Table of Contents
Letter from the Editors
Indian Families and the LGBTQ+ Community
The Fluorescent Freddie Mercury And no one’s going to stop me, honey!
HIV/AIDS in India
Queertionary The Gender Binary
A Rose in a Meadow of Tulips A review of the 2018 album by Troye Sivan
A Guide to Coming Out
Namma Pride 2018
Transgender Day of Remembrance
Utopia
Where We Thank You Letter from the Editors
Hello dear readers! Welcome to the third issue of our magazine, titled ChakGay! India, by QueerDesi! This issue is special to us - it touches on a variety of topics, from Transgender Day of Remembrance to Freddie Mercury to Indian families and the LGBTQ+ community. This issue we received a collaborative submission from a writer and artist from Humsafar Trust which we are absolutely honoured to put out. We also have a gallery of our favorite pictures from NammaPride 2018 (held on December 9th in Bangalore) taken by one of our members Ishika Singh (@_ishikaasingh_) (she took the cover picture!).
We hope this issue proves to be interesting, informative, and moreover, enjoyable! We want to provide a space for writers and readers to express themselves and hopefully see themselves in our content. There are so many queer narratives that aren’t in the public eye, and we hope to show you a small slice of them in a fun way. (Besides, who doesn’t want to read about Freddie Mercury?)
Yours queerly, Oviya Cherian and Ananya Vepa (Editor in Chief and Executive Director) P.S. Contributions (and opinions) are always welcome, contact us at [email protected]!
QueerDesi is a student run initiative from Bangalore, and our aim is to promote inclusivity within the LGBTQ+ community and to bring new points of view to those outside of it. Indian Families and the LGBTQ+ Community
By Shashwat Bansal
September 6, 2018, marked a momentous occasion for the LGBTQ+ community in India as Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was decriminalized permitting sexual acts between the same gender. The problem now remains in the conservative Indian families who don't believe in the new and upcoming culture of LGBTQ+ community in India. To understand this let us look at how the LGBTQ+ community came to prominence in India. It was in the early 1900s when LGBTQ+ activists for AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan (ABVA) began protesting against the arrests made based on “suspicious accounts” of homosexuality. ABVA was founded by Siddharth Gautam in 1989 along with seven other members. In 1991 ABVA published a 93-page report titled ‘Less Than Gay’, a citizen report on the status of homosexuality in India, the first report of this kind Ever since then there have been many pioneers of the LGBTQ+ community but it is still unnerving to see that many Indian families aren't willing to understand and accept the LGBTQ+ community. In rural India, honor killings are performed so that both men and women have to run away without any financial support. Vasanta Mogli, a transwoman, LGBTQ+ activist and a public policy scholar at Tata Institute of Social Sciences says, “Village medics and babas often prescribe rape to cure lesbians of homosexuality. Refusal to marry brings more physical abuse." Let us take the example of Parag Mehta. He had already made two suicide attempts by the time he was in his final semester at the University of Texas and decided he had hidden his sexuality from his family long enough. This was in 1999, well before Mehta became Barack Obama’s first liaison to the LGBTQ+ community – the first of three Indian Americans to eventually hold that post. During the late 1900's Indian Americans were deep in denial about their homosexuality, so when Mehta told his parents he was gay, he was worried they would sever all ties with him. Instead, something remarkable happened:“ My dad wrote a letter,” said Mehta. The letter went out to the entire Mehta clan, as well as various members of the Indian community in Temple, Texas. Dr Mehta, a retired physician, said that it was only after reviewing the scientific literature in hopes of finding a medical “cure” for homosexuality after his son came out did he realized that there was nothing to be cured. “There is a shame that’s associated with this, especially among the older generation, who are all too willing to get their gay children married off to members of the opposite sex, simply to maintain appearances.” He says. For a number of young LGBTQ+ South Asians, the challenge lies in openly forging an individual path while maintaining ties to their largely conservative families and their communities. There’s a religious component, there’s a community component, there’s a shame component – ‘What will people say?’ All these things are playing on their minds,” said Sunu Chandy, who is a lesbian. There are multiple improvements such as the case with Parag Mehta's family and numerous Indian families across India. To conclude, the LGBTQ+ community has changed drastically since the 1900s, but there is still a lot of work to be done. The Fluorescent Freddie Mercury And no one’s going to stop me, honey!
