Examining the Human Dignity Factor and the Public’s Attitudes Towards LGBT in Malaysia
Collin Jerome1*, Su-Hie Ting1,Jacinta Jiin-Yih Yeo2
1 Faculty of Language and Communication, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
2Academy of Language Studies Universiti Teknologi MARA UiTM (Sarawak), Malaysia .
*Corresponding Author: [email protected] Accepted: 15 May 2021 | Published: 1 June 2021
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Abstract: Recent years have witnessed a proliferation of research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in Malaysia, which pay attention to the various aspects of their lives and livelihoods. Although several studies have examined the attitudes of the Malaysian public towards LGBT, these studies have identified religion and gender role beliefs as the key factors that influenced those attitudes. The present study extended this line of research by examining the human dignity factor that shaped Malaysians’ attitudes towards LGBT. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews with 14 participants and based on a series of questions relating to their attitudes and opinions of LGBTs. The analysis of the data revealed three dominant themes: (1) LGBTs were accepted on the basis that they were human beings, (2) LGBTs should be respected for what they were, what they believed in, and how they lived their lives, and (3) LGBTs should be treated equally and not be discriminated against.
The findings of the present study suggest the need to consider human dignity as one of the key factors that may have contributed to the steadily increasing trend towards public acceptance of LGBTs in present-day Malaysia.
Keywords: LGBT, attitudes, human dignity, public acceptance, Malaysia
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1. Introduction
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals are part and parcel of many contemporary societies today. Despite the long struggle for rights and liberties, there have been gradual improvements as can be seen in the growing acceptance of LGBT individuals across the globe.
A recent study by the Pew Research Center (2020) found that there was an increasing acceptance of LGBT individuals in many countries over the past two decades. The results were compared to those reported by a series of similar studies that the research center conducted since 2002. Out of the 34 countries surveyed, 16 stated that homosexuality should be accepted by society. These include countries such as Mexico, Japan, South Korea, South Africa, and Kenya. Younger adults from 22 countries were reported to be more likely than their older counterparts to say that society should accept homosexuality. The study also found that people in less wealthy and developed economies were less accepting of homosexuality than those in wealthier and more developed economies.
Although Malaysia was not included in this recent study, the findings from the Pew Research Center’s study in 2013 may be useful. 86% of Malaysians who were surveyed in that study stated that homosexuality should not be accepted by society, compared to 9% who claimed
otherwise. The main reason for the rejection of homosexuality in Malaysia and other countries with high levels of religiosity was how the majority’s view of the matter was largely shaped by religion. As the Pew Research Center (2014) maintained:
There is a strong relationship between a country’s religiosity and opinions about homosexuality. There is far less acceptance of homosexuality in countries where religion is central to people’s lives – measured by whether they consider religion to be very important, whether they believe it is necessary to believe in God in order to be moral, and whether they pray at least once a day (pp. 3-4).
However, more recent years have seen a notable shift in the way LGBT individuals are accepted by Malaysian society. Many of these individuals, particularly youth, make their voices heard and their presence felt via social media (Jerome, 2019; Khadijah & Ummu Syafiqah, 2020).
This is evidenced in, among others, the emergence of LGBT individuals on social media whose presence has been acknowledged by their family members, close friends, and/or their fans and followers. Besides, many LGBT individuals have steadily integrated themselves into the broader fabric of Malaysian society as evidenced by their presence in professional and organisational settings. As one LGBT-identified respondent in the study by Jerome et al. (2021) claimed:
I believe that our society has accepted LGBT. Look around you… we have become a common feature now. You see us on social media, in coffee shops, public buildings, and workplaces. People, um, can no longer ignore our presence. And the, the best thing is that our sex, our deviant and abnormal sexuality don't matter to them anymore.
(p. 62)
Such a statement gives the impression that LGBT individuals are being treated equally rather than differentially, and with dignity rather than unjustly. This leads to the central question the present study seeks to answer: Is it safe to say that people’s beliefs about human dignity and equality may have been responsible for their acceptance of LGBT? In other words, if the religious factor was responsible for societal rejection of LGBT in Malaysia, could the reverse be said of human dignity as the contributing factor to societal acceptance of LGBT in the country?
