Let’s talk about gay rights,
or as Indian uncles call it - Phir se chaalu
ho gaya inka
Historically, the LGBTQ community has been
abused and marginalised.
That’s strange, because until colonisation,
being queer was celebrated,
with imagery plastered over temple walls in
India, even today.
While the Section 377 verdict brought the
queer community
into the national limelight,
a lot is yet to be understood about their
lives.
So let’s learn the ABCDs of the LGBTQ+ community!
What is LGBT?
So, how does one address the queer community?
The most common term is LGBT.
Not ELIGIBILITY and definitely not LG TV,
but LGBT.
It stands for:
Lesbian - women who love women
Gay - men who love men
Bisexual - Men/women who love both men and
women, and
Transgender - men/women who identify with
a gender that’s opposite
to the one assigned to them at birth.
With time, this shorthand grew to include
more diverse sexualities
such as:
Queer
an umbrella term for anyone who’s not cisgender
or heterosexual.
Originally a hateful slur,
the term has now been reclaimed by the community.
Gaali de rahe ho ya recognition,
kisi ko pata nahi chalega by God!
Intersex - This refers to people whose reproductive
or sexual anatomy
differs from what is traditionally defined
as male or female.
They might have XX chromosomes or XY chromosomes,
ambiguous genitalia or not,
and may know at birth that they’re intersex,
or find out later.
Asexual - When you aren’t sexually attracted
to people,
you’re asexual.
Asexual people can be in romantic relationships
and experience attraction -
but it may not be realised through sex.
With these powers combined,
we get the LGBTQIA+ community.
Gender
The internet’s least favourite discussion,
gender has evolved to include a wide spectrum
of identities.
A Cisgendered person is someone whose gender
identity
matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
If your life starts with
"Mubarak ho, ladki hui hai!"
and eventually ends with
"She was a great woman!”,
then you’re cisgendered.
Gender Binaries
This is the belief that there are only two
genders,
male or female.
Anything beyond these is considered
out of syllabus.
Being tied down to these binaries can create
Gender dysphoria,
a conflict between a person's physical gender
and the gender with which they identify.
All of this should ideally be covered in school.
But time kaha hai academics ke paas!?
Trans
This is the T in LGBT that is the most marginalised
of the lot,
courtesy misinformation and misrepresentation.
Trans people can change various aspects of
themselves to align with
the gender they know themselves to be.
This is called transitioning,
and it could be social, legal, or medical
-
like changing their appearance, name, pronouns,
or their physical body.
The medical step taken towards this is known
as
sex reassignment surgery.
The surgery is painful,
and the phobia around it, even more so.
Yet, several members of the community choose
to undergo it,
rather than live in a body they do not belong
in.
That’s how powerful gender dysphoria can
be,
and why acceptance of trans people is so important.
How can I be more sensitive to the Queer community?
You can start by avoiding -
a. Asking someone, “Are you a Gay?”, and
b. Misgendering them.
Ask them what their preferred pronouns are:
example - he/him,she/her or they/them.
For trans and gender non-conforming individuals,
being identified by a pronoun they don’t
associate with
can be triggering.
So be nice, and remember,
a little sensitivity can go a long way.
Imagine growing up queer,
with just one narrative:
girl meets boy,
girl can only love boy,
boy can only love girl,
the end.
This teaches young queer kids that
they can’t be who they are,
can’t fall in love, and
can’t be “normal” in the eyes of society.
But, it’s 2019,
things are changing,
and queer narratives are out, proud
and never going back.
The LGBTQ subculture is vast
and one video isn’t enough to cover it all.
We’ll be back soon to break down more LGBT
jargon,
but until then,
remember - love is love.
Tell us your thoughts on LGBTQ+ rights in
the comments below
and don’t forget to like, share and subscribe
to Vitamin Stree!﻿
