Queer Sesxuality- Myths Busted 9

(This post is a part of the series Queer Sexuality-Myths Busted. A small, not all inclusive research project i did in college. I am hereby presenting a few portions of that research work so that more and more people become aware of Queer Sexuality and start seeing it in positive light.)

Changes of sex and cross-dressing also occur in myths about non-divine figures. One such figure is Shikhandi a character in the Mahabharata. He was originally born as a girl named 'Shikhandini' to Drupada the king of Panchala. In a previous lifetime, Shikandini was a woman named Amba, who was rendered unmarriageable by the hero Bhishma. Humiliated, Amba undertook great austerities, and the gods granted her wish to be the cause of Bhishma's death. Amba was then reborn as Shikhandini. 

A divine voice told Drupada to raise Shikhandini as a son; so Drupada raised her like a man, trained her in warfare and arranged for her to marry a female. On the wedding night, Shikhandini's wife discovered that her "husband" was female, and insulted her. Shikhandini fled, but met a yaksha who exchanged his sex with her. Shikhandini returned as a man with the name 'Shikhandi' and led a happy married life with his wife and children. During the Kurukshetra war, Bhishma recognised him as Amba reborn and refused to fight 'a woman'. Accordingly Arjuna hid behind Shikhandi in order to defeat the almost invincible Bhishma. In the Javanese telling, Srikandi (as she is known) never becomes a man, but is a woman equal to men, and is the wife of Arjuna. After his death, Shikhandi's masculinity was transferred back to the yaksha.

The story of Ila, a king cursed by Shiva and Parvati to be a man one month and a woman the next, appears in several traditional Hindu texts. After changing sex, Ila loses the memory of being the other gender. During one such period, Ila marries Budha (the god of the planet Mercury). Although Budha knows of Ila's alternating gender, he doesn't enlighten the 'male' Ila, who remains unaware of his life as a woman. The two live together as man and wife only when Ila is female. In the Ramayana version, Ila bears Budha a son, although in the Mahabharata Ila is called both mother and father of the child. After this birth the curse is lifted and Ila is totally changed into a man who goes on to father several children with his wife.

Queer Sesxuality- Myths Busted 8

(This post is a part of the series Queer Sexuality-Myths Busted. A small, not all inclusive research project i did in college. I am hereby presenting a few portions of that research work so that more and more people become aware of Queer Sexuality and start seeing it in positive light.)

Religious and Mythological references to Queer

In the next few posts we will read about the religious and mythological references to queer. 

Traditional Hindu literary sources do not speak of homosexuality directly, but changes of sex, homoerotic encounters, and inter sex or third gender characters are often found both in traditional religious narratives such as the Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana and Puranas as well as in regional folklore.

Hindu mythology has many examples of deities changing gender, manifesting as different genders at different times, or combining to form androgynous or hermaphroditic beings. Gods change sex or manifest as an Avatar f the opposite sex in order to facilitate sexual congress. Non-divine beings also undergo sex-changes through the actions of the gods, as the result of curses or blessings, or as the natural outcome of reincarnation.

Hindu mythology contains numerous incidents where sexual interactions serve a non-sexual, sacred purpose; in some cases, these are same-sex interactions. Sometimes the gods condemn these interactions but at other times they occur with their blessing.

Many deities in Hinduism and Indian mythology are represented as both male and female at different times and in different incarnations or may manifest with characteristics of both genders at once, such as Ardhanarishwara, created by the merging of the god Shiva and his consort Parvati. The name Ardhanarishvara means "The Lord whose half is a woman"

A similar merger occurs between the beauty and prosperity goddess Lakshmi and her husband Vishnu, forming the hermaphrotitic or androgynous Lakshmi-Narayana. In the Bhagvat Purana Vishnu takes the form of the enchantress, Mohini, in order to trick the demons into giving up Amrita- the elixir of life. He cites another story to show that only Vishnu has the power to "enchant" Shiva: a demon tries to kill Shiva by taking the form of a woman (placing sharp teeth in "his" vagina). Shiva recognizes the impostor and kills the demon by the placing a "thunderbolt" on his "manhood" during their act of "lovemaking" 

Queer Sesxuality- Myths Busted 7

(This post is a part of the series Queer Sexuality-Myths Busted. A small, not all inclusive research project i did in college. I am hereby presenting a few portions of that research work so that more and more people become aware of Queer Sexuality and start seeing it in positive light.)

