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French author Martel shares hope for LGBTQ people amid global challenges

The author of the bestselling In the Closet of the Vatican has faith in LGBTQ representation through cultural “soft power”, which plays a crucial role in the fight for human rights.

Radhiyya Indra (The Jakarta Post)
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Sat, February 1, 2025

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French author Martel shares hope for LGBTQ people amid global challenges Talks of the world: Frédéric Martel visited the National Development University Veteran Jakarta (UPNVJ) on Nov. 5, 2024, as a guest lecturer at the International Relations program to talk about the relations between the Global South and the West. (IFI/-)

F

rench writer Frédéric Martel was intently focused on his phone as the United States presidential election unfolded, just before Donald Trump was reelected for a second term.

“Sad, what’s happening now,” he remarked with a grin, noting that Trump was gaining a critical lead in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state.

Martel’s disappointment with Trump could be attributed to the president’s controversial policies alone, but it was likely Trump’s stance on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) issues that concerned Martel, a staunch advocate for the cause.

A prominent journalist, academic and author, Martel has written several books about the LGBTQ issue, with the latest English-translated book In the Closet of the Vatican, released in 2019, becoming an international bestseller.

Martel visited Indonesia for the second time late last year, spending a short afternoon at the The Jakarta Post’s office after giving several conferences about international relations at local universities.

“I’m also [preparing] a program to commemorate the Bandung conference that’s going to be 70 years in April,” he said, mentioning his personal interest in the city’s history which held the first large-scale meeting of Asian and African states in 1955.

His first time visiting Indonesia, notably, was while researching LGBTQ issues in the country, as included in his 2012 book Global Gay: How gay culture is changing the world.

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