India has been tardy in repealing the humiliating law that criminalises gay relationship. It appears unwilling to join the ranks of more enlightened and liberal countries. One hopes the Supreme Court will do justice
The Supreme Court’s decision in favour of a curative petition from an lGBT organisation called Naz Foundation, is a most welcome development. It will re-open the debate on the archaic Section 377. Not only will the apex court hear the arguments, but unlike most curative petitions, which, if admitted at all, are held in private session, this one will be conducted in open house. It will be heard by a five- judge Bench, normally used in constitutional matters.
India has been tardy in the repealing of this humiliating law. It is still, apparently, unwilling to join the ranks of more enlightened and liberal countries. These are mostly nominally Christian, and Western; once given to brutal persecution of homosexuals, well into the late 20th century, calling their sexual orientation an ‘abomination’, ‘against nature’, ‘against the laws of God’ etc.
But they have all decided to atone for their previous barbarity. Many now recognise same-sex marriages, uphold the right of such unions to either have surrogate children or adopt them. Most of them now also permit gay people into their Armed Forces and various other positions of responsibility now, alongside their heterosexual counterparts.
But here, despite persistent demands from liberal sections of the Indian polity, and the lGBT community itself, our legislature has been either cowardly or obtuse, or both. It probably fears a fundamentalist backlash from orthodox groups, cutting across the multiple religions. Still, looking around the modern world, only the more backward countries, mostly in Africa, West Asia, and the Far East, still hold homosexuality as illegal. Some places don’t, such as Russia, but vigorously persecute this minority anyway. Most Muslim nations won’t countenance homosexuality, but ironically harbour large numbers of clandestine homosexuals in their midst.
It is after all, an orientation one is born with, and not, as was supposed, and still is, in some quarters, a matter of ‘degenerate’ choice.
As India, moves now, albeit via the apex judiciary, towards hopefully holding this Victorian era law in abeyance, it is worth pondering that the lGBT community in India counts many talented and accomplished people amongst their number. It may be time to view the lGBT presence, therefore, as a benefit and enrichment of our national fabric. In America, notoriously puritanical in its core, back when gay behaviour was still illegal and a form of social suicide, there were some prominent people who boldly ‘came out’. They did it to further the cause of what is today called Gay Pride.
One such was the immensely talented playwright Noel Coward. He did not hesitate to joke about his own orientation: “I should love to perform There Are Fairies in the Bottom of My Garden, but I don’t dare. It might come out, ‘There Are Fairies in the Garden of My Bottom’.”
Coward also commented on marriage with his tongue firmly in cheek: “The ladies of earlier years were far smarter. No pants, drinking, swearing and competing with the boys; they just stayed put and, as a general rule, got their own way and held their gentlemen much longer. It really isn’t surprising that homosexuality is becoming as normal as blueberry pie.”
Actor Kenneth Tynan put it delicately, about Coward’s charming activism: “Theatrically speaking, it was Coward who took sophistication out of the refrigerator and put it on the hob... Even the youngest of us will know, in fifty years’ time, precisely what is meant by ‘a very Noel Coward sort of person’.” The contribution of the lGBT community worldwide, to art, music, fashion, architecture, luxury, aesthetics and creativity in its many manifestations, has been, and is, immense.
An article by Willow lawson in Psychology Today makes some interesting points: The sexes view humour very differently, says lawson males seek a humour “appreciator”, and women look for men who are humour “generators”; males tend to use humour to “compete with other men”, while women use humour to “bond with others”.
Is this why gay people are often so wittyIJ Could it be the genus of the very term ‘gay’ updated from the cruel epithets of the pastIJ Are gay people better humour appreciators/generators both, or does the hilarity mask something darkerIJ Or, is the humour necessary to stave off the insecurities of living in a state of illegality, in an oft-threatened, bullied, blackmailed, and unstable environmentIJ
And are the newer differentiators of personality types, not necessarily gay, with coinage such asmetrosexual, ubersexual, retrosexual, nanosexual (the last, presumably to describe those who are sexually reductionist to the power thousand, or asexual); just a way of blowing in some fresh air into the general region of personal preferencesIJ
Are bisexuals just people who ‘swing both ways’, or dodgy and ruthless deviants that are neither fish nor fowlIJ More and more folks don’t seem to care either way, refusing to cater to the cruelties and narrow-mindedness of the so-called normal. And when it comes to luxury, just how much do we owe to gay sensibilitiesIJ Ponder on this, laid back in a saloon chair ready to be pampered. Better it with micro-environment enhancers: Wicked little Espressos to cut chunks of gossip with, iPod cocooning when a whisper grows tiresome, make-the-world-go-away air-conditioning.
Indulge yourself with slathers of endless manicure, pedicure, facial, colouring, piercing, gym-sculpting, tattoozoning, and a swipe or two from the plastic surgeon to rival Zorro, called quite a different kind of Gay Blade. Stack these thought pancakes on top of French fragrances, cheese and wine, Scottish drink, the styling, the accessories, the brands, the bling. Do it quickly, before the much too serious clash of civilisations ends it all in a blue nihilistic heap. Or you stop breathing anyway.
Beauty is truly its own reward, this side of Valhalla. But was it not the lGBT community that showed the rest the wayIJ Self-esteem is skin deep — both the cleansed kind, and the type grown in a Petri dish. The good thing however, is that it can put the Casino back into your Royale a few more times before the waves come in. Intellectuals that think such stuff is ersatz, banal, unrealised, vulgar, fey should pull their onanistic fingers out, and gaze (honestly) upon some pretty young thing for authentication.
Is wit just spontaneous ebullience then, a wholesome celebration of life bubbling forth like a mountain spring, or is it class struggle in codeIJ How long then before the funniest cripple jokes are being told by chaps in wheel-chairsIJ The funnies, the melodies, the great illuminating art, are all really about courage. So what can we do but stand up and salute. And get rid of Section 377 post-haste.