Hima T Sam and Gopikrishnan V
Sometimes, all that matters is to love, love everyone so that at one point of time, when you have to leave this place, regret stands apart from our way.
’23 year old teen commits suicide in Goa’. Sounds like a normal, mundane newsflash. But when you go down to the course of action that triggered this death, it starts sounding unusual. The girl was a lesbian and her family exerted continuous pressure so as to get her back to what they call, ’normal’. She was confined to isolation by her own family members hoping that her state of being a lesbian could change.
There is actually nothing, literally nothing you could call a problem in the queers.
We say the world is everyone’s home. Ironic isn’t it? When a particular juncture of society is deliberately hindered from experiencing a normal course of life, how could you say that this is everyone’s home.
The question of ‘Why’?
Being a homosexual is purely a hormonal imbalance which he/she as an individual has got nothing to do. There might be distinctions as well as dissimilarities in their actions as well as behaviour. It doesn’t really point to a fact that they really harm or dismantle the social structure or contribute to an unhealthy social culture. But when the idea of being a conservative is stranded in the traditional and cultural roots of a society, unsurprisingly we find that this particular sect of people succumb to a glitch in the attitudes they encounter from the society.
The curious case of Queerphobia
In short, hatred or fear towards homosexuals is queerphobia. This hatred can be an end product of various interventions ranging from religious, cultural as well as purely personal factors. We call this personal freedom to resist factors that seem to be contradictory with our own perspectives and life culture. But personal freedom stands tall for everyone. I repeat, everyone.
While we are speaking on the rights of queer peoples, Indian parents are always on a rush to establish these attitudes as pseudo-cultural things. For Indians legalising of lesbian sex stands synonymous for westernisation, which was incorporated in the minds of new generations of India labelling them as deviants. Are we really encouraging western attitudes?
Court decision has helped India to trace its roots. Noted historian Harban Mukhia says one has to know India’s history to understand why the British has made gay sex illegal. The British brought their own rules to India, including the section 377 which banned homosexuality and made it a criminal act. This law was enforced by them which, however did not conform with India’s attitude towards homosexuality. It had more to do with their Christian belief system, he added. Existence of homosexual activities was acknowledged in both the ancient and medieval India. The temple sculptures, narratives and religious scriptures had much to deal with it. Mythologist Devdutt Patnaik has once explained the presence and acceptance of homosexuality in Hinduism. ‘Love was celebrated in India in every form’, he said. ‘The erotic sculptures in the temples of Khajurao, which was built between 950 and 1050 by the Chandela dynasty, 13th century Konark sun temple, Buddhist Monastic Caves at Ajanta and Ellora are depicting the existence of fluid sexuality in the Indian Society’, said Historian Rana Safvi.
Books and sculptures from medieval times also suggest that homosexuality was something that is not looked down upon, says prof. Mukhia. Alauddin Khalji’s Son, Mubarak was in a relationship with a nobleman in the court and Babur was in love with a boy named Baburi, he wrote his affection to this boy without any hesitations and fear. Transgenders were given enough recognition and were considered as divine figures during those times. This underlines the fact that they were entitled to not only religious upgradation but also social acceptance. In short India hadn’t enriched any sort of haram attitude towards any kind of love but also recognized them. India’s conservative outlook about queer sexuality was kickstarted by the British imperialistic period. Besides, the laws chartered as per the Christian principles of ‘sex is sin’ also played a key role in spreading a contempt-filled attitude towards these people.
In ancient Greece, homo sexual relationship between older men and young acolytes were a normal component of the teacher student relationship. Up until the 19th century, the question of who slept with whom was a matter of indifference to the law or customs. The homophobic attitudes became more of a matter of instincts in the mind of people with the interpretations of highly systematic religious books like Bible and Quran. They generally claimed that homosexuality is banned. They also pointed that it is a haram by referring to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah which seem to prohibit sex between men. ‘In which the city inhabitants demanded sexual access to the messengers sent by God to the prophet Lot/Lut. Sura. 11:83, when our (Allah) command came, we turned that city sodom upside down and rained layer upon clay on it. (The quranic story is the same as the bible version)’. Gay, bisexual, lesbian Muslims and Christians have become increasingly visible in the recent years. And many of them emerged as the prominent international queer activists. They began to gave interpretations for legitimizing homosexuality.
They often argued that we should not condemn each other that way that God himself has created diversity. They disagree with the above interpretations saying people of Lot/but were destroyed not because of the participation in the same sex acts, but because of disregarding the authority of prophets, attempting to rape the travellers etc. A stronger argument is that, like other forms of sex, homosexuality would only be bad when it comes to abuse, excess or violation of public honor. Clergy should not have the right to condemn on the responsibility of people to lead a good life, where god /Allah is the only authority Societies in Islam have recognized both erotic attraction and sexual behavior between members of the same sex. Homoereotism was realized in the form of poetry or artistic declarations of love from one man to another. Preference for homosexual was more about choice rather than identity as in modern sense.
