Drawing Homophobia Out Of Straight People Supporting Equality

By Richard Kamei

13 December, 2013
Countercurrents.org

Let me take you to something which is coming from the department of straight people who are either being reckless or reinforcing the similar force of patriarchy, in clamouring for the rights of LGBTI community vis-à-vis the recent verdict of Supreme Court of India in upholding Section 377 of Indian Penal Code (IPC). The outrage against the verdict of Supreme Court is palpable, and leaves a wide gap between the minority and their rights. The support coming in for the rights of LGBTI community is larger than few years ago, and many liberals/lefts have spoken out in favour of LGBTI rights.

Within this support, coming in from straight people they explicitly claim that they are STRAIGHT and not one of LGBTI, in lending their support for the rights of LGBTI. I don’t get why are they making such claim? Are they aware of the reason on why they are claiming their sexual orientation? Would straight people explain the need of claiming that they are straight? It’s easier to claim your sexual orientation when you are straight. It is important to ponder over the condition of people who don’t have the option to claim their sexual orientation.

The underlying meaning in this claim of being straight is their existing or internalised fear of being labelled as one of the LGBTI. By stating your sexual orientation in supporting LGBTI rights, you are simply warding off people’s likely doubt that they may consider you as homosexual or bisexual. This persistent fear present in you, serves no purpose in lending support to sexual minority; it is a mere sympathy not solidarity and by that fear lying within you, is only an affirmation that you are still homophobic. You are yet to acknowledge your homophobia and more so in your claim of being straight, are an indication that you are fearful of being labelled as one of LGBTI. . Making that claim, leaves no room for closeted LGBTI people because they are not in a position to state such claim and support this movement for the rights of LGBTI. Straight people are free to claim their sexual orientation in their CV, LinkedIn, Twitter Bio, Facebook’s About Me etc. Attaching such claim in lending solidarity to LGBTI is undoing to the cause of LGBTI community. I had mentioned this to my acquaintances earlier, an analogy to this premise are: You do not claim that you are not sex worker in supporting the rights of sex workers, you also do not claim that you are not disabled in supporting the rights of disabled community or stating that you are not rape victim in supporting rape victim etc. Creating ‘us and them’ premise in causes related to minority issues or in sensitive issues, is uncalled for and this needs to be reflected in the cause for the rights of LGBTI community.

Richard Kamei is MPhil Scholar, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

Tweet