FIFTY-SEVEN schoolboys with ‘effeminate tendencies’ were sent to attend a ‘self-development’ course at a four-day ‘behavioural correction’ camp in Besut, Terengganu.
The objective, according to the Terengganu State Education Department, was help the students (66 of them initially) discard their sissy mannerisms and behave in a way that is acceptable to their gender through counselling on masculinity, religious and motivational classes and physical guidance.
The camp was prompted by concerns over the rising number of effeminate male students in the northeastern peninsular state where schools had been instructed to identify schoolboys who showed feminine traits.
The 57 were singled out for displaying the most severe behavioural symptoms which, in the opinions of their teachers and the department, were not usual for normal males their age.
The department’s director Razali Daud said the link between effeminate behaviour among male students and transsexuality was a matter of concern that should not be ignored.
“Such effeminate behavior is unnatural and will affect their studies and future. We understand some people end up as mak nyah (transvestile) or a homosexual but we will do our best to limit the number.”
The camp has since come under fire from various quarters which called it a sign of homophobia. A Malaysian awareness group described the camp as outrageous.
Weighing in on the issue, Women and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said the camp broke the law and should be banned, adding that it is in clear violation of the Child Act.
“The experience of being singled out on the basis of perceived characteristics is an extremely traumatising experience, particularly for adolescent teens,” she stressed.
Amid the outbursts of criticisms, the Terengganu State Education Department appeared to have distanced itself from the original statement on the purpose of the camp.
In a clarification that avoided words like transsexuality and effeminacy, the department said the camp was actually designed to help boost the self-confidence of students who shunned co-curricular and sports activities, and not meant as a boot camp to toughen up sissies.
The department also denied attendance was compulsory, saying the boys were invited and there was no brainwashing as claimed by certain quarters.
“The camp had nothing to do with anti-gay sentiments or attempts to change the students’ sexual preferences.
“Rather, it was part of the department’s 2011 Patriotism Integration Programme (PIP) to improve the students’ awareness of their duties to the nation,” it added.
Seeking a clearer picture, Shahrizat asked the school authorities to identify the students’ exact problems before sending them for the PIP.
“If it were a question of seeking advice on sexuality and gender identity, then professional help should be sought,” she said.
This is sound advice as an effeminate or feminine-looking child could be referred to a gender-identity specialist for psychological tests. While the diagnosis is not static, at least any signs of the child experiencing a form of gender variance — which could evolve in different ways in later life — may be brought to light.
But where do clinicians draw the line between gender-atypical behavior and pathology?
Although society has gradually broadened its understanding of the range of acceptable gender behaviours, there is still no sure way to tell a healthy everyday sissy or tomboy from a child with a psychiatric problem.
Psycho-analysts argue that a consolidated, persistent sense of masculine inadequacy should be seen as a manifestation of gender identity disorder but they also point out that such a sense of inadequacy is dependent on society’s changing definitions of masculine gender roles – so it wouldn’t be fair to pigeon-hole so-called effeminate boys who are developing quite normally in the context of their own gender-atypical temperaments.
Some medical authorities believe there is something intrinsically wrong with gender-atypical behaviour while others disagree in the absence of sufficiently deep understanding of the inner lives of gender-disordered and gender-non conforming children.
Ultimately, effeminacy per se may not be at the root of the problem but rather society’s disapproval and prejudice that cause the problems of the effeminate boy.
As Shahrizat pointed out, one must understand the pitfalls of effeminacy often revolved around bullying or ostracism by peers, family and community as a result of the victim’s perceived traits.
And to alleviate the problem, stigmatisation must be kept at bay by giving the children so perceived the opportunity for full mental, physical and emotional development in a safe and accepting environment and with the girdle of familial support.