2. Literature Review
Recent years have witnessed a proliferation of research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in Malaysia, which pay attention to the various aspects of their lives and livelihoods. These, among others, include sexual diversity in classical courts (Farish, 2009), male homosexuality in British Malaysia (Aldrich, 2003), male effeminacy in the Malay community (Peletz, 1996; 2009), homosexual coupling (Ismail, 2001), transgenderism (Khartini, 2005; Teh, 2008; Goh, 2020), conflicts between identity, religion, family, and others (Bong, 2020; Felix, 2016; Shanon Shah, 2018; Singaravelu & Cheah, 2020), (LGBTs’ use of social media for various reasons and purposes (Jerome, 2019; Khadijah & Ummu Syafiqah, 2020; Muhammad Naim & Noor Mayudia, 2020; Muhammad Faiz, Wan Allef Elfi Danial, &
Zulkifli, 2019).
Furthermore, there have been numerous studies examining societal attitudes towards LGBT in the country. A study by Azrowani Ulia, Azlina, Omar Fauzee, and Rozita (2012) showed that a majority of the survey participants invoked religion as a basis for rejecting homosexuality
among Malaysians (athletes in particular). The participants rejected homosexuality and regarded homosexual behaviours among local athletes as unnatural and sinful because such behaviours violated religious laws. In a study by Teh, Ee, Pua, and Tan (2016), they found that intrinsic religiosity and gender role beliefs were responsible for influencing the attitudes of Malaysians (e.g., heterosexual undergraduate students) towards homosexuals. The results showed that students with high religious beliefs held negative attitudes towards homosexuality, as opposed to those with strong gender role beliefs who held positive regards for homosexual individuals. These results resonate with those of Ng, Yee, Subramaniam, Loh, and Moreira (2015), who showed that negative attitudes of Malaysians (e.g., nursing students) towards homosexuality were strongly influenced by their intrinsic religious orientation.
While acknowledging the value of these studies, the focus was on religion and gender role beliefs as the key factors that influenced those attitudes. Little has been said about people’s beliefs in human dignity and equality that may have also shaped societal attitudes towards LGBT in Malaysia. A recent study by Luhur, Brown, and Goh (2020) on LGBT people (transgender in particular) and their rights is worthy of mention. A majority of the survey participants agreed than disagreed that transgender people in Malaysia “should be protected from discrimination by the government”, “should be allowed to serve in the military”, “should be allowed to adopt children” (Luhur et al., 2020, p. 6). Most participants, however, disagreed than agreed that transgender people “should be allowed to marry a person of their birth sex”,
“should be allowed to have surgery so their bodies match their identities”, “should be allowed to conceive or give birth to children”, and “should be allowed to use the restroom consistent with their gender identity” (Luhur et al., 2020, p. 6).
The participants’ views on transgender people’s rights bring to fore the human dignity factor that may have influenced such views. In other words, the participants’ views on how transgender people should be treated may have been shaped by their beliefs in human dignity and equality. With this in mind, the present study seeks to extend this line of inquiry by examining human dignity as a contributing factor responsible for the acceptance of LGBT individuals among present-day Malaysians.
3. Methodology
This present study utilized qualitative methods of data collection and interpretation to examine human dignity as a contributing factor responsible for the acceptance of LGBT individuals among present-day Malaysians. Interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 14 heterosexual identified individuals from major cities in Malaysia. There were more cisgender female participants (9 or 64.2%) and a majority of the participants were aged between 21 to 30 and below 20 (8 or 57.1%). The participants came from the different ethnic groups, namely, the Malay (4 or 28.5%), Chinese (5 or 35.7%), Bidayuh (3 or 21.4%), Iban (1 or 7.1%) and Indigenous Sabah (1 or 7.1%). The majority were Christians (9 or 64.2%) and Muslims (4 or 28.5%), and Buddhist (1 or 7.1%) and all participants resided in urban areas. The participants were further distinguished in terms of their educational background, employment status, and income. Table 1 presents the participants’ demographic characteristics.