What exactly is Queer sexuality?

Queer is an umbrella term that is used to define the various types of alternative sexualities in the society. Typically, we have known of two types of sexualities. The first being heterosexuality and the other being alternate or queer sexuality. The term queer not only involves the most popular queer .i.e. homosexuals but also a wide range of other sexual orientations.

The various classifications of queer sexualities stand as follows:

Homosexuals (gay and lesbian), bisexuals, bi-curious, transgenders, cross-dressers, trans-sexuals, drag kings and drag queens along with a huge population of asexual and hermaphrodites, third genders etc.

All the above mentioned groups normally identify as queer community. These people have formed associations and action groups that work for the favor and welfare of the queer community. With the increase in the conflict between 'normal' society and 'queer' society, there are a number of people who have come out in the defense of the queer community. These are mostly heterosexuals who have no queer desires and openly support the queer in their mission and struggle for freedom.

Queer Sesxuality- Myths Busted 6

(This post is a part of the series Queer Sexuality-Myths Busted. A small, not all inclusive research project i did in college. I am hereby presenting a few portions of that research work so that more and more people become aware of Queer Sexuality and start seeing it in positive light.)

The 'gender' and 'sexuality'  question

There is a big contrast when it comes to identifying gender and sexuality. Gender refers to the age old notion that has been followed by the world, while sexuality essentially is a western concept.

The difference between two is however very simple. Gender refers to the genital or reproductive structure that a person is biologically born with. On the other hand, sexuality is a matter of sexual preferences i.e. what or who is defined as an object of sexual gratification and amorous love in a person. Sexual orientation is thus the name given to a person's sexual preferences.

Hence, we can find that He is born a man, i.e. his gender is male. He practices homosexuality i.e. his sexuality and he is a gay, i.e. a term given to  a male practising homosexuality. He can even be a male who is heterosexual. Likewise, we can take the example of women as well. She is born a female, is a homosexual and identifies as a lesbian.

In the eastern societies there has always been the presence of the 'third gender'  commonly known as 'hijras' or 'eunuchs' as far as the indian society is concerned. They are either asexual or castrated males who live in distinct communities and places. No wonders, they are all a part of the mainstream indian society and are nowhere regarded as sick or diseased. However, they still remain a mystery to the normal indian people.

Queer Sexuality- Myths Busted 5

(This post is a part of the series Queer Sexuality-Myths Busted. A small, not all inclusive research project i did in college. I am hereby presenting a few portions of that research work so that more and more people become aware of Queer Sexuality and start seeing it in positive light.) 

‘Queer Sexuality : Myths Busted’   takes into account various references from mythology and the popular global culture showing that the queer community was always present there and these people  have been treated as a part and parcel of the society.

This has also been an issue that both the groups are fighting with each other without any concrete knowledge on both the sides. While the queer community is forced by the desire to live as they wish and get respected for who they are, the 'normal' people mostly fight for the soul reason of not really understanding what the queer people want and also because of a feeling of disgust for the queer sexual behavior.

During the making of this project I went to a lot of queer communities and tried to interact with them to find out what do they feel about sexuality issues. They also helped me a lot to find out various references of queer in the mythology and the cinema.

The main process of this research work as to stay in touch with the queer and understand their aims, goals etc. and see if they differ in any way. I went to the GAY PRIDE PARADE and the GAY PRIDE FILM FESTIVAL to understand the psyche of the queer for themselves and for the rest of the world.

More than 4 months ranging from November 2010 to March 2011 were spent with the queer community, watching movies and interacting with them regularly. I was astonished to find that they were wonderful, intelligent people who were more aware of their rights and duties than any commoner.

