“Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender”
LGBT is an initialism that stands for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. Indian LGBT citizens face social and legal difficulties not experienced by non-LGBT persons. There are no legal restrictions against gay sex or gay expression.
It may refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual or non-cisgender, instead of exclusively to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. LGBTQ, adds the letter Q for those who identify as queer or are questioning their sexual or gender identity.
HISTORY
Gay became a popular term in the 1970s . From about 1988, activists began to use the initialism LGBT in the United States . Not until the 1990s within the movement did gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people gain equal respect.
In 2016, GLAAD’s Media Reference Guide states that LGBTQ is the preferred initialism, being more inclusive of younger members of the communities who embrace queer as a self-descriptor. From ancient India to the 21st Century, the LGBT community has found representation, faced oppression in many forms.
LESBIAN : A woman whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction is to other women.
GAY : The adjective describes people whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attractions are to people of the same sex
BISEXUAL : A person who can form enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attractions to those of the same gender or more than one gender.
TRANSGENDER : Someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with the sex they were assigned at birth.
QUEER : A person whose sexual orientation is not heterosexual and/or whose gender identity is not cisgender.
LAWS AND PROVISIONS :
Certain laws and provisions under section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 since the British ruling period
- The sexual relation against the order of nature for example between man to man, between woman to woman or between human being to animal.
- Article 14 states concerning right to equality and equal protection to all citizens including men, women and transgender
- Article 15 of the Indian Constitution states concerning protection against the discrimination on the grounds religion, race, caste, sex or birth place.
- Article 21 of the Indian Constitution concerning protection of life and personal liberty. This right protects gender privacy, identity and integrity
- The rights are already mentioned as under six fundamental rights of our Indian Constitution to safeguard each and every individual who is the citizen of India under various Articles
CURRENT LAWS UNDER SECTION 377 OF IPC
- After 150 years this section no longer exists without any reasonable grounds. No one can punish people who belong to LGBT community under section 377 of IPC.
- This restricted free life encourages their potential to grow, learn and apply to achieve their dreams and desired goals.
- They live with dignity, respect, freedom as normal as like other gender lives in a society
- They are free to choose their partners too and live in a peaceful environment
IMAGE CREDIT : Flickr
PUBLIC OPINION
The data on public opinion on LGBT rights is limited in India . According to a poll conducted at IIT Delhi in 2015, 72% of respondents agreed that “being homosexual is normal as being heterosexual . Many institutes have their own LGBT clubs, namely Saathi at IIT Bombay, Indradhanu at IIT Delhi, Ambar at IIT Kharagpur
The Indian Railways Ministry recently took the initiative of opening an astounding Tea Stall at the Guwahati Train Station which is managed by the Transgender Community