A year after the landmark reading down of section 377 by the Supreme Court, celebrations by the queer community at this new-found acceptance may be premature.
According to the DNA-IMRS Youth Attitude survey in the city, nearly three-fourth of the youngsters do not approve of homosexual relationships. Of the 250 respondents (SEC A/B/C, male/female — equal split) between the ages of 15 and 22 years, 82% males and 71% females considered homosexuality unacceptable.
“Everybody has the freedom of choice but I don’t think I would be comfortable with the whole homosexuality thing. It is a little weird to see couples of the same sex. I think it is against nature’s law. Even if people are homosexuals, they should keep it a secret as our society isn’t open-minded enough to accept it yet,” says 17-year-old student Jharana Lal.
Echoes 22-year-old HR trainee Chetan Anand, “I don’t think homosexuality is normal. Sometimes loneliness and lack of friends of the opposite sex can make one attracted towards the same sex. There is still no scientific proof that homosexuality is an inborn trait. So, how can one label homosexuality as normal?”
Kamala Ganesh, head of the sociology department at the Mumbai University, said she was not surprised at the response. “Their reaction to homosexuality is understandable as this is not something that is part of their daily discourse at home. They might sympathise, but not be able to identify completely with the situation.”
Psychologist Seema Hingorrany agrees. She says that even in a city like Mumbai, a large majority of youngsters don’t really understand homosexuality.
Though conservatism might be a contributing factor, she says that it is the conditioning they have received at home that guides such a response. The version of homosexuality explained to them at home affects their perception of it, she adds.
“Even if they profess to be okay with homosexuality when they are with their peer group, their real attitudes might be completely different, and are reflected more honestly in surveys like these. After all, the family conditioning has continued much longer than the peer group’s.”
Comments