Jakarta, IO – The specter of sexual violence does not only haunt women, but also men and third sex, said Shera Rindra of Aliansi Laki-Laki Baru in an online discussion “Masculinity and Sexual Violence in Indonesia” organized by Jakarta Feminist and @transgender_indonesia on Friday (24/2).
Shera said in a patriarchal culture that is dominant with masculinity, women, men and third sex can potentially become victims. According to Shera, there is a misconception about masculinity and its manifestation in the society.
Shera said the essential concept of masculinity and femininity is a classification of human nature and character which includes all genders. While the concept widely accepted by the society is machismo, being manly.
“This eventually characterizes the difference between masculinity and femininity, which is no longer based on nature and character, but also by sex, not gender. Because in this patriarchal world there are only two recognized sexes,” Shera said.
As an illustration, Shera analogizes it as two boxes of different sizes. One box taller is masculinity, and the other box shorter is femininity. In patriarchal culture, masculinity which is considered superior, male traits are considered stronger. This ultimately forms a power relationship that positions humans with male characteristics to be vested with more opportunities to control many aspects that can potentially lead to injustice.