Being Queer- The Abominable Crime?
Attraction, love, lust, attachment, emotions, relationships, sex, marriages- How are all these words so relatable to us, the Indian society, only when we think of a heterosexual couple. Why is it so hard for us to understand that these exact words apply to every human being irrespective of his sexual preferences. Why is it that we feel like we have the right to judge, criticise and reprimand what someone else does in his/her life. The norms and mindset of our society and their so called morals when it comes to what our sexual orientation should be, to be accepted in the society have deprived lakhs of people of their happiness. We as a society are not ready to understand that being homosexual or transgender …show more content…
They are still hesitant and scared to come out to the ones closest to them for the fear of being judged and tormented into being more normal. In urban parts of our country although a lot of initiatives have been started to increase awareness and promote acceptance, only a very small fraction of the diverse hurdles they face have been exposed. The prides and parades that take place are still frowned upon by older generations and are of strongly opposing mindset towards the LGBTQ community getting any rights. In rural parts of the country unreported honour killings are planned and sometimes even executed if a person identifies himself as a person of the LGBTQ community. Although there are so many restrictions on the social, legal and even moral background, lesbian and gay people are standing up for themselves in many parts of the country. For instance- A lesbian couple in Amritsar was sanctioned by the magistrate, hence acknowledging their relationship. .(Mukherjee,Nupur “Recognition of Homosexuality in India- Its time.” …show more content…
According to section 377, the punishment for the offence of rape is upto 7 years of imprisonment whereas the punishment for “unnatural sex” that is, LGBTQ sex is upto 10 years. It is important to understand that the rights that this community is fighting for are basic rights and they must have the freedom to choose their partner, their sexual orientation, their preferences and their choices in life. When influential people in our country make insensitive comments about LGBTQ rights, it really does affect the entire LGBTQ community and everything that they’ve been fighting for so far. Rights of the LGBTQ community has also been largely politicized and politicians are making insensitive comments or taking a stand just for the sake of vote bank. An issue involving basic rights to love should not be politicized and mocked or used as a source of publicity. It is important to remove the stigma and taboo attached to the LGBTQ community and we as a society should try to see them as individuals first rather than for their sexual orientation or preference. TV shows like Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory and Grey’s Anatomy star homosexual actors or potray homosexual characters as the protagonists. This has been a commendable attempt towards breaking the stigma and bringing about normalcy around the word homosexual and has reached out to a large audience. Section 377
Attraction, love, lust, attachment, emotions, relationships, sex, marriages- How are all these words so relatable to us, the Indian society, only when we think of a heterosexual couple. Why is it so hard for us to understand that these exact words apply to every human being irrespective of his sexual preferences. Why is it that we feel like we have the right to judge, criticise and reprimand what someone else does in his/her life. The norms and mindset of our society and their so called morals when it comes to what our sexual orientation should be, to be accepted in the society have deprived lakhs of people of their happiness. We as a society are not ready to understand that being homosexual or transgender …show more content…
They are still hesitant and scared to come out to the ones closest to them for the fear of being judged and tormented into being more normal. In urban parts of our country although a lot of initiatives have been started to increase awareness and promote acceptance, only a very small fraction of the diverse hurdles they face have been exposed. The prides and parades that take place are still frowned upon by older generations and are of strongly opposing mindset towards the LGBTQ community getting any rights. In rural parts of the country unreported honour killings are planned and sometimes even executed if a person identifies himself as a person of the LGBTQ community. Although there are so many restrictions on the social, legal and even moral background, lesbian and gay people are standing up for themselves in many parts of the country. For instance- A lesbian couple in Amritsar was sanctioned by the magistrate, hence acknowledging their relationship. .(Mukherjee,Nupur “Recognition of Homosexuality in India- Its time.” …show more content…
According to section 377, the punishment for the offence of rape is upto 7 years of imprisonment whereas the punishment for “unnatural sex” that is, LGBTQ sex is upto 10 years. It is important to understand that the rights that this community is fighting for are basic rights and they must have the freedom to choose their partner, their sexual orientation, their preferences and their choices in life. When influential people in our country make insensitive comments about LGBTQ rights, it really does affect the entire LGBTQ community and everything that they’ve been fighting for so far. Rights of the LGBTQ community has also been largely politicized and politicians are making insensitive comments or taking a stand just for the sake of vote bank. An issue involving basic rights to love should not be politicized and mocked or used as a source of publicity. It is important to remove the stigma and taboo attached to the LGBTQ community and we as a society should try to see them as individuals first rather than for their sexual orientation or preference. TV shows like Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory and Grey’s Anatomy star homosexual actors or potray homosexual characters as the protagonists. This has been a commendable attempt towards breaking the stigma and bringing about normalcy around the word homosexual and has reached out to a large audience. Section 377