Drew this for trans day of visibility! I want to talk about Lunar Boy and the thought process behind crafting a sci fi Indonesian future that embraces queer history.
I've always struggled connecting to escapist queer fantasy or sci fi where "real world bigotry doesn't exist" because when one's identity is so inherently political and tied to a generational history of oppression, I end up realizing I share very little in common with queer characters in those stories. Often times QPOC in escapist media feel like re-skinned white characters. It's as if people's only frame of reference for queer joy is that of white people, and that erases the specific cultural joys POC experience.
Sci fi is all about speculating what's possible. And in Lunar Boy we'd like to take you to a world where that history informs the joy.
If this book sounds like something you'd like to see, please consider pre-ordering it and telling your local library about it!