Somewhere Over The Rainbow

''There goes another Pride month article-bleh" if that's what you're thinking right now, congratulations!-you're homophobic, or just bored and cant wait to start seeing new articles with new topics but you tell me, how can we stop talking about such a relevant issue which needs so much attention that the country's leaders aren't giving it any!

Why does the LGBTQ+ community receive so much hate, though? According to the whole range of middle-aged Indians, I didn't interview- its because it is "unnatural," "Its Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" narrative that echoes throughout religious communities, not just the wine tasting one.

So yes, it is established that India has no place for the homosexual discourse. The court victory that legitimized homosexual rights last year remains a court victory with the only potential for an actual win against conservative roots in society. Queer folks in India are suffering from parental pressure, and there is no backup, some parents are supportive, but that's like 1% of the population; how does one survive in an environment that views you as an anomaly? For literally no fault of yours, you go from being mama's boy to a perverse ingrate, such is the mechanism ladled out.

This stubborn attitude of middle-aged Indians is yet to die out, and a battle of the conservatives against the liberals has now a different ground than the presidential elections, it remains firmly situated within the family hierarchy with the elders refusing to look at reason firmly adhering to their views on everyone's sexuality and the youth begging to be heard. By refusing to accept, our parents comply with the phrase 'ignorance is bliss', but how long are you going to be so naive?

If lesbians and gay men were "pretending" to attract attention, why would they do it at the cost of losing their own families? Why would they 'come out' when they know that their statement is going to bring them into a lifelong conflict with the people who swore to love them whatever the cost.

What is so wrong with not being attracted to the opposite sex? What if the world were different and you were policed for being straight? Would you then "act" gay? Parents are often so scared of societal opinion that they fail to realize the anguish and mental pain that they cause their children who are not the "default", in fact, because they are so caught up in societal pressure, they refuse to see plainly that they are a part of society and their acceptance could at least give some other parents the courage to accept their queer children.

If only acceptance didn't lie on so many criteria. If only the elders were willing to listen to what their children have to say- after all, it is a changing world, and the ones who you depend on for direction are the ones who are coming up with new ideas of inclusivity, if you do not agree with them, so be it but at least try and be educated about such issues and that's my only plea because once you do that, it becomes a better world, a more emotionally sustainable world, one that functions not according to punishment for the "deviant" but acceptance and understanding. You have to teach enough strength to look up, and you will reach the edge, just clear enough to admire what Judy Garland sang about.

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