It is not only a recent problem that empowerment of the LGBTQIA+ community is seen as a “hyped” movement. It is seen in the light of a flock of flamboyant teenagers squealing and hysterically hopping around with a rainbow flag announcing their ‘abnormality.’ LGBTQIA+ is seen tainted with a special Deluxe ticket to Hell while the pride parades are still considered to be embarrassing. I recall, back in 2018, when I was sitting with a school teacher in a restaurant, I asked her about her views on the LGBTQIA+ community. She chuckled and said, “karo toh karo, sabko batane ki kya zaroorat hai?”
Ahem.
It has always been the hardest for feminists and LGBTQIA+ folks to understand how merely seeking equal rights offends some people. When Abhayam was set up, a few comrades submitted their wise unsolicited referendum on how this was tarnishing the sanctity of an Army college founded on the ideals of ‘discipline and integrity.’ A good friend of mine went on to believe that my writeup on the legalization of same-sex marriage (here) merely sounded like an offended person getting defensive. Till date I haven’t been able to understand why does expression of identity, choices, preferences, consciously or unconsciously, have to pass on as ‘a propaganda’ of malice?
Let’s decode the motive behind this ‘propaganda,’ shall we? To begin with, let’s humbly agree on the fact that until you are an ally, you’ll never be able to realise what mental trauma an LGBTQIA+ identifying person goes through. You’d begin to tell how baseless this entire demand for justice is, how cruel and ruthless it is being on your ‘values of Indian society,’ and will conclude with cursing ‘westernism.’ You’d not understand how this expression is a reflex in repulsion to the decade-long closet that the person is involuntarily put into because of your homophobia, wide-eyed reactions, and patriarchy-drenched chuckles. You’d not realise how your loud homophobic jokes and comments put the person in isolation, and now your advices on ‘keeping it subtle’ are just as baseless. You’d keep feeling this is a movement to challenge you and your thoughts, when all it actually is, is a movement to tell young kids that their validity is not decided by any person in the world but by themselves.
You’d keep feeling how easy-go La La Land ‘being closeted’ is until that constant pressure and fear of losing onto your loved ones for something so trivial dawns upon you. You’d feel how inexpensive and useless this march of ‘clown-like' chirrupy people is, who are walking in happiest vibes to pay tribute to the likes of Harvey Milk and Monika Diamond who dared to pioneer the demand for equal rights and were shot dead. You’d feel how unnecessary this declaration of self-identity is, not to mention even the intolerant shootouts that regularly happen in LGBTQIA+ clubs, such as the one in Orlando, which wounded 43 and killed 7 others. Obviously, why spread ‘propaganda’ and spread the message of Pride worldwide when 71 countries still declare homosexuality as illegal? This movement, more than celebrating coming out of the LGBTQIA+ people, is a shout-out to all those who are severely grappling with the issues of self-acceptance every day. It is a call to let them know that all that ‘closet’ is, is a fictional line that you can choose to cross any day, any month. Whatever moment you declare yourself ready, is right. That moment is yours.
When Gilbert Baker designed the pride flag, he chose 'rainbow.' Out of all, the objective was to depict ‘hope.’ When the LGTBQIA+ community celebrates Pride, with all due respect, we are not just doing it for ourselves. We are doing it for you too. The flag symbolizes unity, strength, and positivity. When we say ‘we desire the world to be painted in the colors of rainbow,’ we don’t intend to signify how we are desperate for ‘the entire world to go gay,’ but what we mean is how we’d want the entire world to feel the surge of passion and positivity no matter how dark the phase is. We mean that there is light at the end of the tunnel- always.
Therefore, maybe publicizing the objective of Pride is not 'the' propaganda, it is the perspective you are looking at it with. We have made some significant advancement from that era where advocating for LGBTQIA+ rights meant inviting the lop-sided question “are you gay too?” No, an LGBTQIA+ activist can be heterosexual and still choose to unhypocritically stand up for the protection of human rights. In fact, they form a part of the community- the full-form of the acronym ‘LGBTQIA+’ is ‘LGBTTTQQIAA+,’ wherein the last ‘A’ denotes ‘allies.’ Supporting feminism doesn’t automatically make a person ‘woman,’ right? All that it makes a human is conscious, humane, and just. In the present day, hearing people say ‘Pride is a Gay Propaganda’ sounds like the world’s biggest oxymoron. Only capitalists found poverty farce. Similarly, only Catholics found the misery of Protestants fictional. Only flat-earthers found Science despicable. Only patriarchists found themselves at crossroads with feminism. Historically, is it always the oppressors who have felt nauseatic at the proposal of someone else demanding equal rights.
I’d leave you with a question. Would you really want to give up on your loved one because they identify themselves as a part of the LGBTQIA+ community? Your brother? Your sister? Your son? Your daughter?
If no, then I believe you got the point: love is unconditionally valid- in all its forms, in all its hues, in all its denial, in all its acceptance.
**Each of the eight colours represented a different meaning - hot pink represented sex, red represented life, orange represented healing, yellow represented sunlight, green represented nature, turquoise represented magic/art, indigo represented serenity and violet represented spirit. However, later after their manufacturing began in bulk, and other manufacturing houses began producing them as well, turquoise and hot pink's supply fell short, which is why Gilbert dropped these colors from his flag and all subsequent flags so that anyone could make them.
This article has been written by Mr. Nishant Tiwari (nishantiwari0717@gmail.com), a fourth-year student of the Army Institute of Law, Sector-68, Mohali.