PRIDE 101

Op-EdMalavika, Sathyanarayann, Sneha Battula

Pride is a month-long celebration of LGBTQPIA2+ lives, history and culture. Despite the existence of thousands of Queer people in India, it is still considered very much taboo. The only way to make our society less ignorant and inclusive is by educating ourselves and opening our minds. This is an introductory guide to understanding Pride and why it is imperative that we talk about it more.

The word ‘Pride’ reminds us of June and rainbows. Most of us have a knowledge of the LGBT community and yet remain ignorant of it. We seem to have an unspoken rule to not talk about it, consider it taboo, or a joke. Even when we see Pride parades, activism and reform movements happening right in front of us, most of us just look in the other direction. It is high time these things change.

Did you know that Pride was and is a social reform movement? There is a long history of Pride that most history books never talk about and probably won't for a very long time. Even though most of us know that something is happening, we do not put in the time or the effort to understand and learn more about the Pride movement or the lives of our fellow LGBTQPIA2+ peers.

As regretful as it is, that is what reality is. Worry not, for it is not too late to learn more about the lives of millions of people around this world we live in who need empathy and support to be able to live a peaceful life with the respect and love they deserve. Here we have put together an introductory guide to learning about the Pride movement.

To kick things off, let us go to the roots of the Pride movement. How did this movement start? In order to understand the importance and the significance of Pride, one must take a walk through the past and trace the journey of one of the biggest international movements of history.

A Brief History Lesson :

Pride month, as we know to be June, owing to every commercial establishment changing their logos, their products and their brand identity to rainbows for their marketing purposes, happens to be a commemoration of the Stonewall Uprising (often called Riots, to cast it in a negative light) of 1969, which was an important turning point in the history of LGBTQPIA2+ rights and activism in the United States, followed by the rest of the world. Even though it wasn't the first movement in support of LGBTQPIA2+ rights, it was the one which united a great number of people and eventually paved the way for Pride as we see it today.

Let us take a visit back to 1969 to understand the significance of June and the importance of the Pride movement.

In 1969, homosexual relations, crossdressing, drag culture, and solicitation of such practices were considered criminal offences. However, many underground refuges for gays, lesbians, transgender people and others who were considered ‘Sexually Suspect’ were common in the form of ‘Gay bars’. However, many of these bars were subject to frequent police raids and harassment. Some of these bars even had the means to procure inside information about when these raids would be so that they could prepare accordingly.

This particular uprising occurred in ‘The Stonewall Inn’ in Greenwich village in New York City. Due to its mix of clientele, and the dancing, this was considered by many as ‘THE gay bar in the city’.

At 1:20 am on 28th June, a Saturday, policemen entered The Stonewall Inn for a raid, arrested the employees for selling alcohol without a permit, and started checking the patrons and harassing those who were considered ‘Sexually Suspect’. As frequent as raids on gay bars and the arresting of queer patrons was common, the raid did not go as planned this time. By the time the police had started arresting people and loading them into their wagons, a considerably huge crowd had gathered, and unrest spread among the crowd. They did not retreat or scatter away as the arrests continued. Tonight, they fought back. Those who were being arrested refused to cooperate with the police and demanded their rights. They refused to show their identification and asked the crowd to help them. Upon witnessing the arrests, the crowd which now consisted of many other queer members and supporters from nearby bars and houses, started rioting, and violence broke out.

The Stonewall uprising was not a planned protest. It was highly spontaneous. Owing to the spontaneity and the fast pace at which events progressed that night, there is no clear account of the exact proceedings. As the uprising grew, more and more people came from other parts of the city to join the protests. The police were outnumbered and barricaded themselves into the bar, but the barricades were broken and the bar was lit on fire. The riots were eventually cleared by around 4:00 am in the morning, but the movement had just begun.

The next night, the riots started again. Every newspaper in the city reported on the happenings of the previous night, and the following night, the bar was reopened, and thousands of people arrived at the bar, filling the entire street and spilling over to the nearby blocks. The atmosphere was charged, and the support was astounding. Homosexual displays of affection, which were kept highly hidden and secret, began appearing in public. Graffiti, slogans, and chants filled the space. It was a beautiful, riotous and empowering scene. And just like that, in a spontaneous demonstration in a remote illegal gay bar in Greenwich, New York, was born one of the world's biggest movements on which discussion continues till date.

On the first anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, several hundred demonstrators marched down Christopher Street (the street on which the Inn was located) in what was considered the first Pride Parade. Simultaneous parades were held in Los Angeles and Chicago. From here on, the Pride movement only grew. Multiple homophile (supportive) organisations and associations were formed to fight for LGBTQPIA2+ rights and make their voices heard.

From there, the movement spread worldwide and caught on like wildfire. It was true; homosexuals and members of the queer community existed everywhere, except they were forced to exist in secret, shunned, ridiculed and discriminated against. But now, in what was a universal movement, people began coming out and demanding respect, equality and rights. They were no longer content in living secret lives. They were also people, and they would be treated as such.

The movement’s progression was not easy. Numerous challenges were faced within and outside the community due to clashes in ideals and homophobia. With newer sexual identities and orientations coming into the light now that people were finally talking about it, they sought to be included in their demand for rights. The concept of a spectrum was still alien to many, and new identities and orientations needed recognition and inclusion in the Pride movement.

Pride, as we see it today, may seem just like an expression of flamboyance, acceptance and a celebration of love, but under the hood lies an international movement by numerous activist groups, homophile organisations, and prominent leaders to secure the rights of many who were brutally harassed and discriminated against for many years under many premises.

It is essential, however, to note that the Pride movement is ongoing, in terms of activism and rights for members of the LGBTQPIA2+ community. As long as there are still children who go to bed not knowing what is wrong with them, worrying that they are sinners or unnatural, who do not believe that they deserve the respect, comfort and the all the love that cis-gendered people are privileged enough to get, we need Pride. As long as there are still whispers, rumours and slurs against members of the community, as long as members of the community are mocked in the hallways of their schools, colleges, offices, by members of their own families, and in public spaces, we need Pride. As long as members of the LGBTQPIA2+ community do not get to enjoy every single privilege and joy that has been denied to them owing to their sexuality and sexual identity, we need Pride. And this progress will not come about if people remain ignorant and refuse to empathise or make an effort to talk about gender, sexuality, respect and equality.

And that is why we need Pride.

Now that we have taken a look at the historical significance and the origin of the Pride movement, let us come back to the present-day scenario, where the community is represented by the acronym LGBTQPIA2+. Yes, that is quite the mouthful. The acronym of LGBT is the most popular and the most used one to describe the Queer community. Even if some might be aware of the terms that these letters stand for, they might not know what they mean. One cannot proceed to understand the importance of Pride or their role in it without understanding what each letter in the acronym stands for.

Understanding the Acronym of LGBTQPIA2+:

Since the 1990s, different versions of the acronym LGBTQPIA2+ have been created as increasingly nuanced ways to understand and define people’s lived experiences of gender and sexuality have been expressed. Jeffry Iovannone, author of 'Queer History for the People' notes,

“The LGBTQ acronym is not just a collection of letters that represent identities; rather, these letters are history embodied”.

The terms for the community of people that encompasses people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual are as broad as the community itself: As society’s understanding, recognition, and inclusion of diverse sexual identities and gender expressions has grown, so has the acronym.

LGBTQPIA2+ is a term that collectively represents people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (or those questioning their gender identity or sexual orientation), intersex, asexual and two-spirit.

Lesbian: A lesbian is a woman whose gender identity is female and whose romantic orientation and sexual attraction are to other women who identify as female.
Gay: Within LGBTQPIA+ community acronyms, gay refers to a man whose gender identity is male and who is romantically and sexually attracted to other men who identify as male. However, it is also used as a catch-all term for anyone who is homosexual.
Bisexual: An identity label sometimes claimed by people who are sexually attracted to two (or more) sexes or genders, not necessarily equally or simultaneously.
Transgender/Trans: An identity label used to describe a person whose gender identity does not align with the socially expected one according to their sex assigned at birth, often used as an umbrella term to include people who transgress gender norms, including cross-dressers, genderqueer people, trans women, trans men, bigender or polygender people, etc.
- Trans Man (Or Transgender Man or Transexual Man): A person who has transitioned their identity from woman to man, and sometimes their body from female to male.
- Trans Woman (or Transgender Woman or Transexual Woman): A person who has transitioned their identity from man to woman, and sometimes their body from male to female.
Transition: The process of changing one’s sex or gender, socially (e.g. changing one’s name, clothing, makeup, hair, pronouns) and/or medically (e.g., hormones and/or surgery).
Transexual: A person who usually experiences a strong and persistent feeling that their body and assigned sex are at odds with their gender identity. These individuals often (but not always) desire to change their bodies to reduce this dysphoria. Since this term comes from the medical establishment, many people choose not to identify with it.
Queer: An umbrella identity term used by people who do not conform to norms of heterosexuality and/or the gender binary. A reclaimed slur, often used with a political connotation. Q also stands for “questioning,” to acknowledge those who are exploring their gender or sexual identity. This dual definition points to a larger, ongoing conversation about the meaning of personal identity and whether it’s even appropriate to use umbrella terms like LGBTQ as a shorthand for people’s lived experiences.
Pansexual: An identity label sometimes claimed by people who experience sexual attraction across the spectrums of gender identity, biological sex, and sexual orientation.
Intersex: Term to describe a person whose sex assigned at birth does not neatly fit into the socially accepted binary of “male” or “female” because they have genitalia, hormone production levels and/or chromosomal makeups that are ambiguous or non-binary.
Asexual: An identity label sometimes claimed by people who do not experience sexual attraction. This differs from celibacy or abstinence (the act of restricting oneself from enjoying sexual relations), which are behaviours, whereas asexuality, on the other hand, is a lack of sexual attraction or interest in sexual activities. It can also be categorised widely as a spectrum encompassing multiple asexual sub-identities such as aromantic, demisexual, grey-A, heteroromantic, homoromantic, etc.
Two-Spirit: Identity label used within many American Indian and Canadian First Nations indigenous groups to describe an individual possessing both “masculine” and “feminine” spirits. It was coined by contemporary LGBT Native Americans to describe themselves and the traditional roles they have been reclaiming.

A variety of academic and governmental organisations, including the National Institutes of Health, have recently adopted the term “Gender and Sexual Minority” to be even more inclusive. “No term is perfect or perfectly inclusive,” wrote a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine committee in a 2020 report. “The beauty of individuality is that self-expression, as well as personal and romantic choices, can manifest in a multitude of ways.”

That covers the basic terminologies that one must know about with regard to the LGBTQPIA2+ community. But that's not all. There are some other terms which have been often used interchangeably, even though they are different. The distinctions between these terms are not known to many, and the knowledge of these distinctions is fundamental when it comes to understanding sexuality.

The Difference Between Sex & Gender, and Between Sexual Orientation and Sexuality :

The terms sex and gender are often incorrectly used in place of the other. The truth is, they mean two different things:

Sex widely refers to the biological structure of a body. It encompasses the physical and physiological characteristics of the human or animal body structure, such as chromosomes, hormones, or sexual organs. Most people are assigned their sex at birth as either “male” or “female”, which is also called the biological sex.
Gender refers more to the gender roles and behaviours enacted by an individual, which are basically the expectations people have about the way a person behaves or carries themselves or expresses themselves. For example, the general society stereotypically expects females to act graceful, empathetic, nurturing and understanding while males are expected to be brave, fearless, rough and risk-taking. These are societally set gender roles. In truth, from a perspective of no judgement and past-set expectations, a male can be just as feminine as a female and vice versa.

The difference between sexuality and sexual orientation is another often misinterpreted topic:

Sexuality refers to the way a person may express their sexual desires. It also shows through the way a person may express affection, love, trust and care. It is a form of self-expression.
Sexual orientation is more about the attraction that a person can feel for another, be it emotional or romantic or sexual. It’s an innate feeling in a person/animal. Some common different orientations are homosexuality, bisexuality, pansexuality and asexuality.

Okay, now that we’re well informed about various terminologies and details regarding the LGBTQPIA2+ community, the importance, and the aims of Pride, we must ask the question, what can we do, as students on our campus? How do we promote education, awareness, healthy discussions and fight to remove the stigma and taboo to create a shared safe space for our queer peers to live a life free from secrecy and hate?

