Climate change has a disproportionately negative impact on transgender people, and the trans community in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is taking things into its own hands.
An art organization made up mostly of transgender people is called Sanggar Teater Seroja, also known as Seroma Theater Studio. They were established in 2016 in Tambora in West Jakarta and frequently host cultural performances like speeches, traditional and modern dance, and observations of plays and writing. They educate locals on issues like sex and weather through imaginative, active wedding with local communities.
Since 2022, the team has hosted the Trans Superhero Climate Change Carnival at the University of Leeds in association with the Generate Project.
Four trans weather superhero characters were created for the 2022 festival, according to Victoria Sintara, a member of the theater group. Each character wore a mask made of used plastic silverware, leftover bubble wrap, recycled materials, and other products. They visited some neighborhood businesses and held a festival in Kampung Duri, West Jakarta.
The festival is a major motion to subtly create the environment crisis topic in Indonesia, which is well known for having the largest population of climate deniers in the world. Another Trans Superhero Carnival may be held this year by the expanding theater company, and it will feature 15 trans climate superheroes dressed in recovered costumes. On December 17, the festival will take place in the crowded sector of the area.
These trans children’s capacity for action may instill in the populace a sense of urgency to combat climate change or, at the very least, to take some action by gathering and reuse plastic waste. Additionally, by holding for a gathering, the party normalizes trans participation in the neighborhood, which boosts acceptance and lessens the stigma associated with transgender people.
According to Sentara, the majority of trans people in the theater group busk or engage in sexual activity. They put their lives in danger when the weather is bad, and some people recently experienced steam injury in Jakarta as a result of climate change.
Sanggar Teater Seroja’s initiative may present fresh viewpoints on how to spread awareness of sympathetic issues without being critical of the economic and educational standing of Indonesians. A playful and enjoyable way to tell the two subjects, which are still difficult for some Indonesians to take, had particularly help address issues related to climate change denial and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.
Next month, Sanggar Teater Seroja unveiled four Trans Superheroes, including the Advocacy, Cleaning, Restorer, Fundraising, and Advocalypsias. With the addition of 15 more Trans Superheroes this year, we may anticipate that more of them will help combat the negative effects of the climate crisis, giving Indonesia hope that their efforts will motivate it to take action to save our planet.