By Arya Guhan
Freddie Mercury was one of the most outrageous and glamorous humans to have ever existed. He was a rock legend in leather pants and leotards. Nobody could ever get enough of Freddie Mercury. Men, woman and everybody simply adored the man. Even as he lay on his deathbed taking his last breaths, people, fans and otherwise and press crowded around his house to get one last piece of him. The singer-songwriter is most famous for being the lead singer of Queen, one of the most famous rock bands of all time. He met his future bandmates in 1971 at one of their own band’s earlier gigs. Mercury claimed to have loads of ideas for them and asked if he could join their band. They didn’t take him seriously until they heard him sing, and when he sang, they were blown away by his raw and wild charisma and striking stage presence. They welcomed him, and Freddie dubbed the band ‘Queen’, which at the time was a derogatory term for gay men. They published their first electric albums ‘Queen’ and ‘Killer Queen’ in 1973 and 1974 respectively. Queen took off and Mercury became an icon of world-class vocal talent. He revolutionized rock and roll and gave it an edge no one else could. He was one of a kind. Queen never talked about Freddie’s sexuality or the disease that eventually killed him, but his bandmates said that they were sure he couldn't be defined in a binary way. Most people thought Freddie was bisexual way before it was something that was frequently talked about. Guitarist and roommate Brian May, when asked about it said that back in the ‘early days’ Freddie had a numerous amount of girlfriends but said he still suspected that Freddie had an attraction toward men. “The visitors to Freddie's dressing room started to change from hot chicks to hot men," May said. "It didn't matter to us; why should it? But Freddie had this habit of saying, 'Well, I suppose you realize this, that or the other,' in this very offhand way – and he did say at some point, 'I suppose you realize I've changed in my private life?'” By the end of it all, it was never clear the nature of Freddie’s sexuality, even after the dizzying array of partners he had. Freddie openly dated men and women, both during and after his relationship with Mary Austin, who he described as “the love of his life”. He wore outfits that bent societal and gender norms ranging from angel wings, tight leather shorts, and PVC attire which were all popular at gay nightclubs. His eccentric sense of style brought out his personality beautifully. Mercury lived in a time where the world didn’t really fully accept gay and bisexual people and they were seen as a joke, a tragedy, or having a mental illness. People from the community were barely represented in the media. Freddie was close to his family but he didn’t once tell them about his sexuality. They were Zoroastrians and in their religion being gay was seen a form of demon worship. Men and woman at that time were forced to keep their sexuality on the down low because of the wider societies’ close-minded air towards anything that wasn’t heterosexual. But that didn’t stop Freddie. From dressing up Princess Diana in drag and sneaking her into a gay club, to building a stage for David Bowie, to recording with Michael Jackson and his pet llama; Freddie Mercury lived a wild and exciting life before AIDS leached his life away. The public didn’t know about Freddie’s disease until shortly before his death. Freddie died of AIDS on 24th November 1991 leaving the world with a legacy that will be with us forever. HIV/AIDS in India By Ananya Vepa
December 1st was World AIDS day, a day to raise money for HIV/AIDS research and to remember those who have died due to the effects of the virus. It is also to honor those who fought against the stigma associated with the HIV/AIDS, and who lost their lives in the process. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (more commonly known as HIV/AIDS) have killed millions of people worldwide since it’s first discovery in the early 1900s. Its spread can be traced from chimpanzee species in Western and Central Africa to the human population in the area, and through colonial interests, prostitution, and unsafe medical procedures, HIV/AIDS was brought to the rest of the world, leading to one of the deadliest epidemics in the modern age. In India, over 2 million people are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS, according to the National AIDS Control Organisation. The first cases were detected among female sex workers in Chennai by Dr Suniti Solomon and Dr Sellappan Nirmala in 1986, and by 1987 over 100 cases of HIV were identified. The Indian government took immediate action and set up the National AIDS Control Programme, which spreads awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention and is "the nodal organization for formulation of policy and implementation of programs for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in India." (according to HIVpolicy.org) HIV/AIDS weakens the immune system, which makes the victim susceptible to all kinds of diseases and infections. Since immunity in the affected individual is (life-threateningly, terrifyingly) low, it is possible to die from contracting normally harmless sicknesses, like the common cold. This impacts the affected in life-changing ways; everything from their lifestyle to their relationships can change in order to manage their condition. HIV/AIDS positive people are at a higher risk of developing depression and facing self-imposed social exclusion due to fear, shame, and guilt. HIV/AIDS is spread through the mingling of blood, semen, or vaginal fluids i.e. sexual intercourse, the sharing of needles, and