Though most of the Hindu festivals are largely religious, we do pretty much the same thing like any other culture in the world – we congregate, cook food, eat them and spend time with the family. The family as I see it, is no longer hetero-normative. It can be same-sex, multi-sex, plural and so on. The underlying point still remains the same. To gather and celebrate the time together.
Pretty nice read from Ankita Rao:
LGBT Diwali: Gay Hindus Seek Inclusive Festivities
Postscript rant: Of course, it is only the Gay Hindus who have a problem. Other identities have seamlessly integrated into the straight-cis society, haven’t we?
I decline to believe “gay” as a grouping word for LGBT/Queer people. Simply because, a lot of us don’t necessarily identify with being gay. It is important this call for inclusiveness comes with people who identify so within the Queer movement. At the least provide a lip service when in public.
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To be fair, the headline apart the content of the article does refer to the group as LGBTQ.
It is unnecessary to focus on the use of the word ‘gay’. We call ourselves Gaysi and not LGBTQsi. Just because we define it loosely as Gay-Desi, we aren’t excluding the Ls, Bs. Ts and Qs. It doesn’t matter how one identifies him/her/itself, they are all welcome here. We unfairly place too much emphasis on including a Q or a B every time we are mentioned in the press. I also think that far too often, we allow ourselves to be defined by one very specific word that is supposed to cover every aspect of our gender or sexuality. We are highly complex creatures who are bigger than the scope of a single word in one language.
Rashmi, normally i agree with most of your views but this time i choose to disagree. The article used the word gay is a free manner, but i wouldn’t take it as a sign of excluding alternate identities or even as a collective word. The earth is ellipsoidal and infact the sun and earth move around their common center of gravity and the path it traces is an ellipse, but when we were all children, we are told, the earth is a sphere and sun in stationary and the path it traces around sun is a circle. Now i am not gonna berserk on my school teacher or my parents for feeding me an approximate truth. Why? well for the ignorant, giving the whole fact might be confusing and misleading. And hence i believe the journalist’s usage of the word gay in the context is appropriate though maynot be politically correct.
Cathartist – My note had nothing to do with Gaysi. It was more on the lines of people saying “gay people need this” “gay people suffer from this”, and advertently or not, a lot of trans issues are gobbled up. Very frankly, trans discrimination is way more entrenched deeply and is quite different and additive to the gay discrimination. This is not to say we suffer more or less. Its just to say please use a more inclusive term when possible.
And, ofcourse I know what Gaysi stands for.
Brenda – Huh! You too?
Yeah, the intention is to raise awareness so the other folks do not get sidelined. If its a habit worth losing at the beginning, then I would encourage others to use a more inclusive term.
Aww rashmi, you know i would never go brutus on you.
, just felt the need to say we can have minor differences of opinion at certain times.
rashmi, did you consider the alternate possibility that the author probably wanted to highlight the struggle of alternate sexuality and their reconciliation with their ethinicity and hence decided to ignore trans where the issue is mainly with identity and not sexuality?
On a totally different note, what is the ratio of desi trans to desi gays in lets say USA or in your own city. So would it not be easier for her to quote gays than trans. I mean aren’t most of us in stealthmode? In my place only two of the girls agreed to be interviewed for the local zeitung while rest of us refused. we suffer but we do so in silence.
Now coming back to the original issue of the word gay being employed and the need for the more general inclusive term. For a lay man, aren’t transexuals just upgraded homesexuals?. and if by using the word gay we try to even obtain a bit of focus on our issues, then i don’t mind gay word being employed as a synonym even though it’s so incorrect but it serves the purpose.
No brenda.
Numbers should not dictate whether a population should be included or not.
I don’t think Trans folks are upgraded. Actually, that kind of view is pretty insulting and phobic. I do take umbrage on such comments. We would just be playing it to the media who does not understand what gender identity means and would club them “all” together. In my view, a lot of non-straight T folks never considered themselves gay until at least they came out as trans. So where is the “gay” and “upgraded” angle there?
And, no , not all of us are in stealthmode. We all are at some point to save our asses at work or for other reasons. But not after a while. I do have the advantage of living in a very inclusive city, so I can only talk from my experience – almost all of the T folks I have met are out and live rather openly.
Just to highlight on my statement, when i mention upgraded version, it was not my view, and i am fully aware of identity and sexuality are distinct. what i implied is the view of a common lay man. or as cis-gendered folk normally tend to view it that way.
And i also understand number don’t dictate but to be fair to the journalist it would be hard to identify when the number are exceedingly small.
P.S: me and rashmi settled our views in a private communication, i just had to post this comment since a question was put forward and would be ideal not to leave it unanswered .
I am sorry if I had hurt you. I can come out as too strong at times. Btw, You inspire me Brenda.
no worries rashmi. and no you did not hurt me.