Gender: Mindset or Choice?

The last few years have been full of ups and downs when it comes to giving the LGBT community their own human rights to love and be loved. Phycologists say that feelings should not be bottled up and closed in a closet. Regardless, society has always forced the sexual preferences that were out of the ‘ordinary’ to be closed behind the closet. It was always a subject of disgust and shame if a girl was in love with another girl or a boy loved to dress like a girl and was fascinated by other feminine activities.

In 2018, Article 377 passed in India which permitted sexual activities among adults of the same sexuality. Even though the law of the country accepted that the LGBT community should not be treated any differently and should be granted the right to love, the mentality of the older generation is yet to be changed.

The judgement was warmly welcomed by most of the sections of the society, especially the youth, who called it the ‘Victory of Love’. But even after the verdict, many people still do not publicly identify themselves as their true self, other than ‘Straight’.

Some families have still forbidden the discussion over the subject of homosexuality. Ever since a boy chooses a doll over a car, his parents start to explain that dolls are for girls and boys play with toys like robots and cars. Mothers often get anxious when their daughters are more tomboyish and don’t show any attraction towards boys during their puberty. Or, it was a horror to parents when their children felt attraction towards same-sex.

It was ‘against nature’ and ‘out of ordinary’. So, from childhood, they fed their children about the different things that are meant for only boys or only girls. Which in most cases resulted in gender inequality. For example; cars are for boys, dolls are for girls. Kitchen sets are for girls and video games are for boys. What they didn’t realize is that they were emotionally crippling their children that in later stages instil a fear of the notion ‘what will the society think?’.

Sure, nature developed the human body in such a way that only a pair of a boy and a girl can reproduce. But as old as the concept of homosexuality is, so is the sexuality ‘straight’. A girl attracted towards a boy and Vice-versa is known as being ‘normal’ and those individuals are identified as ‘straight’. As per the dictionary, straight is an asymmetrical, geometrical line which also means uniform and properly positioned.

So, instead of calling a boy-boy and a girl-girl, we call them ‘straight’, isn’t it in itself is backward thinking? Doesn’t it indicate that this ‘straight’ sexuality is the ordinary one, and other than that every other sexuality is still out of ordinary? When Homosexual, Bisexual and Asexual can be said as it is, then why is Hetrosexual replaced by the word Straight?

Has it ever happened to you, that, you are sitting with a group of friends and then you get more engaged with just one person. Maybe you vibe with them at the moment or you two are just having a friendly conversation and a hearty laugh. Then someone from the group points it out and jokingly says, “oye! You couple! Spend your lovey-dovey time after we leave~” and then, without thinking twice, you say, “Shut up! It’s nothing like that-.. We guys are straight!”

Just think, if you have already accepted the fact that you are living among other beautiful beings who are not exactly male or female, then why do you call yourself straight instead of a male/female? Have you actually accepted the fact or just moving with the trend? And if you haven’t, then what is it that is stopping you?