Imaging Trans* and Female Masculinity

Nobody can argue that the Internet is not an integral part of the globalization process. The relative anonymity provided online can be used to get in contact with notions that are regarded as inappropriate or taboo. In this context the social media websites offer a way especially for young people all over the world to spread their ideas about gender and sexuality, even or especially in societies or nations with restricted access to sex education or information about queer identities. While Indonesia has a rich history of gender variant identities, contemporary official notions depict transgenderism and homosexuality as an undesirable product of the so-called “West” which is not acceptable for the Indonesian society. Nevertheless via globalized online media, young Indonesians get in contact with different notions about queerness. This research analysis how they use fiction to make these ideas their own by combining and selecting ideas about sexuality, gender and relationship inspired by international – but especially pan-Asian – popular culture, tradition, religion and contemporary official statements. Considering these multiple influences, amateur online fiction offers an opportunity to analyse the different ways amateur writers imagine sexual and gendered variants. The social reading/writing platform Wattpad is becoming popular among writers and readers of fan or amateur fiction in a way that cannot be ignored by big media companies, like publishing houses or streaming services, which make it an interesting but rarely used source. Based on the example of six selected Indonesian stories about trans and female masculinities, this research offers a first glance into a growing field of medial (self-)representation.