To Be Free To Love At Last- World News
October 19, 2018
On August 6, 2018, the Supreme Court of India unanimously voted to decriminalize homosexuality. A bench of five judges ruled Section 377 as “arbitrary”. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is from 1861 during the colonial English rule that criminalized sexual acts that are “against the order of nature”. Many see this victory as the nation of India finally accepting Western culture; most countries in Europe have already legalized gay marriage and people say that this is a step in the Western direction. When in fact, there are many cases of fluid genders and sexualities present in Hinduism long before the English deemed these concepts as dirty and barbaric. For example, the god of Shaivism, Shiva is often seen as the ultimate form of masculinity but as far back as the Kushan era, Shiva has taken an androgynous form, the Ardhanarishvara form. Shiva can also be depicted as his wife Parvati.
Another example is the god of fire, creativity, and wealth, Agni, who is depicted in Hinduism as married to the goddess Svaha as well as the moon god Soma. It is evident that LGBTQ+ people have been present in India, but it is the English influence that forced India to be so closed minded for 157 years.
Resources
“Five Divine Acts of Shiva.” CreationCenter.org, 24 Aug. 2017, creationcenter.org/five-divine-acts-shiva/.
“Religions – Hinduism: Shiva.” BBC, 24 Aug. 2009, www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/deities/shiva.shtml.
Ogles, Jacob. “19 LGBT Hindu Gods.” ADVOCATE, Advocate.com, 6 Sept. 2016, www.advocate.com/religion/2016/9/06/19-lgbt-hindu-gods?pg=7#article-content.
Jha, Nishita. “India Just Decriminalized Gay Sex.” BuzzFeed News, BuzzFeed, 6 Sept. 2018, www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nishitajha/india-section-377-gay-sex.
“Amazing Hindu God Agni Wallpapers.” Hindu Devotional Blog, www.hindudevotionalblog.com/2017/07/amazing-hindu-god-agni-wallpapers.html.
Desk, Express Web. “What Is Section 377 of the IPC?” The Indian Express, Thursday, May 03, 2018, 10 Sept. 2018,
Zaylie Martinez • Nov 6, 2018 at 10:12 am
I didn’t know that the deities were LGBT+, that is really cool! This is very good news to hear. I hope the world continues and learns to be more accepting because we deserve to be heard!
ELISHA • Nov 5, 2018 at 9:56 pm
I love how you added pictures it really helped the point get acrossed. I also enjoyed the fact that I could learn more about whats going on around the world. Over all I think that this is a wonderful article ! Keep WRITING!
Elisha • Nov 5, 2018 at 9:53 pm
I loved how you added pictures to this article, it really helps the point get across. This also informed me more about the events happening in this world! Thanks for writing this and letting me get this information. Keep writing!
Max Nosov • Nov 5, 2018 at 7:58 pm
I’m glad to learn that India has made a step in the right direction, and has made the country more free. I also learned a little bit about India’s past and its ancient gods from reading this article.
Max Nosov • Nov 5, 2018 at 7:56 pm
I am really glad that India has taken a step in the right direction and made their country more free. I’ve also learned a little bit about India’s past and it’s ancient gods from reading this article.
Moriya Shvartz • Nov 5, 2018 at 5:33 pm
I really liked this article. It was well written, and besides that, the topic of the article intrigued me. Now, in the 21st century, the rights to be whoever we want to be, and love whoever we want to, is very much discussed and is valued as a big deal, and for good reasons. This article is very modern and relevant, and should be spread out more.
Anonymous • Nov 2, 2018 at 8:49 am
I’m commenting on this article for extra credit for Mr. Johns’ class
Hannah Goudz • Nov 1, 2018 at 9:07 pm
I love how the world is finally evolving to take the steps needed in order to change the outdated rules that don’t apply to us anymore. Finally, on by one, countries are adapted the new modern ideas and it’s amazing to see how India is finally allowing homosexuality. It’s amazing to know that we are the generation who has control of what the future looks like and that we are doing everything possible to make that future equal for everyone. Thank you so much for creating an article that is so important to teach those who don’t already know that everyone should be treated the same.