Digital Homophobia Technological assemblages of anti-LGBT sentiment and surveillance in Indonesia

This article examines the emergence of digital homophobia in Indonesia as an assemblage of homophobic discourses imbued with a language of urgency, technological infrastructures, and punitive laws on non-normative sexualities. The internationalisation of LGBT rights has provided discursive capital for anti-LGBT groups to generate affective qualities (fear and moral panic), positioning queer people as a 'threat' to national identity, 'traditional values', and 'vectors of disease' intent on 'converting' others to homosexuality. Moreover, technological infrastructure, such as social media, fosters and amplifies the circulation of homophobic rhetoric. Such technologies have enabled citizens to persecute and shame LGBT people directly, and increasingly demand that the state enact punitive laws on gender and sexuality through the use of online petitions and other online surveillance practices that affect queer people beyond the digital space. These movements are legally justified by existing regulations, often associating homosexuality with pornography and social indecency, manifested in local and national laws that do not always specifically target homosexuality. As a result, digital homophobia moves beyond the online space, deeply affecting the material life of the Indonesian queer community and activism. For instance, activists, fearing reprisal, have begun carrying out their activities surreptitiously. This analysis makes a contribution to existing scholarship on global homophobia, surveillance, and technocultural and sexual globalisation by highlighting the interplay of technology, homophobic discourses, and public policy in responding to the proliferation of international LGBT rights discourses.

Automated summary

This article explores the emergence of digital homophobia in Indonesia, which is characterized by a combination of homophobic discourses, technological infrastructure, and punitive laws targeting non-normative sexualities. The internationalization of LGBT rights has provided anti-LGBT groups with the means to generate fear and moral panic, portraying queer individuals as a threat to national identity, traditional values, and agents of disease. Social media and other technological platforms have facilitated the spread of homophobic rhetoric and enabled citizens to persecute and shame LGBT individuals. This digital homophobia extends beyond the online space and has significant impacts on the lives and activism of the Indonesian queer community.