shaped how Dunia Kita approaches LGBT activism, and explains why the group adopts normalization strategies because they are aware that the Indonesian government is not LGBT-friendly at all, and therefore, LGBT activists must at least become successful and comparable to heterosexual people before attempting to advocate for LGBT rights in Indonesia.
Discussion
This article shows the different immersed contexts of the LGBT migrant workers and their improvised approaches that express their gender and sexuality. Although they are positioned on the lower rungs of the social hierarchy in the host city, the semi-public spaces accommodate tomboy pageants without arousing attention from Hong Kong people, who might disapprove this sort of gender image. Besides, the Filipinos are able to develop LGBT activism within the framework of international solidarity. This wide range of activities have enriched current understanding of LGBT activism in Asia as my ethnographic data demonstrate that there are both similarity (such as upholding the ideal of public visibility) and difference (such as the different approaches adopted) among the Hong Kong, Filipino, and Indonesian LGBT activists.
Pageants that feature masculine women are not unique in the migrant communities; instead, they are becoming popular in Asia. For example, the
Similar to Hong Kong, Taiwan also has a vibrant LGBT activism and relies on the labor force of migrant workers. More than a decade ago, Taiwan International Workers’ Association has already addressed the issue of LGBT migrant workers and produced a documentary, entitled 《T婆工廠》 (English title:
LGBT migrant workers in Taiwan also strived for their visibility in the migrant community. There was a pageant, featuring both cisgender contestants and LGBT contestants, held in Tainan in 2018 (One-Forty, 2018). There were 39 contestants, and all of them were Filipinos. The pageant was held in a well-equipped indoor venue which can accommodate more than 300 spectators. According to the report by One-Forty, one of the pageant organizers said that he believed there would be a day when groups of different race, gender, and sexual orientation can live together, and this will be real equality when the day comes.
Despite the symbolic presence of LGBT migrant workers in both the documentary and the pageant, there is not yet any migrant workers in Taiwan to publicly fight for LGBT rights or establish a group particularly for LGBT migrant workers. In Hong Kong, LGBT migrant workers are able to organize themselves, hold Migrants Pride parade, and publicly speak up for LGBT rights. Why is it not yet taking place in Taiwan?
I contend that a more progressive development of migrant activism and having more outspoken migrant worker leaders is a key factor in developing LGBT migrant activism, which is shown in the case of Hong Kong. Comparing Taiwan with Hong Kong, the political context and the migrant labor policy of Taiwan do not create a favorable condition for migrant workers to organize themselves. Hsia (2014) has noted the constraints and difficulty of establishing grassroots associations by non-citizens in Taiwan. Hsia also argues that a weekly rest day for migrant workers, which is protected under the Hong Kong law, is essential for migrant workers to develop organizational work. However, the Labor Standards Act in Taiwan does not cover migrant workers in the social welfare sector, namely, the migrant care takers and migrant domestic helpers. The employer can still request their migrant care taker to work on a rest day as long as overtime pay is provided. 17 Echoing the view of Hsia, I also observed that the leading role or the spokesperson in migrant labor activism is mainly taken up by Taiwanese people. While the NGOs in Taiwan are supportive to the issue of LGBT migrant workers, it is still not easy for LGBT migrant workers to organize themselves if the structural obstacles have not been removed yet.
In post-colonial Asia, the debate of an LGBT strategy that uses a normalization model versus radical queer politics, or developing another alternative, is ongoing among the activist circle and academia (Kong, 2011). To enrich the discussion, this article uses an inter-Asia perspective to analyze LGBT activism in Hong Kong. I found that the LGBT activists of Hong Kong, the Philippines and Indonesia indeed referenced each other and adjusted their own approaches in the movement. It is overly simplistic to assume that only LGBT migrants adjust and assimilate to the LGBT model in the host city; instead, the scene of the Hong Kong LGBT movement has also been changed with increasing visibility of the LGBT migrants and their activism. For example, the organizing committee of the Hong Kong Pride parade has invited the Migrants Pride organizers to give a speech on stage for consecutive years (Lai, 2018). Pink Dot Hong Kong also invited Filipino migrant workers to deliver a speech and perform dancing (Grass Media Action 草根行動媒體, 2018). Certainly, there is still much work for Hong Kong LGBT activists to do which includes more of the issues faced by LGBT migrants and other severely marginalized LGBT people. But it is evident that there are established platforms (i.e., Hong Kong Pride parade, IDAHO parade, Migrants Pride parade, Pink Dot Hong Kong) to exchange ideas and strategies among the Hong Kong activists and Filipino and Indonesian leaders. The Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival has officially recognized the works of Filguys leader, Marrz, by giving her the Prism Award 18 (Timable, 2020).
The LGBT migrant activists are aware of their inevitable departure from Hong Kong because their condition of stay is subject to a valid work contract. Their departure may seem to be a disjuncture of their efforts in Hong Kong. However, their return to their home country or moving to another host city can still continue the flows of LGBT activism. For example, the Filipino activists mentioned that they would not stop their LGBT activities after returning to the Philippines. Dunia Kita leader, Joy, also mentioned her desire to continue her work after returning to Indonesia. The insight given by the migrant activists is that LGBT activism should be understood within an inter-Asia context, where LGBT migrants travel with their ideas and aspirations, which are continuations of their earlier experiences and activism in other working cities.
Conclusion
The article situates the discussion of LGBT activism in a gendered, Asian labor migratory context. By comparing two migrant groups in the same city, ethnographic materials on how LGBT migrants receive and interpret LGBT rights and their different approaches to expressing their gender and sexuality are provided. Both the Filipino and the Indonesian groups observe class inequality and its impact on LGBT people. However, the flows of information on LGBT issues from their home country (via the consulate or the news reports) as well as their relationships with other migrant unions and LGBT groups in both Hong Kong and their home country are influencing how the two migrant groups view LGBT rights and develop their approaches. The Filipino organization takes on a class struggle perspective and advocates for economic justice with LGBT rights while the Indonesian organization, on the contrary, takes on a normalization approach and emphasizes the achievements of LGBT individuals, who are comparable to heterosexual people.
Besides, the study also sheds light on the cultural and political contexts of the host city, including the migrant policy (i.e., statutory leave and the right to form organizations) and spaces (i.e., opening up both semi-public and public spaces for migrant workers to use for events) that are crucial to the formation of LGBT migrant activism. Compared with Hong Kong, migrant workers in Taiwan are not necessarily entitled to a weekly rest day. This is an unfavorable condition for migrant workers to organize themselves, not to mention to work on a controversial issue when LGBT people are still stigmatized in their home countries. The study has also noted the changes in the Hong Kong LGBT movement, which now offer a greater awareness of class and social inequalities when the city showcases a visible population of migrant domestic workers and Migrants Pride parade annually. It has disrupted the notion that migrants are simply assimilating in the host city. Their physical distance from their home country can unintentionally produce the courage and ideas that are inconceivable in their home country, which are making crucial contributions to LGBT activism in Asia.
Footnotes
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
