A beauty pageant contest in Bali presented its winners with a task — raising HIV/AIDS awareness in the community.

The audience cheered at the conclusion of the four-hour contest to select HIV/AIDS awareness campaign ambassadors for the gay and transgender community in Bali.

Dubbed Mister and Miss Gaya Dewata, the first beauty pageant-style contest staged by Gaya Dewata Foundation in Seminyak in Kuta on Nov. 20 kept the audience rapt until midnight when Rio Paramdina and Stefanie were named Mister and Miss Gaya Dewata.

Throughout the evening, the audience was entertained by various performances that were gracefully presented by transgender artists, including cabaret shows and modern and traditional Balinese dances.

Ten finalists for each title were interviewed by the jury to select the winners at the rooftop of Hotel Santika, Jl. Sunset, Seminyak, which was preceded by a parade of the 10 Mister and 10 Miss finalists dressed in white.

Although they live in Bali, most of the participants hail from various parts of the archipelago, including Aceh, West and East Nusa Tenggara, Gorontalo, Palembang, Bandung and Surabaya.

The finalists presented their visions and missions on HIV/AIDS issues during the contest.

“About 73 percent of people with HIV belong to the younger generation including lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender persons [LGBT], which can’t be seen as a trivial issue. I’m going to cooperate with Gaya Dewata to provide sexual health education and prevent HIV/AIDS,” said finalist Lucas Wahyudi.

Chosen as the first runner-up, he will also push advocacy of LGBT rights to eliminate stigma and discrimination. Lucas said he would work with the community and encourage the members to have an HIV test every three months.

Rio said he would realize a program for public education not only limited to LGBT circles.

“It’s very important to take care of our own health, otherwise who else will bother?” he said to a round of applause.

Stefanie said she would focus on the involvement of LGBT especially young people, so they can better understand HIV/AIDS.

“With all my capability and through Gaya Dewata, young people will be encouraged to practice safe sex and learn to lead a healthy life,” she said.

Gaya Dewata Foundation has played the role in reducing the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) among the gay and transgender community since 1992.

The grand final also presented three speakers who were engaged in a dialogue on how to overcome the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Medical doctor Gede “Uta” Putra said there were a number of challenges that needed to be addressed in spreading HIV/AIDS awareness among the LGBT community.

The community members, he said, needed support to have regular medical health checks and consultations that are available in free medical centers. Another challenge is the spread of a number of myths, such as people with HIV/AIDS will look ugly and thin, and that sperm ejaculated outside won’t cause infections.

Uta said his patients often ask him similar questions.

“‘Doc, will I die?’ People can die at any time. Antiretroviral [ARV] therapy is quite effective in helping to strengthen immunity,” Uta told the audience.

Sofie, an experienced HIV/AIDS activist from Denpasar, tried to explain the need to accept various sexual orientations during the occasion. She introduced the acronym SOGIEB — sex orientation, gender, identity, expression and body.

“Gender, sex and sexuality are inherited from birth. I’m Sofie, my gender is female and my sex is male. This understanding is designed to express appreciation of varied sexual orientations,” said the transgender figure.

The HIV epidemic in the country is continuing to claim young people. The Spiritia Foundation’s national data analysis says that as of 2015, the number of reported HIV cases reached 191,073. Meanwhile, AIDS cases from 1987 to 2015 amounted to 77,112 people.

The highest incidence of AIDS cases was recorded in the 20-29 age group (31.8 percent). Male AIDS cases accounted for 55 percent, with 32 percent female and 13 percent unspecified.

The highest number of victims was listed among housewives (10,626), followed by non-professionals/employees (9,603), entrepreneurs (9,439), farmers/breeders/fishermen (3,674), manual workers (3,191), sex workers (2,578), civil servants (1,819) and school/college students (1,764).

According to Gaya Dewata Foundation, the gay and transgender community still needs health service access in order to suppress the growth of HIV/AIDS among its members.

“To stay beautiful and healthy, who will be concerned if we don’t care for ourselves?” said Christian Supriyadinata, the director of Gaya Dewata Foundation.

Apart from searching for role models, the event was also an empowerment strategy through entertainment-style education.

At around midnight, amid a thundering ovation, a crown and tiara were placed respectively on the head of Rio as Mister Gaya Dewata and Stefanie as Miss Gaya Dewata. The first runners up for Mister and Miss Gaya Dewata were Lucas and Safa Marcella, while Aldi and Shasha Vanesha snatched the second runners-up positions.

Fenita Papilaya won the Social Media Favorite category while the Best Intelligence award went to Koko Saktyo. Fitri Zakieb won the Best Catwalk category while Rara Putrika won the Best Outfit award.

— Photos by JP/Luh De Suriyani

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