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Senior gay activist King Oey finds peace in self-acceptance and activism
LGBT activist King Oey made peace with his own identity many decades ago, feeling comfortable in his multiple-minority status as a gay Chinese-Indonesian. Still, he understands that many in the LGBT community in Indonesia may not share this comfort.
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The 67-year-old King co-founded Arus Pelangi (A Wave of Rainbows), an LGBT-rights nongovernmental organization (NGO) established in 2006. (JP/Courtesy of King Oey)
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n his recent biography, Pokoknya Ada Pelangi (roughly 'At Any Rate, There Is a Rainbow'), senior Indonesian LGBT activist King Oey chronicles the insights he gained through years of firsthand experience as an activist for gay rights. The book was published late last year by Yayasan Obor Indonesia and written by women's and children's rights activist Magdalena Sitorus.
"The threat for LGBT individuals [in Indonesia] is real. We have to train them to build their sense of self-confidence collectively, so little by little they can accept themselves enough not to take the intimidation and humiliation leveled against them," King told The Jakarta Post. The 67-year-old co-founded Arus Pelangi (A Wave of Rainbows), an LGBT-rights nongovernmental organization (NGO) established in 2006.
King (born Oey Toen King, 67 years ago) said he had witnessed firsthand how difficult life could be for LGBT individuals through his involvement with Arus Pelangi.
On April 30, 2010, King saw how a seminar on transgender rights organized by the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in Depok, West Java, was invaded by Islamic hard-liners who smashed glasses and plates to threaten physical violence against the participants.
King noted the irony of how the globalized cyberspace both helped spread progressive ideas alongside politico-religious conservatism and intolerance. He sees this as a setback for progressive movements, which could only thrive in a democratic climate.
"Yet, I still believe that being rejected [due to sexual orientation and identity] by members of one's inner circle hurts more than being intimidated by hard-line religious invaders who come from other 'neighborhoods,'" King said.
"In Indonesia, it's tough for LGBT youths to differentiate and detach themselves as individuals from the influence of their parents and members of their extended families," he continued.
