Sexuality is attractive when it is natural and spontaneous. Having grown up in a society which ascribes sexuality to people in accordance with their gender, large groups of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexual citizens in India have had to wage a war to assert their identities. However, as the Supreme Court decriminalized section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which stood between LGBT community and their sexual rights, on September 6, India's LGBT community is more than happy.
Onmanorama catches up with three LGBT couples from Kerala who expressed their joy, satisfaction and pride over the SC judgment.
Wrong bodies, right decision
Kochi: For Daya Gayathri, a trans-woman and Siddhu, a trans-man, the wrong bodies they had been trapped in were never barriers to loving unconditionally. They discovered their love the day they realized that they share the fight to live in an inclusive society as respectable citizens. “All these years, we lived in a society which looked at the trans-sexual community as aliens and laughed at our sexuality calling it 'obscene'.
Trans-sexuals engaged in sex and romance undercover, as they were getting involved in a 'criminal act'. I am happy that, finally, our nation's legal framework accepted the existence of our sexual identities and consider it normal,” Daya says.
For Siddhu, his fight for a normal social life is not yet over. “It needs real social transformation to make our relationship socially acceptable. We met several months ago and fell in love as we shared similar identity crises. We could easily understand and relate with each other. Daya is far ahead of me as she already completed her sex reassignment surgery and started living as a female,” Siddhu says.
Siddhu was expelled from his home for his distinct gender identity and is struggling for a living. “Now that we have legal social acceptance, we are confident of standing together and fighting all stigmas,” Daya says.
Daya's family accepted their relationship in the wake of the new judgment. “My mother gave consent to continue the relationship and tie the knot once we are financially stable. We shall not forget this date in our life together,” she adds. Daya and Siddhu are undergraduate students hailing from Ernakulam.
Prijith and Akku's life
Thiruvananthapuram: Prijith PK, a research scholar in English literature at Kerala university, says that the apex court judgment is just half the victory for the LGBT community. “My partner Akku and I have been in a relationship for over four years now. All these years, we shared a sense of insecurity as we were practising a 'crime'. My biggest relief today is that we are no more criminals,” Prijith said.
Prijith says though the decriminalisation of section 377 legalizes LGBT sexuality, the marriage and reproductive rights of the community are still unaddressed. “Our Constitution needs an additional Act to normalize LGBT sexuality, legalize LGBT marriage and permit reproductive and parenting rights of the community,” he says.
Akku, a student himself, says gays, lesbians and bisexuals are not accepted in India's society. He faces criticism against his sexual inclinations at home. “Legality is another thing. It hardly influences the social order. We have a long way to go until our families accept homosexuality like they accept and celebrate heterosexuals,” he opines.
Commenting on this, Prijith says that homosexual and bisexual instincts in a person are primarily suppressed by himself following the stigma of 'unnatural'. “We need to liberate our educational system from the jolts of gender binaries. It is high time we encouraged our children to discover their sexual orientations on their own and develop their personalities in a natural way,” he said.
Prijith is the founding president of Queer Rythm LGBTQ collective, Thiruvananthapuram.
Sruthy and Simi celebrate verdict
Thrissur: “We are together and always shall be,” says Simi, in overwhelming joy. This lesbian couple hailing from Thrissur's Poonkunnam, has been separated by society on grounds of their gender similarity.
“It was Sruthy who first expressed her interest in sharing her life with me. The cheer and glory of romance vanished soon after our families discovered our relationship. Our society still keeps reproduction ahead of marital bliss. Every time we raise our demand of getting married, we are shot with the same question of reproductive sexuality,” Simi says.
Sruthy, an activist with a non-governmental organization working for the uplift of the LGBT community, says the new judgment would pave newer avenues for active debates and discussions on homosexuality. “Our society has to grow up a lot more from the mere acceptance of LGBT identities to the normalization of LGBT sexuality and marriage. Even when they talk about the rights of transgenders, seldom do we talk about trans-sexuality and parenting rights. Gays and lesbians are literally out of the scene,” she says.