Table 1: Demographic Data No Pseu-
dony m
Ethnic Group
Religio n
Age Employ- ment
Educa- tion
Month- ly Income
Sexual Orienta-
tion
Gender
1 ML Chin-
ese
Christia nity
41-50 Employ- ed
PhD 8-9.9K Hetero- sexual
Male 2 Qsh Malay Muslim <20 Student Form 5 - Hetero-
sexual
Male 3 Hnie Malay Muslim <20 Student Form 5 - Hetero-
sexual
Female
4 LB Bida-
yuh
Christia nity
21-30 Employ- ed
Masters 4-5.9K Hetero- sexual
Female
5 CB Bida-
yuh
Christia nity
21-30 Student F6 - Hetero-
sexual
Male 6 SF Malay Christia
nity
31-40 Employ- ed
Masters 4-5.9K Heteros- exual
Female 7 Yshua Bida-
yuh
Christia nity
<20 Student F5 - Hetero-
sexual
Male
8 JC Chin-
ese
Christia nity
51-60 Employ- ed
Masters 8-9.9K Hetero- sexual
Female
9 MC Chin-
ese
Christia nity
41-50 Employ- ed
Bache- lor’s Degree
2-3.9K Hetero- sexual
Female
10 MF Chin- ese
Buddhi st
<20 Employ- ed
Diploma 2-3.9K Hetero- sexual
Female 11 AS Malay Muslim 21-30 Employ-
ed
Masters 4-5.9K Hetero- sexual
Female 12 SH Sabah
Indi- genous
Muslim 31-40 Employ- ed
Masters 4-5.9K Hetero- sexual
Female
13 AL Chin- ese
Christia nity
<20 Student Bache- lor’s Degree
- Hetero- sexual
Male
14 Fklin Iban Christia nity
31-40 Employ- ed
Masters 2-3.9K Hetero- sexual
Female
The interviews were conducted in English, with the occasional use of Malay. The purpose of the study was explained and the participants were assured of confidentiality and anonymity.
The participants were also informed that that participation in the study was voluntary and their privacy would be protected by assigning pseudonyms. Audiotaping began once the participants gave their consent. The participants were well-spoken and perceptive in expressing their views and experiences regarding societal receptivity towards LGBT in Malaysia. Table 2 outlines the interview questions. The questions were adapted from the studies by Cheah and Singaravelu (2017), and Hesamuddin, Azrin Harris, Mohammad Din, and Mohd Nor (2019).
Table 2: Interview Questions*
No
1. How does society view LGBT? (Does it accept or reject LGBT)?
2. How do you personally view LGBT? (Do you accept or reject LGBT)?
3. What influences your view of LGBT?
4. Which one has the strongest influence on your view of LGBT?
The interviews were transcribed and analyzed for emerging themes and concepts, following Creswell's (2014) procedures for examining interview data. These include 1) organizing and preparing the data for analysis; 2) reading all the data, 3) coding the data by segmenting and categorizing information; and 4) generating themes from the coding process. Cresswell’s (2014) validity strategy, namely, member checking, was used to reduce bias and ensure the
accuracy of the findings. The analysis was guided by the concept of human dignity. In its most basic sense, the concept refers to the belief "that every human being is uniquely valuable and therefore ought to be accorded the highest respect and care" (Andorno, 2014, p. 45). The concept has two key elements:
The belief that individual human beings have unique significance and absolute or at least special value and the moral principle in which is derived from that belief those qualities ought to inform how society and other individuals interact with them. (Green, 2007, p. 151)
The concept exists among people of different traditions and cultures, given the fact that it has evolved through time and place, and has conjured up different and distinct meanings in various contexts (Shultziner, 2007, p. 1). As Steinmann (2016) notes:
[Human] dignity appears in various guises, sometimes as the source of human rights, at other times as itself a species of human right (particularly concerned with the conditions of self-respect); sometimes defining the subjects of human rights, at other times defining the objects to be protected; and sometimes reinforcing, at other times limiting, rights of individual autonomy and self-determination. (p. 4)
But despite the variations in meaning, the concept of human dignity is closely tied to people's people's sense of humanity and the feeling of compassion for their fellow human being. This is because human dignity "is one of the most important things to the human spirit. It means being valued and respected for what you are, what you believe in, and how you live your life.
Treating other people with dignity means treating them the way we'd like to be treated ourselves" (Andorno, 2014, p. 45). The same can be said of how human dignity may have influenced Malaysians’ acceptance towards LGBT individuals by acknowledging that they are human beings too despite their sexual and gender differences, and by respecting them for what they are, what they believe in, and how they wish to live their lives.
4. Discussion and Conclusion
The analysis of the interview data revealed almost all participants rejected LGBT individuals on a personal basis. One participant accepted these individuals uncompromisingly due to her openness to these individuals, while another participant took a neutral stand by expressing neither rejection nor acceptance. The main reason for the rejection was the culture that LGBT individuals practiced. Such a culture was seen as being characterized by the LGBTs' sexual and gender mores that contravened normative and cultural understandings of gender and sexuality.
