Every year in the month of February, thousands of people gather and celebrate LGBT pride by rallying on the streets and hoping for society to accept them in every state of the India. The LGBT community faces a lot of problems. The main problem is acceptance from people outside the community.
The ‘LGBT’ acronym stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. A lesbian is a woman attracted to another woman. Gay is used to denote men who are attracted to other men. Bisexual means that a person is attracted to more than one gender. A transgender person is someone whose gender identity differs from the one they were assigned at birth.
People in the LGBT community are fighting for equal rights and acceptance. Trans people, especially, face a lot of difficulty in finding acceptance. People in the LGBT community are looked down upon all the time. This is a major issue because discrimination against the LGBT community is highly prevalent. People’s prejudices lead them to think that LGBT people are odd and very different.
Today, homosexuality and queer identities may be acceptable to more Indian youths than ever before but within the boundaries of families, homes and schools, acceptance still remains a constant struggle for LGBT people. I have heard of people coming out of the closet and declaring to their families that they are not the person their family expected them to be.
Yes, we’re a part of a world where LGBT people are afraid to come out to their parents. There are some who disclosed their identity and were accepted by people, there are others living dual lives and waiting for the right moment to be able to talk about the issue.
If someone has to live while hiding integral aspects of themselves, then one is as good as dead and nobody talks about the dead people. Many countries have legalised same sex marriage because they understand the need of having the freedom to love and the freedom to marry whoever you want. Everyone has the right to marriage since marriage is all about love and not gender.
Every year, a huge number of LGBT people face huge issues related to violence, unemployment, discrimination, poverty and lack of healthcare. Prejudiced people have issues with the way people from the LGBT community lead their lives. These people, I believe, are being immature.
There are still many places in India where people are not aware of what LGBT stands for, because they think those who are gay are not allowed to be a part of the family.
We will consider this country to be free when society no longer differentiates in its treatment of people who may be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, cisgender or straight.