ACROSS GENDER
Anouk Houtman | Indonesia, Netherlands 2016 | 25 Min. | OmeU
Across Gender is an ethnographic film about the negotiation of visibility of trans people in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Focusing on personal experiences of different people who ‘cross gender’ we follow: LGBT-activists, drag performers and students of an Islamic school for transwomen. We learn about their experiences and how they view Indonesian society. Through different people and spaces, ‘Across Gender’ gives a varied image of trans people in Yogyakarta while challenging stereotypes. The stories are documented in the midst of anti-LGBT sentiments and illustrate how the negotiation of visibility is an ongoing and difficult process.The film was made as part of the master’s program in visual anthropology at Leiden University, the Netherlands, and is based on two months of ethnographic fieldwork.