Amirah Fadhlina
Cultural Anthropologist
Hello! I'm a PhD candidate in Sociocultural Anthropology at Boston University. After completing my early education in Indonesia and Singapore, I earned a BA in Human Development & Gender Studies from Earlham College and a Master's in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School.
My doctoral research explores the intersections of identity, gender nonconformity, new media, and religion. For my dissertation, I collaborate with an intergenerational network of queer and gender nonconforming individuals in Yogyakarta, examining strategies, stakes, and innovations in their efforts to seek legitimacy.
Using ethnographic methods, archival materials, and media analysis, my project maps emerging conditions of possibility surrounding queer embodiment, identity formation, and visual culture in contemporary Indonesia.
I am open to research collaborations and learning more about teaching opportunities!
If you'd like to connect, contact: amirahf[at]bu[d0t]edu
Presentations
Pursuits of Legitimacy: Mapping Gender Fluidity, Activism, and Social Change in Indonesia
Guest Lecture, April 2025
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Gender and Sexuality in Flux: Zines, Alternative Media, and Resistance in Yogyakarta
Presenter, March 2025
Association for Asian Studies Conference
Columbus, OH
The Ethics of Representing Others/Etika Merepresentasikan yang Lain dan yang Liyan
Workshop Facilitator, July 2024
Queer Indonesia Archive Workshop Series
Virtual, Indonesia
Embodying Alternative Lifestyle: Queer Discontent and the Making of Youth Performative Politics in Yogyakarta
Panel Organizer and Presenter, July 2024
Association for Asian Studies in Asia Conference
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Queer Activism, Quasi Visibility: Gender Identity, Social Activism, and Change
Guest Lecture, April 2024
Virtual, University of Michigan-Flint
Waria, Worship, Welfare: Exploring Trans Women’s Conditions of Precarity Under COVID-19 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Presenter, March 2023
Association for Asian Studies Conference
Boston, MA
Conditions of Possibility, Queering Islam, and the Rise of Trans Activism in Indonesia
Presenter, November 2023
American Academy of Religion Conference
Denver, CO
Carpool Dakwah: Queer Mockery, Social Media, and New Discourses of Gendered Expertise in Indonesia
Panel Organizer and Presenter, June 2022
AIFIS-MSU Conference
Virtual, Indonesia
Beyond the Binary: Islamic Authority, New Media & Queer Identity Assertion in Indonesia
Guest Lecture, April 2022
Virtual, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Humor, Piety, and Masculinity: The Role of Digital Platforms in Aiding ‘Conversations’ Between Islamic Preachers and Waria in Indonesia
Presenter, March 2022
Association for Asian Studies Conference
Honolulu, HI
Fadhlina, A., (2025) “Embodying Alternative Lifestyles: Queer Discontent and Performative Politics in Yogyakarta.” Global Storytelling: Journal of Digital and Moving Images 5(1): 5. doi: https://doi.org/10.3998/gs.7223
Fadhlina, A. (2024). “Waria, Worship, and Welfare: Exploring Trans Women’s Conditions of Precarity Amidst COVID-19 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.” TRaNS: Trans-Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia, January, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1017/trn.2024.1.
Fadhlina, A. (2021). Humor, Piety, and Masculinity: The Role of Digital Platforms in Aiding “Conversations” Between Islamic Preachers and Waria in Indonesia. CyberOrient, 15: 59-84. https://doi.org/10.1002/cyo2.7
Alternative ways to find my work:
