Back in 2018, the ‘Lesbian Controversy’ at Kamala Girls’ School, Kolkata, sparked a discussion on how schools respond to teenage sexuality. 12 girls were made to “confess” in writing that they were lesbian and that they had participated in “indecent behaviour”. The girls were only 13 years old, an age when they are just beginning to understand and explore their sexuality.
This incident highlights the general way in which queer students are treated within educational systems.
In schools, especially, female sexuality of any kind is not spoken about and is, in fact, chastised. It gets even more complicated if the students identify as lesbian, bisexual, or non-binary.
Tanaya Ray*, a bisexual woman, recalls that when she came out in school, she was sent to speak with the school counsellor who asked her to focus on her studies and forget about her sexuality.
“It was written off as a phase born of stress. I did not receive any support, and I was already dealing with the consequences of coming out to my family. My academics suffered because of the mental and emotional turmoil I was in. The counsellor had even asked me if any other girls had ‘similar tendencies’, and I remember thinking that even if I knew, I would never ever put another girl in that spot,” she says.
The sexual identity of queer women are often attributed to being “phases” or are completely written off. Girls in school who do not assume (stereotypical) queerness in how they look or present are often given the same kinds of advice as Tara was. The emphasis lies in bringing her back into the heterosexual fold with the assumption that she is simply just a little bit confused.
On the flip side, if a girl so much as “seems” queer based on arbitrary things like her haircut, clothing, etc. she is targeted by school administrations and teachers. Bullying and punishments are meted out to girls who do not conform to the standards of femininity and heteronormativity.
In 2019, the Delhi office of UNESCO published a study titled Be a buddy, not a bully: experiences of sexual and gender minority youth in Tamil Nadu schools which researched the bullying faced by students on the basis of their perceived or actual sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression (SOGIE). The ramifications of the bullying and attitudes towards queer students often mould the shape of their careers and lives.
In this study alone, participants attested to having a lower interest in academics, or discontinued education, or performed poorly as a direct result of the bullying. Other consequences included alienation and reduced social interaction with peers (73%), and suffering from depression and anxiety (70%).
Queer women are more likely to be subject to violence, harassment, and bullying. Not only do they have to contend with the violence that women face, but also with violence directed to queerness.
It is not a surprise, therefore, that queer women often make educational choices and decisions informed by their queerness. The possibility of harassment and abuse, institutional discrimination, coupled with a weak (and sometimes non-existent) support system lead queer students to navigate their education through their sexual or gender identities. Thus, safety within educational spaces is the biggest concern among queer women.
Ashleel, a genderqueer individual assigned female at birth, attended an all-girls school. They say, “When you’re queer, you have to navigate spaces in order to stay out of danger for your life and from being out, and also, to avoid any discrimination and bigotry because in India there’s still a lot of work to be done.
Most queer people would lose financial stability and a home to live in if they’re outed. Including me. This is why I’ve always considered the prospect of studying in Western countries where queerphobia is lesser. But most importantly, my queer identity won’t have to stay hidden. I won’t have to constantly live under the fear of being outed.”
Ritu*, a 21-year-old bisexual student, says that they actively seek out educational spaces which are relatively safer. “I look for institutions where queer language is not entirely foreign. Since we live in a heteronormative world, I find it easier to find people to connect within such spaces and am more likely to establish a trusted circle, which makes me feel safe.”
Similarly, for transgender women, where and what to study stems from how they will be received within those spaces.
Tara*, a trans-woman and student of Literature says, “My educational choices are single-handedly driven by my gender and sexual identity.”
When Tara was younger, she was advised by her psychiatrist to avoid all-male spaces and to choose subjects in the Arts or Humanities instead of the Sciences.
Tara believes that her decision to pursue literature has been driven by her desire to remove herself from predominantly male areas like Engineering or Medicine. Her experience with cis-gendered men have left her feeling unsafe and apprehensive about such fields, and she wonders if her choice in the subject would have been different if she did not feel the need to condition herself in this line of thinking.
*names have been changed on request of anonymity
Featured image is for representational purposes only.
The author is a Kaksha Correspondent as a part of writers’ training program under Kaksha Crisis.