Cross-dressing between gender identity and recreation: Gender performativity and managed visibility in an Indonesian Facebook community

The rise of social media has expanded spaces for gender expression while generating debate about the relationships among clothing, self-expression, and gender identity. This study examines the meanings of cross-dressing and the management of visibility within the Indonesian CrossDressers (IMC) digital community. It used a descriptive qualitative approach and qualitative content analysis of interviews and Facebook content. Data were collected through unstructured interviews with two participants and digital observation and documentation of the IMC group profile, features, rules, and one member's post. The data were organized, reduced, categorized, and interpreted using Judith Butler’s perspective on gender performativity. Credibility was established through source and methodological triangulation. Two findings emerged. (1) Cross-dressing was understood either as a means of articulating and affirming gender identity, potentially leading to gender transition, or as a recreational and situational activity without changes to everyday gender identity. (2) IMC constituted a digital space characterized by managed visibility: the group was publicly discoverable, but its membership and posts were accessible only to members. A post requesting advice on makeup illustrated the exchange of practical knowledge about gendered appearance, while the prohibition of pornographic content demonstrated internal regulation. From a Butlerian perspective, digital gender expression is shaped through interactions among individual agency, repeated practices, peer learning, social norms, and community rules. This study extends discussions of gender performativity into digital contexts. However, its findings remain context-specific because they are based on two participants and a limited observation of a single Facebook community.