From what i've heard, Java historically recognized three genders and large parts of their clergy was made up of what we'd today call trans and nonbinary people. There where cultures on Kalimantan (Borneo) that recognized 5 genders. The Indonesian archipelago is a vast, culturally very diverse region, but it is getting more and more under the influence of religious fundies, especially in Aceh province where there's been busts against gay parties and also unmarried straight couples for years. It's gotten to the point where gay and lesbian people are publically whipped, and the government tries to instrumentalize such reactionary sentiments in very much the same way as the GOP does in the US. I hear there's still a lot of pushback, but things are worsening rather than improving.
From what i've heard, Java historically recognized three genders and large parts of their clergy was made up of what we'd today call trans and nonbinary people. There where cultures on Kalimantan (Borneo) that recognized 5 genders. The Indonesian archipelago is a vast, culturally very diverse region, but it is getting more and more under the influence of religious fundies, especially in Aceh province where there's been busts against gay parties and also unmarried straight couples for years. It's gotten to the point where gay and lesbian people are publically whipped, and the government tries to instrumentalize such reactionary sentiments in very much the same way as the GOP does in the US. I hear there's still a lot of pushback, but things are worsening rather than improving.