Long way to go !!!!!!!!!!!
Its a bit too early to celebrate the cause of gays and lesbians in attaining an identity in India.
The recent Gay Parade held at Mumbai,in quick succession after the successful one held at Delhi sometime back,was successful too,but not as it was expected
It had more of fanfare than the cause,and this is the fear for such events in future too.
The cause of creating an awareness about the rights of gays,should not get diluted by the glamour show !
The battle should not become more important than the goal !!
The Gay parade should not become carnivals and above all the darkness around the gays should not get overshadowed by the presence of glitterati!!!!
The biggest surprise is to see that Homosexuals(gays) and transsexuals(Hijras) are clubbed together as MSM(men having sex with men) but the fact is that these two are two separate groups and have different problems.While the homosexuals need just an identity to their sexuality,the transsexuals needs an identity to their every existence!
Hijras are physically and anatomically different,and have no alternative but to have sex with men,and most get into the flesh trade,out of desperation,to earn a living.Their problem is an identity and they have to be brought to the main stream line,with opportunities for education and jobs and above all inclusion in the society as common citizen,with ration cards,voters identity etc.Its high time the application forms for everything ,has three squares under the sex column,M/F/T
The homosexuals on the other hand are fightening for an identity and acceptance of their sexuality,but the sexuality of a person cannot be his only identity.Gays are present everywhere,be it Delhi,Kolkuta,Mumbai or any place of the country,and are found in all strata of the society somewhere hidden and somewhere exposed.Homosexuals are seen in all spheres of life now,in colleges and at work,and many of them are doing very well in their fields of work,and are recognized well,nationally and even internationally.What they are fighting for,is the law to accept their sexuality as legal.
In spite of the recent encouraging remarks towards this,from the health minister,this may be a distant dream,and actually it is not the first but the last step in the battle of gays for their struggle for a receptacle existence
The aim should not just be of unmasking the sexuality,but to achieve acceptance.
The violent reactions to gay movements and activities ,may have decreased or even ceased but these are no indicators to their social acceptance.
It is the families and society which has to accept them.They have to realize that these are just variants of sexuality,and not perversions ,and in majority of cases ,the attitude is genetically decided,and is well beyond the control of the individual.
and above all it is the gays who have to accept themselves,and come forward to live their lives at their terms,as any other responsible citizen of the country,rather than making their sexuality as their identity and the main bone of contention
S Kapoor Lucknow
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HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT A BIOLOGICAL ACCIDENT More with a touch of controversy
Tell you what, homosexuals are not only a great credit to our society, they are also specimens of a superior evolutionary expression whose contribution to the benefit of mankind is indispensable. The practice is prevalent in every strata of the animal kingdom starting from insects upwards but the most illustrative fact about homosexuality is that it finds its most mature manifestation among the most intelligent group of primates, viz., rhesus macaques, baboons; chimpanzees and, of course, the gayest of them all, the homo sapien himself.
This is surely not a biological accident. Mankind has pressing social and intellectual requirements which just cannot be fulfilled by individuals who are driven by the natural need for reproductive maximization. Homosexuality sets promising individuals free from arduous parental duties and enables them to concentrate efficiently on their roles as seers, shamans, artists, keepers of knowledge, etc. It is no surprise that celibate monks (and the occasional maiden aunt!) were entrusted to preserve and propagate knowledge by both the Buddhists and the Christians. It was wisely realized even then that heterosexuals had too many worries and children on hand to bother too much about matters of civilization.
The key thing to remember about homosexuals is that they voluntarily sacrifice their reproductive potential and thus lose all their chances of spreading their genes into posterity. This is a monumental level of martyrdom but crucially for the argument here, such altruistic behaviour is not characteristic of mankind alone. It is, in fact, quite widespread across the entire zoological spectrum. Common examples abound. Among the best known is the behaviour of sentinels in animal herds who deliberately expose themselves to predators so that the rest of the brood may escape unhurt. Human body- guards who fling themselves in the line of assailants' fire also display similar tendencies. A personal sacrifice, a la homosexuals, is therefore no biological aberration or exception but an adaptation measure essential for the survival and flourishing of the species' as a whole. Indeed, without homosexuals among us, we would be lesser people.
It is sad, therefore, that the immense invisible contribution that the homosexual community makes to the general society is neither perfectly understood nor appreciated. One possible reason is that ours is a culture obsessed with breeding. Soldiers who rape hapless women in vanquished enemy territory are silently applauded by their mates because it is subconsciously understood that they have planted their genes in the enemy population thereby maximizing the reproductive potential of their own community at the expense of the enemy's. Raped women are then ostracized by their own people for the same reasons. We have been biologically attuned to conclude that even rape is worthwhile if it culminates in reproductive success. Among animals, ducks and scorpion flies in particular, resort to the stratagem of rape for reproductive success, and mankind taking a cue from them often turns a blind eye towards the evils inherent in rape if reproductive interests are involved. Rapists who pine for kids invariably win public sympathy.
It is immediately comprehensible in this context why the homosexual refusal to propagate is automatically construed as a threat to the established modus vivendi. Science and other evolved streams of knowledge are fast and surely veering towards the ineluctable conclusion that homosexuality is not unnatural, as has been made out to be for centuries by prudes worldwide. It is about time that the vital role of homosexuality in the larger context of evolutionary progress is assessed and respected. Over the ages it has been myopic of us to have derided and vilified homosexuals for favoring other pursuit over the artificial social obligation to rear kids. Recognize them now for what they are -- folks who breed in spirit rather in kind. Without them we would still be amoeba.
posted by
Dr Rajeev Ranjan
while I don't hold the sexuality or sexual preference of a person as his or her identity,and I failed to understand how they can be beneficial to our society
Does the writer mean,that they can be selfless,and better human beings and better in fields of their work,since they don't have the problems of a family or kids?
I think family and kids are more of an encouragement and incentive rather than a hindrance
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