Adapted from a report by Paul Nelson, Subud Greater Seattle
A notable event at the Subud World Congress in Puebla, Mexico was a meeting focused on the perceptions of gender roles and relations in the Subud community.
The discussion was led by Leonore Tjia, a 24 year old second generation member who works as the business manager for a company that offers adult sex education and sexual empowerment coaching for women and couples. Dissatisfied with the lack of discussion around LGBTQ issues in Subud, she proposed this workshop to engender a new dialogue.
Attendees shared their experiences of attitudes toward gender and LGBTQ issues as they have seen or experienced them in the Subud community:
Attitudes and norms mentioned:
- Separation in testing and advice
- Men being higher spiritually than women
- Women need permission to be opened
- Men can open women; women can’t open men
- Helpers shouldn’t be gay
- Doing latihan can make gay people straight (and that is desirable)
- Pressure on women to achieve “femininity”
- Assumption of heterosexuality
- Don’t discuss being LGBTQ
Despite less-than-welcoming feeling experienced by LGBTQ members in many Subud communities around the world, there was none of the self-righteousness of “progressive” groups common in academic and some activist settings. The people present in the room expressed faith in Subud to challenge and overturn these attitudes and keep the organization growing and evolving.
It was pointed out that anyone attempting to quote Bapak for their own agenda would be trumped by his guidance that we should test everything for ourselves. Subud, and the latihan kejiwaan spiritual practice it is based on, are instruments for allowing members to become true human beings.
This meeting was a huge step in addressing issues that have been smoldering for a long time and preventing the organization from being as vibrant and as noble as it can be. The event was videotaped by Andrew Hall and should be available soon for those who could not attend.