Mun'im Sirry, Bagong Suyanto, Rahma Sugihartati, Drajat Tri Kartono, Muhammad Turhan Yani, Mufarrihul Hazin
The purpose of this study is to explore students’ attitudes towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in 25 high schools, public and private, across five cities in East Java, Indonesia: Batu, Bondowoso, Lamongan, Nganjuk, and Surabaya. We surveyed 500 students and interviewed 28 students to understand their views of the LGBT community and their rights. Students’ approaches to traditional gender roles, as well as their comfortableness interacting with LGBT individuals, were measured. A Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationship between their attitudes toward LGBT people, on the one hand, and their religiosity, as well as their comfortableness interacting with LGBT individuals, on the other. The results of the present study showed gender dynamics in such a way that, for instance, female students (compared to male students) tended to be more intolerant toward lesbians than toward gays. We also identified recurring themes emerging from in-depth interviews, including categories students often used to characterise the LGBT community. We conclude that the way students framed LGBT issues resonates with prejudicial tropes commonly labelled against non-heterosexuals in the public discourse. Schools often serve as a microcosm of the larger community within which schools are located. © 2026 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Department of Theology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, United States; Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Airlangga University, Surabaya, Indonesia; Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Sebelas Maret University, Solo, Indonesia; Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia; Faculty of Education Sciences, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia
