On 6th September 2018, more than four years ago, the Supreme Court declared Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code as unconstitutional and against basic human rights, thereby decriminalizing same-sex relations. This was a monumental moment for the LGBTQ+ community as the judicial system apologized for making them live a life of fear of reprisal and persecution.
Drafted by Thomas Babington Macaulay in 1862, anti-sodomy
laws that criminalized any form of sexual activity “against the order of
nature,” were the doing of the British in all of their claimed colonies. This
was an attempt by the colonizers to "civilize" their colonies due to
the differing opinions on the prevalent same-sex intimacy.
Years later, in 1977, the nation's attention was directed to
the LGBTQ+ community when Shakuntala Devi published the first study of
homosexuality in India, The World of Homosexuality. The renowned mathematician
called for complete decriminalization and acceptance of the community. The
1990s saw the publication of the first LGBT+ magazine and the first gay film in
India; these works of media still remain a very crucial part of the queer
Indian representation.
With India's ever-evolving relationship with the LGBTQ+ community, a helpline and support network, Dial Q For Help, was set up for the community. In 1999, the Kolkata Rainbow Parade made a statement to the world. Even though it was attended by only 15 people, it was the first one held in South Asia and sent a message of hope to society. From these singular events, spreading across the years, that showed solidarity, the nation's outlook on queerness transformed. In 2001, the first petition to remove Section 377 was filed. After a tiring struggle with the judicial structures in 2009, 2013, and 2017, thanks to the leading lawyers Menaka Guruswamy and Arundathi Katju, in 2018, same-sex relations were decriminalized in India.
Belonging To
The LGBTQ+ Community In India
Even though many rural or home environments have not
changed, the Indian youth and their activism have changed queer lives in
India. Moreover, as of 24th August 2017,
the Supreme Court granted the country's LGBT community the freedom to safely
express their sexual orientation, thus protecting an individual's sexual
orientation under the Right to Privacy law.
Urban India has been exposed to the idea of the LGBTQ+
community through social media and initiatives by NGOs as well as corporates.
Though complete acceptance by society is a faraway dream, much of the community
receive tolerance and sympathy, especially for gay men. The scenario is less
favorable for the lesbians and trans folk in the cities, and downright horrifying in the
rural regions. Away from pride parades and Twitter activism, honor
killings and family-sanctioned corrective rape are still prevalent.
Even though there are some successful coming-out stories
that have happy endings, most parents only accept their child's identity or
orientation if they agree to maintain the heterosexual image, fueling the
stigma around the community. Sakshi Juneja, the founder of Gaysi, an online space for LGBT people,
says, “You don’t owe it to anyone to come out. So, I would say take your own
time and come out to only those you are comfortable with. Financial and
emotional stability are must-haves before you communicate with your family. At
the end of the day, family members want nothing more than a safe and secure
future for you, so it helps if you don’t come out in a state of emotional or
financial breakdown."
For the LGBT community to interact, share and collaborate,
platforms like Gaysi and Gaylaxy and publishers like Queer Ink have helped carve out safe
spaces. Popular shows like Satyamev Jayate and The Tara Sharma Show have been
instrumental in opening dialogue regarding the queer community in many
households. The increasing representation that the community is receiving in
mainstream media also aids the process.
Accepting
The Queer Community
When someone comes out to you as LGBTQ+, it may be a shock
but your reaction to the news has an ergonomic effect on the other person,
especially if you are their parent. In a society with a rigid set of social and
cultural norms that dictate the terms and conditions of everything from
education to career and marriage, the mental and physical health of LGBT people
is severely affected by the lack of support. A countless number of studies
indicate that queer individuals who feel rejected by their parents or are
pressured to conform, due to their gender identity or sexual orientation, are
prone to self-harm, depression, substance abuse, and engaging in unprotected
sex. Even though society is hard on the LGBTQ+ community, those with familial
support and acceptance show higher self-esteem, social support, and overall
health.
Regardless of religion and caste, in India, the children who come out to their parents show admirable courage. The coming out of Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil in 2002 was a source of inspiration and courage for many queer folks in the world. Heading several initiatives including the Lakshya Trust for HIV/Aids prevention, he tries to help the LGBT community in the country. Dubbed the first gay prince by the media, he advises the queer folk to not get carried away by what is depicted on the silver screen.
“It was for no small reason that I was in the closet for 41
years," he says. “I know of someone who got a sudden rush of inspiration
from a TV program and decided to come out to his family. It didn’t work. He
lost his home, his job, everything. I always tell people to be fully aware of
their own reality. Be financially prepared. Detach a bit from your family both
emotionally and financially before you plan to take this step." - Prince
Manvendra Singh Gohil
Unfortunately, most families cast out their queer children,
a few families believe that it's a phase, while others start questioning where
they went wrong. All these reactions have adverse impacts on the child's life.
Understanding the child's revelation may take time but showing them acceptance
is crucial.
Ask them more about their experience and express your
support when your child comes out to you. Shaming or threatening them for
choosing to come out to you damages your relationship with them. Even if your
initial reaction was poor, show them your love and support by listening to
their story and trying to understand more about their narrative. Shockingly,
being shamed by distant relatives is an experience common to most Indian queer
narratives; rescue your child from this, and do not stay silent when someone
bullies your child.
To try and get rid of the reservations you have about the
community, volunteer at an NGO that works with the LGBTQ+ community and expose
yourself to media with LGBTQ+ characters. Try to get to know more about your
child's partner if they have any. Challenge anyone who displays queerphobia and
always remind your child that you are rooting for them.
