My Life, My Choice

Immanuel Antonius (Liputan6.com, Jakarta)

Mak Rini is a drag queen from Jombang, East Java, Indonesia. Once a week he appears as a drag queen. He is now 65 years old. As a kid, he has a dream of being free to express himself with make-up. That dream came true when he left his homeland 25 years ago. Now, the man whose real name is Basori lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Countries that legalize LGBT people to get the same rights as others.

To meet his daily needs, Mak Rini works as a cook with a salary of 1,600 euros per month. This amount is also sufficient for Mak Rini to buy drag queen equipment, save money, and occasionally send it to his relatives who live in Indonesia.

Even though he is alone, Mak Rini admits that he really enjoys his life here. He wants to spend her old age becoming a drag queen to entertain cafe visitors. For Mak Rini, drag queen is not just a make-up or a festive costume. Drag queen is who he is. Drag queen is a life choice.