Migration and Family Relationships : A Case of Indonesian Gay in Paris
Author: Adihartono, Wisnu , wisnuadi.reksodirdjo@gmail.com
Department: Sociology
University: Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Marseille, France
Supervisor: Irene Thery
Year of completion: In progress
Language of dissertation: French
Keywords:
Gay
, Migration
, Family relation
, everyday lives
Areas of Research:
Migration
, Family Research
, Social Psychology
Abstract
A state and national identity are formed on the basis of mutually unified thoughts and ideas through the process of representation and social imagination. Through these two processes, peoples have rights to determine which ones are good and which ones are not good; thus, the issues of homosexuality cannot be avoided. According to sociologists, Gagnon and Simon, this is what we call 'Sexual Scripts,' where sexuality is produced, shared, and enforced as a social norm and made a blueprint for correct behavior. Indonesians consider homosexuality to be a set of abnormal acts that are against religion. Homosexual people do not have any power and almost no access to fight for their rights. In the end, in order to survive, they must hide their sexual orientation, or in some extreme cases, they migrate to other countries. To find out why so many of them decide to migrate to Paris, I have interviewed 20 Indonesian gays currently living in Paris. This research draws on a qualitative method. I met them, face-to-face, in a location of their choosing. Almost all my respondents indicated they were comfortable to stay in Paris because Paris is entertaining. This is what Park, Burgess, McKenzie and Wirth explain as “comportment urban” where every person feels well and can adapt quickly to different roles, finding strategies in their lives, and have some mobility. In addition, respondents have French boyfriends, thus they are comfortable to live there.
