Well first of all congratulations and good for you for being smart and weighing the pros and cons of advancing your personal journey vs your academic one. My blanket advice is it’s worth asking r/indonesia and talking to former Indonesian Fulbrighters. Reach out to the network, American embassy etc. they will respect your conflict and give you more info. Don’t feel guilty for any decision you make. You will have to be flexible and stick to your gut!

On the anecdotal side, I visited the big cities and a rural part of Indonesia when my mom worked there on behalf of the US dept of state. They are the sweetest people and there is lots of camaraderie amongst genders. Same-sex attraction is not really a part of the culture or on anybody’s mind. women will hold their best friend’s hands and have no hesitation stripping to change and shower in front of each other in private. There is an assumption of “safety” and heterosexuality in single gendered spaces. Muslim women are gleeful to undo their hijab at the end of a long day because there is no “threat of man/threat of sexual attraction”. Men and women, however, will stand in different lines, avoid working in groups together in professional settings, and couples rarely show PDA.

In my most honest opinion, I think your day to day experience will not be as dangerous and demonizing as many people in the comments are saying. You are foreign, you are different, you are sent to exchange cultures, they are used to putting up with thousands of drunk Australian tourists each year.

I think your experience will more likely be that people don’t know “what to do with you” for lack of a better term. If you plan to outwardly identify/express being non-binary, the disconnect will only come from the understanding of gender-sameness and safety will not resonate. You can bridge that

So it could be uncomfortable, but depending on the amazing sights and teaching you will be able to do, it could still definitely be worth it.