pregnancy. While HIV/AIDS is not curable, the most common way to treat it is through antiretroviral therapy, which involves mixing different classes of drugs and is very expensive. This is one reason why it is difficult to treat every patient, especially in India, since a large portion of diseased individuals come from a lower socioeconomic background, where education, let alone safe sex and drug education, is not freely available (though HIV/AIDS can and does affect anyone from any socioeconomic class). This is why it’s so important for campaigns against HIV/AIDs to cater to these social classes. Another reason why it’s difficult to identify patients is that there is a large amount of social stigma associated with HIV/AIDS, often stemming from homophobia/transphobia or prejudices against prostitution, promiscuity, and drug use. When HIV/AIDS was first identified in the United States, it was termed “GRID” or gay-related immune deficiency. The fact that men who have sex with men (MSM) are one of the largest demographics affected by HIV/AIDS around the world, not to mention that many famous gay and bisexual men have contracted HIV/AIDS (such as Keith Haring and Freddie Mercury) increases this association, and makes many afraid to get tested for fear of facing community backlash. The truth is, HIV/AIDS is largely spread by unsafe heterosexual sex, so this negative connotation is not only a backwards view but also inaccurate. This stigma often prevents HIV/ AIDS positive people from being employed, which in turn affects their health insurance and quality of life. The spread of HIV/AIDS has been termed one of the deadliest epidemics in the modern age, and for good reason. More than 35 million people have lost their lives to this virus, and one can only hope that in the future HIV/AIDS will just be a dark spot in history. Queertionary The Gender Binary
Hey! This is our Queertionary. Every issue will have one or more new terms to help us and you learn more about LGBTQIA+ terminology and the community.
I think the best way to start this one would be to define gender identity, and we can go from there.
Gender Identity & Gender Roles One website - emedecine.webscape.com, vague, yes I know - defines gender identity as “A personal conception of oneself as male or female (or rarely, both or neither). This concept is intimately related to the concept of gender role, which is defined as the outward manifestations of personality that reflect the gender identity. Gender identity, in nearly all instances, is self-identified, as a result of a combination of inherent and extrinsic or environmental factors; gender role, on the other hand, is manifested within society by observable factors such as behaviour and appearance.” Some examples of gender roles are mothers teach daughters how to cook and keep house while fathers work and teach their sons how to build or fix things, etc. Another baseless and inane gender role is colour, boys with blue and girls with pink. In other words, it is a person’s internal sense or feeling of who they are in terms of man, woman or otherwise. Gender Binary The gender binary is the notion that implies there are only two genders, male or female, which is determined by the two biological sexes. However, the idea that there are only two biological sexes is completely wrong, since it has been proven numerous times that there is no such thing as 100% male or 100% female. We all have elements of male/ female in us, whether that be hormone levels or secondary sex characteristics, and our biological sex is determined by whichever sex characteristics we display predominantly.This doesn’t necessarily have a bearing on our gender. Intersex people (people who have several variations of primary and secondary sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, or genitals that "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies", according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) have existed since the beginning of the human race. Their existence proves that the gender/sex binary is an inaccurate way of organizing people.
Non-Binary Non-binary people don’t feel that their gender identity falls under the gender binary - male or female. It is the umbrella term to describe gender identities apart from (purely) male or female. There are many ‘types’ of non-binary genders, some which are as follows (there are more, but these are some common ones) : 1. Agender: Someone who identifies as without gender, or to whom gender does not feel like an important concept to them. 2. Bigender: Someone who has two genders. 3. Genderfluid: Someone whose gender moves around, either along the female-male binary or outside of it. 4. Off the binary: Someone whose gender identity does not fit well within the female-male spectrum. This may also be referred to as third-gender. For some, it can understandably be a hard concept to grasp immediately and it is indeed complicated, especially as compared to what most of us grow up with, according to and alongside the general social ‘norm’. But what is most important is that this IS the essence of many people’s identities and we must respect that. The least allies and those who don’t identify as such can do is use the pronouns that they use, listen to them, and make an active effort to understand. Just as much as you may identify as man or woman, gay, straight, bi, whatever, people also identify as non-binary and/or what comes under that. This topic is much too vast and broad for us to really elaborate over here. But eventually, we will have someone who truly understands the topic and has experience with it to write a piece to inform you of the ins and outs of it all.
