The Characters
The Trans Superhero Perubahan Iklim project introduces four new superheroes: Dana, Asih, Vei Lan and Tara. Together, they overcome lifetimes of social exclusion and marginalisation to lead the fight for social, gender, economic, health and environmental justice for all.
In collaboration with Sanggar Seroja, our vision was for a project to challenge the multiple marginalisation, disproportionate environmental burdens, and widespread discrimination against sexual and gender-diverse communities across Indonesia. By foregrounding the creativity, resilience and leadership of transgender women we aimed to co-design a project that would promote social, gender, economic and environmental justice.
Sanggar Seroja was founded in 2016 by two transgender women who had more than 20 years of experience in the arts, particularly dance, lenong (traditional theatre of Betawi people in Jakarta) and theatre. Bringing together a group of art lovers, Sanggar Seroja specialises in theatre performances at festivals and cultural events, drawing on traditional and contemporary forms of performance to generate income while forming a hub for social support and solidarity for transgender women in the congested and polluted Kampung Duri, a sub-district in West Jakarta and one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in South-East Asia; which has, since the 1970s, provided a refuge for queer people seeking livelihoods and community in Jakarta.
The Trans Superheroes Perubahan Iklim embody a series of nested interventions that are simultaneously heroic characters (and role models), sustainable (and fabulous) fashion, socioeconomic empowerment and sustainable livelihoods, gender and climate activism, and collaborative knowledge production. It began with training for Sanggar Seroja members in advocacy, human rights and paralegal processes, grant management, and livelihood skills including harvesting eco-enzymes from organic waste products and using (and selling) these for medicinal, beauty, and household cleaning products. These skills training needs and the facilitators who delivered them were all identified by Sanggar Seroja.
On 23rd April 2022 the superheroes were launched at a street Karnaval in the Kampung Duri. The superheroes wore elaborate fantastical costumes created out of recycled materials (and common waste) by fashion designers and artists including Omar Al Fahd, Kartika Jahja, Muthiara Rievana, and Mariana. The Karnival was supported by local authorities and involved a parade down the main road. The public responded with support, sharing appreciation towards the transwomen community for leading environmental initiatives and including the wider population in their festivities.
Dana is the socio-economic justice superhero who focuses on livelihoods, financial skills, and eradicating poverty. Dana wears a bra resembling a gas mask to critique conflict, war and the use of chemical weapons anywhere in the world, while the rest of her costume is made up of recycled plastic
Asih is the restorer superhero who selflessly loves the sick and advocates for better healthcare and effective healing for all. She has a sacred crystal stone wand and an anti-virus shield that can fight radiation, pollution, and free radicals. The rest of her costume is made of bubble wrap to critique the growth of e-commerce and single-use plastics. Her wand is in the shape of a red ribbon: the universal symbol of awareness and support for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Vei Lan is the environmental superhero with a focus on protecting the environment. She harvests eco-enzymes for household and commercial cleaning, medicinal use, and income generation. Born with one leg, she also leads actions towards diffability justice.
Tara is the Advocacy Superhero who stands up for and fights to uphold justice, prevent violence against women and build gender equality. She gathers data on cases of violence facing trans- and cisgender women and lobbies the government to improve policies. She wears a social justice scale headband for all citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics.
The Comic
In 2023 we began co-developing a comic that would weave together the lived experiences of transwomen and visualise an alternative inclusive and equitable future that is led by and enacted by these superheroes. The comic was brought to life by illustrator Leka Putra, and scriptwriter Yara, and the story was developed in collaboration between GENERATE and Sanggar Seroja.
While the superhero characters of Dana, Asih, Vei Lan and Tara are fictional, their life stories are inspired by real-life experiences shared with GENERATE by transgender women living across Indonesia between 2022-2023. They blur the boundary between research, art, and action – the characters are fictional, yet they engage in real-world transformation.
They offer a radical and visual retelling of the dominant climate narrative that women, especially those in the so-called ‘Global South’, are victims of climate change. Our superheroes draw on their beauty and femininity, creativity, and strength to highlight the disproportionate impacts of climate change and environmental injustice on women and sexual and gender-diverse people in Indonesia through visualising an alternative future: one of hope, inclusion, and power. Arts are used to promote leadership, not victimhood, to advance our understanding of how social norms can be challenged and reimagined.
As knowledge is co-produced it is put into service. The superheroes have shared research with academics and activists as well as policymakers, generated increased social acceptance in their local neighbourhoods, and promoted different ways of being and belonging that transcend the prisons of patriarchal and heteronormative orders. They offer their own community, allies, and detractors alike a new blueprint for relating to each other and leading work towards social, environmental and climate justice.
It has been printed in both Bahasa Indonesia and English.
(Text shared here is borrowed from our 2023 article: Hanya ada Satu Kata: Lawan! On decolonising and building a mutual collaborative research practice on gender and climate change, Gender & Development, 31:2-3, 575-595. link.)