The stories of Mahmud of Ghazni, the ruler of Ghaznavid empire and Malik Ahaz had become the illustration of power of love, ideal beloved and a model for purity in sufi literature. Thuhfathul Muhthaj of Ibnu Aajar al Haitami, a 12th century islamic book depicting the rights and space which should have to provide to the then 3rd gender people (LGBTQ community) which might be one of the first a first religious book to deal with this subject.
Whatever the legal structure on sexual activity, the positive expression of homoerectic sentiment in literature was accepted from the late 8th century. Anecdotal literature reinforces this impression of general social acceptance of the public celebration of homosexuality.
Pope Francis wholehearterdly welcomed the decision of legalising queer rights. He has repeatedly spoken about the need for catholic churches to welcome and love all people regardless of sexual orientation. The key for the church is to welcome not exclude and show mercy not condemnation. The pope has reiterated the catholic church’s teaching on homosexuality including it’s position on marriage. Yes, Jesus was the true incarnation of love. He came for the poor and embraced the marginalised, so as all prophets did. Christianity never preaches us that Jesus says no to anyone who comes in his altar seeking help and liberation.
For all those who marginalised LGBTQ communities by notifying the ancient stories of Sodom and Gomorrah, the same God has given different teachings through different people across different ages. Each age has different contexts. It’s all about interpreting those texts in the best way for our present. The Same God has said, ‘Love others just as you love yourselves’. Even if these religions may not support homosexuality, there are no mentions to hate such people, to treat them with contempt, to do injustice to them, to treat them as abnormal and us as normal. Marginalising them is unethical and sinful. Do remember, love others as you love yourselves, unconditionally truly and deeply.
Queerphobia and society
Behind the theatrics are often sad stories- of the sex trade and exploitation, cruel and dangerous castrations, being cast out and constantly humiliated -( New York Times, in the article about India’s LGBT community). When we look back, hardly a few social circles made whole hearted welcome to this section of queers. Education has never really affected everyone to really look upon them as complete individuals.
We still lack that particular stimulus that inspires us to make sure that we turn up to them to understand and empathise with their feelings. What we do is to marginalise them and unleash cruelties and inhuman actions against them hindering their social, economical as well as personal stability. This sole problem of social exclusion has made them devoid of better education that leads to lack of employment opportunities. As a result, they start living in the bottom of the pyramid.
Since schools work as typical heteronormalising institutions, these young queers find it difficult to rely on students as well as teachers to get their requirements and issues attended. During the times of adolescence, a mere spirit of inferiority complex starts to develop in their minds. This starts getting flared up as they grow up. Secondary school environment is more tedious since there is enormous peer pressure to confine themselves to the existing gender norms. Students who cannot do so are then subjected to bullying and are often reduced to subjects of ridicule. Thus, they are victims of social marginalisation. What is important is to point out the intensity of psychological conflicts that transgenders as well as transsexuals succumb to during their journey from childhood to adulthood.
The curriculum too has got hardly any mention about the issues that the queers face which also find it difficult for others to feel for them. They find no other way except to lose the will to study. Similarly, every known space of social gathering hinders the process of social exclusion of the queers. How can you expect an individual to still hold on with the hope of leading a normal life after going through all this?
When going gets tough, they switch to ways of income through sale of drugs and even prostitution or sex work thus submitting their dignity and self respect. When we, as a civilized society finds no way to consolidate their demands and accommodate them, we are not in a position to blame or look down upon them.
What can be done at the social level?
‘Live and let live’
Effecting a change in the attitude of the society as a whole is that we have to sort out. Public education remains the solution to trigger this mass social change. A careful revision of the curriculum from the school level has to be initiated to kickstart this process. At the same time, children are to be brought up in such a way that they learn to respect different realities and diversities of life and make sure that none is left behind yearning for love and identity. Social gatherings must cease to turn a blind eye to them and there must be ample provisions and platforms for them to speak out and express themselves. The least thing we can do is to make sure that we don’t harm them both physically and mentally. Realize that they too are a part of this world, with a set of dreams and aspirations possessing a unique and distinct identity. Do remember that social advancements happen to be a reality only when multiple perspectives are respected and channelized giving way to newer modes of social constructivism and development of progressive ideologies.
Summing up
The best step we can do is to start over right from the beginning, at least for the generations to come. It is important to ensure that the children of tomorrow are no longer the products of a conservative set up. They have to be nurtured in such a way that they are advanced in their thoughts as well as actions. It is pivotal to bring in the idea of homosexuality and transgender in the academic spaces from the high school level. Students must be made to approach them in such a way that it is not to be considered as a sin but a part of our social culture.Besides, its equally important to instil the values of equality and freedom within the minds of children to ensure that they don’t consider anyone as indifferent to the rest.
Organizing public education and awareness programmes too can also help to bring down the issue of queerphobia. As long as we continue to dwell inside these confined spaces of social stigma, we are never really meant to progress. Ideas of diversity and multiculturalism will prove to be ironic if the situation continues to prevail. Ensuring voting rights and political representation for the queers will also assist in addressing their issue in a broader platform. Most importantly, it is important to extend our helping hands towards them during their tough times and make sure that they are not living in a sense of stigma and prejudice.
It is not about simply letting everything go but ensure that everything is going right.
