Yes, we call ourselves open-minded, but even a novel on homosexuality will offend us!

How beautiful would it be to launch the love story of two girls, in the presence of beautiful, sensible women?
When writer Sreeparvathy decided to launch her novel Meenukal Chumbikkumbol, which is about lesbian love, this was all she imagined. And when she got the St. Teresa’s College as a venue for the launch, her joy knew no bounds. However, little did she know that the college authorities would deny her the venue when they found out about the theme of the book!
Well, even in a State like Kerala, which has one of the highest literary rates in the country and boasts of progressive LGBT initiatives by the government, the ground reality is still bleak, proves this latest incident.We haven’t yet forgotten the homophobic instances of nursing students in Kollam being denied permission to lock hostel doors ‘’to prevent them from indulging in lesbian acts’’, repeated reports of homosexuals being denied places to stay, the film Ka Bodyscapes being denied a certification for “glorifying homosexuality’’ and more. We analyse how the prejudices still run deep in our society at various levels and what can we done to create a better world for those with different sexual orientations.
This is just the tip of the iceberg
Tell the LGBT community about the latest book launch instance and most of them say, “‘The author of this book isn’t even a lesbian, just a supporter. If this is her experience, you can imagine our plight in the ‘educated, enlightened’ Kerala.”
Devi Jyoti, who works in an IT company in Kochi, speaks about how her ‘lesbian tag’ came in the way of everything in her previous workplace. “I have always been a person who kept my sexuality private, but since I was continuously bombarded with ‘Why aren’t you getting married’ questions from my loving colleagues, I revealed it to a few of them. Little did I know that it would spread like wildfire and their attitude towards me would change. While there was no official side-lining from the part of the company, the change in their perception was obvious even at the lunch table and it prevailed, in the form of suspicion regarding even a touch from me, the degree of closeness to anyone, and more. Finally I quit the job.” Devi says that other homosexuals too have shared similar experiences with her, because of which they keep mum about their sexuality.
Researcher-cum-activist Jijo Kuriakose was asked to move out of his apartment in Kochi, when his landlord discovered that he was gay. “I used to regularly take part in TV discussions and appear on media to talk about LGBT issues, previously.
Now, I keep away from channels as it’s not practical to go house hunting every time a house owner finds it a problem,” he explains.
Why aren’t we growing up yet, despite all the ‘education’?
In the case of Sreeparvathy, the homophobia can probably be attributed to Church’s ever-against attitude towards homosexuality, she points out. “My friend, who had arranged St Teresa’s College as the venue, was informed that the management doesn’t want to allot the college due to the theme of the story,” she says. As for the rest of the instances, the reasons are numerous, about which many discussions have already been held often, at length.
Interestingly, what is baffling is that ours was a culture that considered the various forms of sex as beautiful, until we started getting influenced by ‘Victorian morality’, say many. Malayalam writer Saradakutty says, “Basically, ours is an extremely closed society now. We are averse or shy to even try to understand the concept of sexuality in itself. Especially when a woman writer talks about sexuality, our society finds it hard to handle and she is bombarded with questions like, ‘Will this be allowed in your own home?’ Nobody would ask the same question to a man who does the same thing. I don’t think anyone asked filmmaker Padmarajan the same question, when he made the iconic film Desadanakkili Karayarilla.”
Ours might be the ‘Land of Kama Sutra and Khajuraho Temples’ but how openly do we even discuss sexuality at homes, educational institutions or even amidst peer groups? Asks Jeena George, a counsellor. “Despite being educated, many of those I meet still like to believe that ‘sexuality matters only after marriage’ and don’t even understand sex or gender diversities much. They like to be in denial. In such a setting, how do you expect them to understand homosexuality? We simply don’t know much about it and so we are scared of it, which results in the hatred,” she says.
And homosexuals are treated as funny in our films, rather than as normal beings, adds Jeena. “This makes you believe that anything about them is laughable or abnormal. Naturally, your attitude towards them is different.”
The beliefs that homosexuality can be ‘cured’ by marriage; that it’s against Indian culture, its religions and ‘values,’ a false sense of morality, and above all, the lack of legal recognition - all of these directly contribute to elevating the homophobia quotient of our society. “As long as section 377 exists, criminalising LGBT relationships, there is nothing much that can be done about improving the rest of the situations,” Jijo says.
How to help the situation?
Saradakutty says that the more the voices of dissent, the more we should strongly stand for homosexual love. “Yes, there would be a lot of opposition and pelting of stones when you stand up for something. Be ready to face it, and each one of us should stand up boldly and continue to speak for it. A change can’t be brought about in a day.”
Sreeparvathy also believes that homosexuals should also keep coming out, bravely. “The more they come out, the more people will get used to seeing them around and accepting them. That should definitely bring in a change,” she says.
Many youngsters also believe that alongside open dialogue and social activism, it is also necessary to take initiatives to sensitise and create awareness among the older generation. Lakshmi Surendran, a student, says, “Our parents belong to a generation that wasn’t aware about gender issues or bothered about them much. Though their children understand them, they keep quiet for the fear of hurting their parents. Just like the anti-smoking or drug ads, why can’t the government take some initiatives to educate them that this is normal, at the least? Only such initiatives can bring in a wholesome, impactful change.”
Despite repeated attempts, we were unable to reach out to the college authorities.