A Gender and Sexuality Magazine
“All times I have enjoyed Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when Through scudding drifts the rainy Hyades Vext the dim sea. I am become a name…” Ulysses, Alfred Lord Tennyson Now is a time for celebration, the world looks to a supposedly reified ‘queer’…
This is a column recommending queer content of different types. Book: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller A grand, sweeping reimagination of Homer’s Illiad, The Song of Achilles comprises an intense gay relationship between beloved Greek hero Achilles and his close companion Patroclus. Madeline Miller takes implicitly queer happenings in Ancient Greece and makes…
September 6, 2018 will be remembered as a watershed day in history of LGBTQIA movements in India. On this day, the Supreme Court of India decriminalised consensual homosexual sex. A five-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court ruled that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code violates the fundamental rights of the LGBTQIA citizens including…
Is the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA) amenable to a queer interpretation, that allows us to bring within its scope, marriage between two Hindus of the same sex? In the last issue of Maya, Sahil Bansal has argued that such a thing is possible, by showing how Hindu religious and cultural traditions have always accommodated…
Every year on spring, thousands of hijras from across the country gather in a celebration in Koovagam. It is one of the largest celebration of the hijra community held in Koovagam,a small hamlet located 30 kilometres away from the Villupuram disctrict in Tamilnadu. The ceremony takes place on a full moon day in Chittirai (the…
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a list of all bona fide Indian citizens. It was first prepared after the Census of 1951. In 1978, a by-election was conducted in Assam after the death of an MLA. During the election, observers noticed that the number of registered voters had grown dramatically. Thus a long-drawn…
The future of the LGBT community in Honk Kong has recently been provided with a huge boost ever since the judgment of W v. Registrar of Marriages [2013] HKCFA 39 has been delivered by the Court of Final Appeal on 13th May 2013. The Court of Final Appeal found that the decision given by the…
[This artwork was contributed under the pen name Moony.]
There are numerous criteria for judging a character which we come across in books, TV shows, movies and other popular media platforms. We look for characters who are relatable and memorable with adequate character development, yet none of these traits should seem forced. It must be genuine for us to appreciate it. However, when you…
A magnifying glass is also known as bi-convex lens which is a combination of two convex lenses. From an unusual distance, the image formed through the glasses appears inverted but at a distance close to eye, the image formed through it emerges larger than the usual size. Same concept applied to the society, when we…
The film Fandry, directed by Nagraj Manjule is a Marathi film surrounding the themes of repression, caste and sexuality. Several subversive and implicit themes in the film enrich this story of unrequited love from a lower-caste boy Jabya towards an upper-caste girl Shalu, in the Maharashtrain village of Akolner. The film relies heavily on symbolism…
The universe as a whole, is but an ocean of immortality, with various gems and priceless stones, floating in the cosmos defying gravity. Our planet amongst the crores, is another renowned yet claimed shore, which is a consortium, of creatures, dust, marine, magic, and more. But then came divide, to save the pseudo honour…
The queer movement in India has sparked nationwide debates all over the country. The battle against Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code has been won, however the war against the heteronormative structure of the society still continues. The Hindu mythology is a proof that alternative sexual orientation did find a place in the society….
Homosexuality is no new ‘concept’ to India, however, it still remains a taboo, trapped behind the bars of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The draconian law, implemented by the colonial British government and embraced by the post-colonial India, still enjoys its perks of terrorizing, bullying, mistreating and discriminating against the LGBTQ+…
Transgender individuals occupy the traffic signals and junctions largely in urban areas. Yet, invisible visibility continues to haunt them. When met with non-conforming gender identities the immediate reaction of any community is that of panic. Non-conformist sexual orientation is mocked and transgender people often find themselves at the receiving end of disproportionate ridicule from the…
This piece depicts child sexual abuse questioning whether the death sentence would really curb the crime, or it’s an easy way to distract from the actual problem? The work is on canvas with use bold acrylic brush strokes. This artwork was contributed by Divyanshi Singh. Divyanshi is an LLM graduate who loves to express through…
Authored by a collective of self-proclaimed black feminist lesbians, ‘The Combahee River Collective Statement’ is a manifesto that addresses the issues of those at the bottom of the hierarchical power structure in a society, homosexual black woman. They are subject to simultaneous and interlocking oppression due to their membership in several oppressed social groups such…
If I was the “other” is a piece I am supposed to write. But what is the other, what is it that makes them the “other”, why is there a need for there to be an “us versus the other”? Why can’t we all be just us, just humans? This world is a place where…