By Lydia Ortiz (@lydia_ortiz on Instagram) A Rose in a Meadow of Tulips A review of the 2018 album by Troye Sivan By Advika A
Australian YouTuber turned pop sensation Troye Sivan has taken our generation by storm. Not only does he move people with his music, but he is also is a modern-day LGBTQ+ icon. Encouraging his fans to be nothing but themselves, his previous albums like Blue Neighbourhood and Trxye have been leading up to his most successful release, Bloom. As Troye said so himself to Apple Music, this album is a more of a warm, upbeat record compared to his previous music. Songs like “Dance To This” and “My My My!” are brighter contrasts to more sober pieces like “Animal” and “The Good Side”. Ariana Grande and Gordi are female vocalists featured in separate songs on the record. As a reviewer, when I listen to the album I feel like I have been put in some sort of dream-like trance. The light acoustics, soft backbeat and clear, simple vocals don’t overload the senses, making Bloom great for easy listening. This intoxicating album is perfect to play during those laidback late nights. Troye doesn’t shy away from expressing his feelings as exactly what they are. Even the smallest details, such as how he uses pronouns like “he” to describe his love interest, prove that he has taken the extra mile that other LGBT pop stars do not go. He has inspired his fans to be bold about their sexuality with the delicacy and vulnerability of his music. Each song is about a different experiences of his. “Plum” is about being in a relationship that is slowing to a stop, whereas “Dance To This” is about living in the moment with one another. He sings about feeling powerful yet fragile, teasing yet cautious. Overall, Bloom is about men loving men, plain and simple. His feelings have been tied beautifully with intricate lyrics about being a wave amongst a sea of arrows. His music makes all listeners fall in love with not only the music, but the man himself and his journey with self acceptance. A Guide to Coming Out Submitted by Richa Vashista Written for Coming Out Day (October 11th, 2018)
Today is ‘Coming out Day’ and a lot of people are coming out of the closet after the recent reading down of Section 377. Staying in the closet can be mentally tiring and when you come out, it’s a release of emotions. Coming out is neither compulsory nor mandatory, you can, ONLY if you want to. It’s important to know that coming out is a process and not a one day conversation you have. Their journey of trying to understand you starts from the moment you come out to them and it can be very demanding. You are going to be thrown a lot of questions that you might / might not have answers to. On this day, I want to thank everyone who has come out and become part of a larger goal of creating awareness on being LGBTQ. You are courageous! For those of you who wish to come out and are finding it difficult, here’s a heads up before you plan:
1. Talk to someone who has been out of the closet for at least 2-3 years. Ask them what their experience has been; what challenges they faced; what was easy and what wasn’t. Understand their journey.
2. Have visual or readable material ready to help them understand better. For example: Satya Meva Jayate Season 3 Episode 3 has worked for a lot of my clients and their families due to its strong cultural context.
3. Visit an LGBTQ friendly counselor at some point, as a professional who is sensitized will be in a better position to help you.
4. Tell one person at a time. More the people, more the complication.
5. Please have patience. They are not always going to accept you with open arms. Be prepared for negative and/or positive reactions.
6. Stay STRONG. Be confident. Remember this is who you are and only then can you explain it to someone else.
7. Weigh your pros and cons before coming out. For example: If your parents/workplace become hostile towards you and it is going to leave you without a job or home, make sure you have a PLAN B (Finances and shelter). If there is no PLAN B, wait it out and plan better.
By Sanjana Nanodkar Namma Pride 2018 By Ishika Singh(@_ishikaasingh_)
The 11th Namma Pride was held on the 9th of December 2018 in Bengaluru. This year’s Namma Pride event brought close to 5000 people from around this diverse city, people who were unapologetically proud to be who they were- whether they were gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, pansexual, or any part of the spectrum they fell on. It was my first pride, and your first time is truly unforgettable. I spent three hours marching and chanting alongside my older sister, her friends and their sisters, and various members of the LGBTQ+ community. I talked to a few organisers. I met diverse and open-minded people. I marched in the hot sun, yelled out chants, and ate cool orange popsicles. Those three hours were worth my aching calves, hoarse throat, and pounding headache. As someone who wasn’t brought up in the Indian community, my mind had been set to quite a few of its stereotypes. But those were abolished in those three hours as I became exposed to Bengaluru’s true nature. I realised that when it really mattered- no matter what it stood for- people would come out and support you in ways unimaginable. And for that, I am forever grateful and thankful of the people of Bengaluru who came out (literally and figuratively) that day.