While speaking about people, we use pronouns and most of
these have a gender implied. Knowingly or not, we make assumptions about the
gender of another person based on their appearance or name. Simply assuming
people’s gender identity after a glance is disrespectful. Assumptions, even if
correct, send a harmful message -- that people have to look a certain way to
demonstrate the gender that they may or may not be. Being referred to with the
wrong pronoun can make people feel invalidated, dismissed, alienated, or
dysphoric.
When someone trusts you with their preferred pronoun and you
use those pronouns, you are telling them, 'Yes. You are right in your identity
and we respect you.' Not having to worry about which pronoun someone is going
to use for you is a privilege. Having this privilege, and failing to respect
someone else’s identity is oppressive.
How can you help? You can’t always know what someone’s
pronouns are. Ask and correctly use someone’s personal pronouns. It is one of
the simplest ways to show your respect for their gender identity. If you are
unsure of approaching the person to ask for their pronouns, ask someone close
to them or listen to how they address the said person.
If you accidentally mess up the pronouns, correct yourself
and sincerely apologize.
Pronouns And
You
An individual’s pronouns are connected to their gender
expression. What is gender expression? According to the GLAAD Media Reference
Guide, it is the "external manifestations of gender, expressed through a
person's name, pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, and/or body
characteristics." It is how people identify themselves and connect with
the world.
For some insight, she/her/hers and he/him/his are commonly
used pronouns that are referred to as female/feminine and male/masculine
pronouns. Most modern languages, like
English, rely only on these binary pronouns. People have attempted to rectify
this and come up with pronouns that do not associate with gender.
There are also lots of gender-neutral pronouns in use like
they/them/theirs, ze/hir/hir (ze pronounced like zee and hir like here),
tey/ter/tem, and ey/em/eirs. Some people may prefer to be referred to by their
name alone. Respect that too. Do not address people as ‘it’ or ‘he-she’. That’s
unacceptable.
Current status of LGBTQ+ in India
The LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexual and gender minority) community in India has been subject to various legal, social, and cultural challenges. Here is an overview of the status of LGBTQ+ rights in India as on date:
- Legal Status: In the landmark ruling of 2018, the Supreme Court of India decriminalized consensual same-sex relations by striking down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which previously criminalized "unnatural" sex acts. This however, still does not provide members of the LGBTQ+ the same legal rights as that of their heterosexual counterparts.
- Protection Against Discrimination: The country lacks comprehensive legislation to protect LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination in areas such as employment, housing, and public accommodations. However, some states and union territories have implemented their own anti-discrimination policies.
- Recognition of Gender Identity: In 2014, the Supreme Court recognized transgender people as a "third gender" and upheld their rights to self-identification. This decision acknowledged transgender individuals' right to equality, non-discrimination, and protection under the law.
- Same-Sex Marriage: Same-sex marriage is still not legally recognized in India. The Supreme Court has not issued a specific ruling on this matter, and the legal framework currently only recognizes heterosexual marriages. However, some LGBTQ+ activists and organizations are advocating for marriage equality.
- Social Acceptance: Attitudes toward LGBTQ+ individuals vary across different regions and communities in India. While there has been a positive shift in public opinion, societal acceptance is not uniform, and discrimination, stigma, and social ostracism persist. LGBTQ+ individuals are prone to face challenges in their personal and professional lives, including coming out, family acceptance, and access to healthcare.
- LGBTQ+ Activism: There is a vibrant LGBTQ+ rights movement in India, with numerous organizations, activists, and allies working towards creating awareness, advocating for equal rights, and providing support for the community. Pride parades and events are held in various cities across the country to celebrate diversity and raise visibility.
- Censorship: In India, there are no laws restricting to discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics. Individuals, groups, and media are free to discuss and debate on LGBTQ+ agendas and issues.
- Right to change legal gender: The right to change legal gender in India is legal, but requires surgery. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 allows for transgender individuals who have had sex reassignment surgery to change their legal gender from male to female and vice versa. An option for third gender is available without surgery required under the 2014 Supreme Court ruling.
- Legal recognition of non-binary gender: The legal recognition of non-binary gender in India is recognized. The Indian Supreme Court has ruled to recognize a third gender commonly known as hijra. Indian passports display this with the descriptor "O" (other), with other identification documents also available with "T" (transgender) and "TG" (third gender).
- Employment discrimination: Transgender discrimination protections are still pending. Sexual orientation discrimination protection through human rights institute and full discrimination protections are also pending. Unfortunately, this has not been updated/worked upon, since August 15, 1949.
- Same-sex adoption: Same-sex couples are not permitted to adopt a child in India but single LGBTQ+ parents are.
- Serving openly in military in India: Since Article 46 got removed on September 6, 2018, serving openly in military in India is legal.
- Blood donations: Blood donations by MSMs (men who have sex with men) in India is banned (indefinite deferral). A final court decision has been pending since 2017.
- Conversion therapy: Conversion therapy in India is banned. On 7 June 2021, in delivering the verdict on this case, Justice N Anand Venkatesh prohibited Conversion Therapy with India becoming only the 2nd country in Asia to ban conversion therapy behind Taiwan.
- Equal age of consent: Equal age of consent in India is equal. The Criminal Law Act of 2013 raised the age of consent for homosexual sex and heterosexual sex to 18.
Final
Thoughts
Being a part of the LGBT+ community in a conservative
society like India can be extremely taxing. Leaving the closet and owning up to
one's identity or orientation puts extreme pressure on people. Society has to
make this community feel visible, included, and valued. It is the bare minimum
one can do as a human.
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