I went through all the public modes of expression that the queer community uses and tried to understand their communication that they want to send to the world. They do not look for any special privileges, they just want that no discrimination should be posed against them in any way or the other. Going to the gay pride parade and the gay pride film festival was another step in the same direction. I came out as a queer to the world and I found out what sarcasm, what pain they have to feel publically and in general.

 However, during my own study I found out that queer sexuality is actually being hated by all and that nobody actually realizes what they do. The fear of queer is actually the fear of anything new. My analysis plan was to basically go through each and everything that was regarded as queer supportive texts and chronicles and see whether they really hold any ground.

The research assumes that queer sexuality is misinterpreted as a totally western concept that has nothing to do with the Indian culture or society. However, during my project I found out that this was not only true but also the mentality of many fellow south Asians that homosexuality is a western concepts.

Moreover, I found out that people are scared of homosexuals. They think that they are outcastes of mentally challenged people. Some also regard them as sex maniacs. I do not stand any any such concept. Being a sex maniac is a different subject altogether and a different preference doesn't make you a criminal.

  

Queer Sexuality- Mths Busted 4

(This post is a part of the series Queer Sexuality-Myths Busted. A small, not all inclusive research project i did in college. I am hereby presenting a few portions of that research work so that more and more people become aware of Queer Sexuality and start seeing it in positive light.)

The main focus of the research was understanding the popular  perceptions regarding queer sexuality prevalent in the society as well as the notions popular amongst the queer community regarding their origins, and to find out if there are any religious, mythological or social evidences that support both the theories.

This research aims at busting the myths related to the queer community and also making a clear image of this community, whatsoever. Also, i paid attention as to how has the media been portraying the two ideologies mostly through the movies and also through other television soap operas etc.

It should be mentioned that in a dynamic world, where nothing remains constant for long and in the period of globalization where a single theory is expected to be applicable to all, how far are we willing to go in the depths of the issue and not make conclusions from the crust itself.

The media, irrespective of the quality of the content, is showing matter and creating big debates over it. Is it responsible media behavior? Till date, hardly any media channel has come with a concrete view for queer identities. If we only leave a few movies made in Spanish and even fewer in English and other languages, no one really goes the distance to make it large for the queer gender.

The research will not discuss if we should come out or not. Its main aim is to show what all has been present there ever since in the society and why and age old concept of the world, is being slashed as a completely western concept, even when we know how much it has been prevalent in the east. We shall discuss over all the possible anecdotes dating back in history which talk about the queer gender and the various myths about them. Not only this, we would try to go deep in mythology and the contemporary world as well. 

Queer Sexuality- Myths Busted 3

(This post is a part of the series Queer Sexuality-Myths Busted. A small, not all inclusive research project i did in college. I am hereby presenting a few portions of that research work so that more and more people become aware of Queer Sexuality and start seeing it in positive light.)

The innate tendency of defining 'normal' amongst all cultures and societies throughout the world is almost the same. What the popular worldwide culture takes as a taboo may be  a common accepted practice in certain other cultures and vice versa. So, if one has to define something as 'normal' throughout a wide array of perceptions, psychologies, norms and ideologies, he has to be very specific as to what exactly is acceptable and what is 'against nature'.

It has become a debatable issue amongst the masses as to what do we regard the queers as? Now that the queer community has come out o the closet and is openly demonstrating against the hate crimes and the situations that they have to pass through being 'queer', it has become essential for us to understand that up to what extent are all these processions and allegations justified.

It is to be noted that there are various other sexualities present in the world. Moreover, the western concept of sexual orientation comes in sharp contrast to the eastern concept of gender orientation. In such confusing times, it is not only a problem for the rest of the world but also for the queer community members to identify themselves and be able to define them as some particular gender or sexual orientation.

There has been a very vague idea about what should be defined as queer and what not.  For example, a man may define himself as straight but he may still nurture some sexual attraction for men, thereby calling him bi-curious. A great battle for identification has begun inside the queer groups.

‘Coming Out of the Closet’ has made the struggle for a separate identity fiercer and more diversified.  This research aims solely to find out what all has been lying under the rock as far as queer identities are concerned. Moreover, it also finds out how the queer identities have  been portrayed in our mythology, books and cinema.