ALL IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHTED, AKA THE SOLE PROPERTY OF ISHIKA SINGH. ANY REPRODUCTION/ DISTRIBUTION WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF THE OWNER WILL BE FILED/PROSECUTED UNDER THE COPYRIGHT ACT 1957, INDIA. DON’T STEAL OUR STUFF! Transgender Day of Remembrance By Manavi Srinivas
Transgender Day of Remembrance is a day in which we remember and pay our respects to transgender people, gender-variant individuals, and those perceived to be transgender who have been murdered due to violent transphobia. Indian politician Shashi Tharoor, who is currently a member of the Lok Sabha, has always tried to influence the parliament to modify old fashioned, discriminatory laws, most famously Section 377. “Transgender people were certainly made an ‘other’ by the British,” says Tharoor. “The same with homosexuals. Homosexuality was accepted and understood in Indian civilisation for 1,000 years, as were transgender [people].” As surprising as it may sound, he's not wrong. In classic Hindu epics such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, there are many depictions of intersex beings, the powerful Vishnu being one of them (when he takes on the form of Mohini). In Hindu literature, Shikhandi was born a woman but raised a man, and depictions of sex - some of it being between the same gender - are carved on temples across India. “[Transphobia in India] is colonial. Transphobia is universal, but in South Asia, we have this cultural acceptance,” says Rudrani Chettri, who created India’s first transgender modelling agency. Chettri is a hijra, which is recognized by the Indian government as a third gender. The hijra community is made up of transgender, intersex, and gender variant individuals. Being strong devotees of Bahuchara Mata and Lord Shiva, they are welcomed, yet after identifying themselves as hijras, they are shunned. “Hijras had such an important position before the British came to India. Not only singing and dancing, but also guarding the harem, and as advisers to the Mughal court.” says Chettri. This shows us that as a culture before the British rule, we were pretty damn accepting, but due to worldly influences/outside rule, we succumbed to the unfortunate norm that is to discriminate against individuals. This is why hate crimes against the transgender community are brutally rampant in India. We would love to believe that the decriminalisation of Section 377 changed everything, but unfortunately, it's becoming harder and harder for the community to believe that anyone’s got their back. A majority of these hate crimes are being fueled by the masses and the police turn a blind eye. On May 29 in Delhi, a cross-dresser dressed as the Goddess Kali was stabbed multiple times and murdered in cold blood by a group of men, one of the suspects being a Delhi University student. On May 26 in Hyderabad, a group of trans women were attacked by a mob who believed they were a group of child kidnappers following a fake WhatsApp forward. One of the women passed away shortly after. On May 28, three trans women were beaten up brutally in Mumbai by MNS (A nationalist far-right Indian political party) workers who accused them of practising prostitution. On June 4 in Kerala, the High Court ordered a psychological and medical examination of a 25-year-old trans woman after her mother filed a petition saying that her “son” was brainwashed by a “transgender gang”. All of these happened in 2018. How can we celebrate pride if we still live in prejudice? Why is our country suffering from a colonial hangover even though the British left back in 1947? And most importantly, why must we only pay attention to these hate crimes on one day of remembrance? While the decriminalization of Section 377 was a milestone for the LGBTQ+ community, we must keep in mind that decriminalization is not the same as legality. The transgender community still lack a lot of basic rights in our country. Hate crimes remain rampant. A legal burden may have been relieved from this community, but it's time for the moral burden to reach the same fate… Utopia By Arya Guhan
There is a place in my dreams Where hatred caused by fear of the unknown Does not usurp heartfelt peace
Where there is a willingness to tolerate Thoughts, moral virtues and beliefs And accept, forgetting complexion That I am a human being,
Where there is harmony in coexistence No battles to be fought Merits not confounded by prejudice And equality in thought
Where I am not constricted By walls, labels, societal ideals Worship who I want, And love who I please. Where We Thank You
Thank you, dear readers for reading the third issue of our magazine. We hope you it was informative and enjoyable! This is just one of the platforms that we’d like to use to reach out to you and we hope that we are able to inform you of things that you didn’t know, or maybe just didn’t think about. We hope this issue (and we hope our future issues do the same) shared different perspectives and experiences and inspired new thoughts, ideas and topics of discussion. These topics may seem ‘small’ but they are important, which is why we’ve created this magazine to provide a medium of expression for all that want or need it. If you have any ideas for articles, (constructive) criticisms, or submissions of your own, please email us at [email protected]. We’re always open to opinions and contributions! You can also find us on Instagram @queerdesimag. (#shamelessselfpromo)
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