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Intimate Economies pp 163–184Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Use of “Life-enabling” Practices Among Waria: Vulnerability, Subsistence, and Identity in Contemporary Yogyakarta

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Globalization and Embodiment ((PSGE))

Abstract

The recent opening of Indonesia to global markets have led to an increase in the flows of images closely connected to corporal appearance and the availability and popularization of different technologies to modify the body. These changes have impacted significantly on waria (male-to-female transvestites) who have redefined their bodies as “market commodities” to accomplish illusions of freedom and redefine their position within the society. In a context where waria are strongly discriminated (socially, economically, and religiously), silicone injections and female hormones have become noteworthy “life-enabling” practices used to subsist on the margins and get over gender and religious discrimination. This chapter proposes an exploration of how waria consume these practices in a changing and competitive society and how they have transformed waria’s subjectivity.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland

    Néstor Nuño Martínez

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  1. Néstor Nuño Martínez
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany

    Susanne Hofmann

  2. Morgan Centre for Research into Everyday Lives, Manchester, United Kingdom

    Adi Moreno

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Martínez, N.N. (2016). The Use of “Life-enabling” Practices Among Waria: Vulnerability, Subsistence, and Identity in Contemporary Yogyakarta. In: Hofmann, S., Moreno, A. (eds) Intimate Economies. Palgrave Studies in Globalization and Embodiment. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56036-0_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56036-0_7

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York

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