LGBTQ ESSAY

Abstract
The Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender community comprises of those persons that do not
adhere to the strait-laced norms of the society. What sets this community apart is the different
sexual choice they make or their inability to identify with their physiological self.
Lesbians and Gays connote females and males that indulge in homosexual activity respectively.
Bisexuality, on the other hand, is the sexual and emotional attraction to members of both sexes1.
Transgender refers to people whose gender identity, expression or behavior is different from
those typically associated with their assigned sex at birth.2
For ages, this community, not only in India but worldwide, had camouflaged in the background.
They have been suppressing their naturally arising differences to gain acceptance as members of
the society. But as the political system took a turn and democracies and the concept of rights
started to take a stronghold, this suppressed community also began to ask for rights that would
allow them to be functioning members of the society without them altering their lifestyle to
adhere to the puritanical standards.
Neither the laws of the country nor moral code conceived to regulate us favor this community.
They are, in fact, brutally thrust outside of the society to fend for themselves. But even their
isolation is interrupted with offensive, violative acts. They are subjected to regular punishment,
for choices they never voluntarily made.
Why do we need to hear them? As an evolving democracy, it is the duty of the community as a
whole to allow all members to adopt a lifestyle that conforms to their natural orientation.
Cultivated standards need to be reformed to allow everyone to be the best of them. We need to
hear them to address the discrimination they face and to protect them and their choices.
The following essay highlights the legal state of affairs and the human rights perspective of the
situation with reference to what history dictates. It is followed by suggested reforms that would
allow the discriminated society to be brought at par.

Key Words: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Homosexuality, Orientation, Human

Rights
1 Jean M. Baker, How Homophobia Hurts Children: Nurturing Diversity at Home, at School, and in the
Community. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press. 2001.
2 National Center For Transgender Equality, Transgender Terminology, January 2014, available at
http://www.transequality.org/issues/resources/transgender-terminology

Indian Background
The term coinage of the term, though debated, homosexuality has been famously attributed to
Karl Heinrich Ulrichs. He published a study of The Race of Urananian Hermaphrodites : the
Man-loving Half Man in 1862. This was followed by a publication of 12 more volumes within
which he explored homosexuality and developed a system of classification, which till today
holds stands.3
As history indicates, India has been the most sexually forward country. It is the land of the Kama
Sutra, which till date is considered the greatest sexual manual to be drafted. Sage Vatsyayana has
elaborately described homosexual activity which includes a detailed description of oral sex
between men and has also recognized the third nature where men desirous of other men entered
into long term unions with them.
The liberal Hindu heritage can also be seen in the Khajuraho Monuments which adorn the Hindu
and Jain temples located in Khajuraho. These monuments depict deities and their attendants in
everyday life and as well as sexual activities.
Several Indian mythological epics also chronicle homosexuality. One can observe several stories
of gender metamorphoses. The most popular of such stories relate to Mohini, the female
incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The high and mighty Vishnu would often transform into Mohini to
trick demons and entice sages. In the Indian epic the Mahabharata, Drupada had raised his
daughter Shikhandini as a son and also arranged for her to be married and get a wife.
According to a folk narrative from Koovagam in Tamil Nadu, the Pandavas were ordered to
sacrifice Arjuna's son Aravan if they wished to win the war at Kurukshetra. Aravan refused to die
a virgin. As no woman was willing to marry a man doomed to die in a day, Krishna's help was
sought. Krishna turned into a woman, married Aravan, spent a night with him and when he was
finally beheaded, mourned for him like a widow. The idea of men who are not quite male or
female was also known in India a long time ago. Such beings were known as kliba. In the
Brahmana texts, written eight centuries before Christ, it has been stated that when the gods
separated the three worlds, there was sorrow. The legend states that the gods cast the sorrow of
the heaven into a whore (socially improper woman), the sorrow of the nether regions into the
rogue (socially improper man) and the sorrow of earth into the kliba (biologically imperfect
human)
Folk tales, manuscripts, scriptures and monuments from all of India have depicted a culture that
embraces homosexuality, be it the act of sexual intercourse between the same gender or mutual

3 Rictor Norton, A Critique of Social Constructionism and Postmodern Queer Theory, "The Term 'Homosexual'," 1
June 2002, available at http://www.rictornorton.co.uk/social14.htm

feelings of affection shared between them. Though such acts may not have been wholly
accepted, they were tolerated.
Legal Provisions
For a country with a tolerant history, the legal provisions clearly shun any homosexual activity
and refuse to recognize the third gender.
The LGBT movement on India primarily focuses on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
The Penal Code was a British gift to India. Section 377 states that whoever voluntarily has
carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be
punished by imprisonment of life or with imprisonment of either description for term which may
extend to ten years, and shall be also liable for fine.
The Delhi High Court struck down the oppressive provision in Naz Foundation v. Govt. of NCT
of Delhi.4, but the much celebrated judgment was set aside by the Supreme Court on 11th
December, 20135.

References

Dr. Devdutt Patnaik, Homosexuality in Ancient India, 2001, Debonair Anniversary

Issue, available at www.gaybombay.cc/reading/art0001.html
Earnestine Jones, India Reminded of its History and Homosexuality, December 18,
2013, Guardian Liberty Voice
Pickett, Brent, "Homosexuality", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2015
Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL =
http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2015/entries/homosexuality/

4 Naz Foundation v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi, 160 Delhi Law Times 277
5 Suresh Kumar Koushal and Anr v. Naz Foundation and Ors, CIVIL APPEAL NO.10972 OF 2013