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STIGMA AROUND HOMOSEXUALITY IN INDIA

I was dismayed when I saw a pamphlet in the local newspaper which claimed that a certain medicine could cure the disease of homosexuality. Similarly one can find numerous youtube videos of people giving tips to cure homosexuality. Homosexuality is not a disease and hence it is not something that can be cured or should be cured. There is a lot of stigma around sex and gender in Indian society. Anyone who does not fit into the so-called norms that society has created has to go through the torment of his own family, friends, and relatives. Homosexuality is the attraction of people of the same sex. A homosexual person, unlike a heterosexual person, does not feel attraction for the opposite gender. It is something that is characterized in a person since birth and is only realized by a person later when they mature.

There are a lot of myths about homosexuality in India. Those myths are not even addressed in our society because it is taboo to talk about homosexuality. This has given rise to hatred towards homosexuality in India. The majority of people who are heterosexual just cannot accept that two people of the same sex can fall in love. It is about the mere mentality of our society. It is because of this stigma that young adults hide their gender orientation from their own families. There have been a lot of incidents where families refuse to accept their own children when they come out of the closet and reveal their true selves. This is mainly because of the Indian mentality which cares too much about what society would think of them. People make fun of homosexuals by calling them various cuss words. People downplay homosexuality is just the western influence on Indian youth. People mix culture in the debate over a person's identity. They claim that homosexuality is against Indian culture and Indian values. There are also beliefs that it is against the biological law of nature. All these arguments hold no water as per science. Homosexuality is not a disease and has nothing to do with any culture. It is a fact that the ancient temples in Kajuraho, Madhya Pradesh have carving portraying homosexual sex. It proves that homosexuality does find its existence in Indian society for a very long time. It is a person's identity and a person's true self. Society cannot tell a person that who they should love and who they cannot. It is for this very reason that the honorable Supreme Court of India in 2018 decriminalized consensual sex between two people of the same gender. This was a major win for the LGBTQ community who have been demanding this law for a very long time. 

This deep-rooted stigma in society is only because of a lack of awareness and scientific temperament in the people. So to eradicate this hatred towards the people of the LGBTQ community there should be an awareness campaign. Open discussion should be encouraged on such topics. Movies and advertisements can help in normalizing it in society. The difference between sex and gender should be taught in schools and colleges. We also need to think about making life easier for homosexuals who suffer a lot in society. Various Indian laws need to be changed or amended for a more inclusive society. The law related to marriage and adoption should be redesigned keeping homosexual people in mind. These small changes can make a big difference in a more inclusive India which is ready to wash the blot around homosexuality. 

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