Introducing QURBAT: Gender-Sexuality Queered Space of IITT :

Qurbat is the first LGBTQPIA2+ collective of IIT Tirupati and aims to create a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community on campus. Qurbat focuses on developing healthy discussions and debates on gender and sexuality and gives the impetus to rethink and acknowledge the difference. We aspire to create an environment to foster conversations about intersectional gender and sexual experiences, thus making the campus more inclusive and diverse for both the allies and the members.

The Gender-Sexuality Queered space of IITTP, Qurbat, is a very recent initiative and is still in a state of being developed. As is with any student-run institution in our college, Qurbat cannot be run without the support of the student community. It is imperative to recognise, realise and understand the impact that normalising talking about Queer issues can have on someone who is closeted (not open to everyone about their sexuality or sexual orientation) or someone who is questioning. It brings forward a sense of belonging, community, and oneness and makes the environment safer for those in the community. It is up to us to break the stigma that society has pumped into us and break free of the bars built around our minds. Qurbat aims to do just that through education, spreading awareness, promoting healthy discussions, etc., to normalise Queer culture in our institute.

Questioning one’s Identity/ Orientation :

Usually, around the teen years, a person may come to question their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. For some people, it may even take decades, which is perfectly alright. Some cultures may believe that these types of feelings should not arise, but it’s perfectly alright to try to understand your preferences and who you are as a person. It is your right to love and live as you are.

Society has conditioned us to think of the LGBTQ+ community as taboo and undesirable, so naturally many people do not look past the old-fashioned stereotypes and ideas to truly understand what the community really is. To be gay or asexual or bisexual is as natural as being straight/heterosexual. Many species of animals are also known to show homosexuality- penguins, dolphins, elephants, lions, and many more. This is natural; the only difference is that they do not have society to tell them that it is wrong or abnormal. We humans have created a set of rules for ourselves to live by, and the taboo around homosexuality and the community is definitely a backward ideology.

People may experience attraction to different kinds of people as they grow up, or even no attraction at all. They may start to question themselves and wonder if they’re different or if they’re right/wrong and this confusion can get stressful at times, depending on the person’s environment and circles. Picking up on these clues about who they’re attracted to or how they like to express themselves can be very helpful in understanding themselves and their identity. It may take months or even years for a person to truly figure out what their identity/ orientation is. It is important for a questioning person (someone who is questioning their identity and/or orientation) to step away from the negative outlooks of their society and try to understand from a non-judgemental perspective.

We need to show more kindness and acceptance to ourselves and to one another, and allow everyone to live their lives to their fullest.

You may or may not be a part of the community, but chances are there is someone around you who is, and as everyone deserves to live an accepted, loved life, there are a few things you can do to be a better ally. An ally in the LGBTQ+ community is someone who supports its members and strives to remove the biases, prejudices and misunderstandings around it.

What can I do to be a better ally?

Educate yourself about the community and different people’s experiences and struggles. Learn about the terms used to identify people of the community and respect them.
Respect someone’s wishes to stay closeted if they are not ready to tell the world about their identity (due to their own personal reasons).
Ask people for their pronouns so that you can refer to them in a respectful way.
Undo the prejudices you have within your own thoughts, and be more open-minded.
Recognise respectful and disrespectful language, and correct others when they misuse such words.
Stand up for the rights of others and spread awareness among your peers and others. Help them understand and accept more.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you are not sure about something.

A note to keep in mind - a life of love and acceptance is much more valuable and substantial than one of discrimination and prejudice.

Okay that’s it for this article. We hope this was informative and gave you an introduction to the Pride movement, the terminologies associated with the LGBTQPIA2+ community, and how you can play your part. This article may have covered a lot, but there is a whole world more where all this information came from. This is not everything. As the saying goes, ‘You can take the horse to water, you can’t make it drink’; we can only gently nudge you towards learning more and educating yourself about current world issues that threaten and withhold equality and rights to members of the LGBTQPIA2+ community. Even if you don't raise placards and protest against these issues, you can play your part in normalising talking about LGBTQPIA2+ issues, ensuring that you are a good ally, and making sure you empathise with those discriminated against and lend them a hand of support. You can play your part by standing up to homophobia, be it explicitly offensive or subtle. You could share what you learn regarding the Queer community and contribute to making our campus a safe, supportive and nurturing environment for everyone to freely express themselves, be themselves and be free to love, for love’s sake.