Homosexuality and Gender Expression in India

Abstract

This paper compares the current attitudes towards gay, lesbian, and transgendered Indians with pre-colonial Indian society and explores the roots of modern-day discrimination. It is designed to give an overview of the current state of members of the LGBT community—specifically gay, lesbian, and transgender Indians. It puts this in contrast with the status of those exhibiting the same or similar identities in pre-colonial India by looking at sexuality and gender expression as it is portrayed in both ancient Hindu scriptures and in Indian culture prior to exposure to Western influences compared with Indian views of sexuality after the British Raj. The paper uses examples from Hindu scriptures such as the Kamasutra and Padma Purana as well as recent Indian news articles and scholarly work relating to this subject. Opponents of the pro-LGBT movement in India claim that homosexuality is an import of the West and, therefore, “un-Indian.” However, it would appear that homophobia, not homosexuality, is the Western import into India.