Interestingly, most participants accepted LGBT individuals despite their rejection of the individuals’ culture. Three common themes emerged from the interviews that support the participants’ acceptance of LGBT individuals. First, the participants accepted LGBT individuals on the basis that they were human beings. They argued that LGBT were humans too and should be accepted as such. LGBT individuals, as the participants pointed out, could be one's child, sibling, close friend, or colleague who had the same right to life as any other human being and is treated with the same humanity with which one should treat one's fellow human beings. As the following interview excerpt shows:
Interviewer: Now, I'm asking, like, your own personal opinion, okay, about you, how do you yourself view LGBT? Can you really accept them as LGBT, or you reject LGBT culture?
Participant 11 (AS): I am aware that it is not right for me to just blindly just, judge them like that. Because they are also human beings. They deserve human rights, deserve to be accepted, just like how we are.
Second, the participants accepted LGBT individuals because these individuals should be respected for what they were, what they believed in, and how they lived their lives. They viewed LGBT individuals as normal people who deviated from the larger society by who showing or having physical and/or emotional attraction to members of the same sex and/or opposite gender. The participants also viewed LGBT individuals as a minority group in the country. Like members of the heterosexual majority, LGBT individuals had the same right to live their life as they chose or wished, and therefore should not be condemned or castigated for their choices or wishes. As the following interview excerpt shows:
Interviewer: Do you accept or do you reject LGBT?
Participant 4 (LB): Personally I don’t reject…I think it’s…to me, it’s about people rights. They, they have the right be who they want. Or. Um. Live their life. So I’m, I’m not against it…I think is because, um, people should be given the rights to live life the way they want to.
Third, the participants accepted LGBT individuals on the grounds that they should be treated equally and not be discriminated against. The participants contended that everyone, including LGBT individuals, should be treated fairly regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, racial or ethnic background, disability, or other status or condition. They further maintained that LGBT individuals should not be judged for being different or based on their difference. Some participants even went to the extent of claiming that LGBT individuals deserve love and to be loved because love knew no boundaries and it extended beyond borders and social backgrounds. As the following interview excerpt shows:
Interviewer: Now, how about you yourself? Um, how do you yourself view LGBT, personally?
Participant 7 (Yshua): Ah… Can I say I'm neutral? Like I do not accept and…so, ah, I do not say that I do not accept and at the same time, I will not say I accept. I'm kind of neutral because I do not know how he feels. But to me, I am more to the accept side. . . Because to me, these LGBTQ communities, more of, er, love. How they do self-love and how they love others.
Because to me, there's no barrier in love. And it's the same thing as how we, we say we love the environment, we love our clothing, we love our money, we love our pets, and whatsoever.
It’s the same thing, but, but, ah, the difference is how we love sexually. And for self-love, it's more of how we perceive ourselves. Whether, ah, whether do we see ourselves as a male or female. But, um, generally, I could say, this LGBTQ community is more of, ah, love thing, how we love ourselves and how we love ourselves.
The findings discussed above help answer the main question arising out of the study as to whether Malaysians’ beliefs about human dignity and equality may have been responsible for their acceptance of LGBT individuals. This can be seen in the ways the interview participants accepted LGBT individuals in Malaysia by acknowledging that they were human beings too despite their sexual and gender differences, and by respecting them for what they were, what they believed in, and how they wished to live their lives. This reiterates the concept of human dignity that Andorno (2014) has discussed in terms of how it refers to people’s act of valuing and respecting others as human beings, and treating them with dignity. The findings reaffirm the importance of taking into account human dignity as a key factor that may have contributed to the steadily increasing trend towards public acceptance of LGBT individuals in present-day Malaysia. This is important as it may help revise the ways LGBT individuals have often been
viewed negatively by the larger Malaysian society, and stop the stigma, discrimination, and social exclusion that they have constantly as a result of being different. Finally, the findings bring to the fore some points that need further study including the different and distinct meanings of human dignity among future research participants on their acceptance and also the rejection of LGBT individuals in Malaysia, and the various sources and contexts in which these meanings are created.
Acknowledgement
The research is funded by the Ministry of Education Malaysia under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme, Grant Number F09/FRGS/1874/2019. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Global Multidisciplinary Conference on Social Sciences, Education and Technology 2021 (GMCSET2021) in Kuala Lumpur, and was subsequently published as a conference proceeding.
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