ThoughtStains

A recent article in The Hindu shed light on the gay pride and tolerance parade held in Jerusalem, which Hamas referred to as “the parade of perverts.” Jerusalem, a country deeply rooted in various religious ideologies, hosted the parade. LGBTQIA+ was a largely alien concept to the people of the country a few years ago. The digital era has created a space for them to represent themselves and draw out their presence, challenging the orthodox constraints prevalent across the country. Media plays a crucial role in shaping our perceptions, broadening our worldviews, promoting inclusivity, and influencing different aspects of our lives. Despite a long-standing legacy of discrimination and criminalization against queer individuals, humankind has successfully transformed the narrative, leading to the creation of a significantly more inclusive world for everyone to inhabit. We have witnessed a significant change in the way we view LGBTQIA+ individuals in the past few decades. The inception of s...

Text and subtext, though alluding to literature, are important parts of every form of media. One of the most frequent complaints that you hear from people with a higher-than-average interest in dissecting media is that most people consume and interpret art at face value, often neglecting subtext. The call for better media literacy by said people is understandable then, when some critics laud Squid Game as a competent critique of “communism” in North Korea, while it shows the ramifications of hyper-capitalism in South Korea. A faucet of subtext is coding characters with traits that might be marginalized in society, without explicitly confirming that the character belongs to the marginalized group. Coding comes in all shapes and sizes. Inanimate objects can be coded to be feminine or masculine, animals can be coded to belong to a certain race ( looking at you Dumbo! ), and yes even “straight” characters can be coded to be queer. Queer coding has been going on in literature for ages. A lo...

Media has been our best friend and our worst enemy at the same time. We, as a generation, are known for living in a ‘media-influenced’ world, where there are new trends every other day, sprouting controversies in their way. But, what could stir up more controversy than a group of audacious individuals shaking up age-old views on sexuality and relationships, leaving traditionalists in quite a frenzy? Whether through the magic of cinema or the pages of comics, we have all encountered LGBTQ+ stories, offering us a glimpse into the rich tapestry of human experiences. Like humor in moments of serious narration, LGBTQ+ themes have consistently found their way into our cinematic encounters, making a lasting impression each time. And being a huge Bollywood fanatic, the first thing that comes to my mind when I talk about a ‘gay-comedy’ is none other than the 2008 movie, Dostana. The plot is pretty simple, two men have to pretend to be gay to share an apartment with a woman. But not 10 minutes i...

The idea of a “gay gene” contributing to the sexual orientation of a person was first conceptualised in the year 1993. Dean Hamer, an American geneticist from New Jersey, proposed that a correlation existed between the polymorphic marker xq28 and male homosexuality. His research group’s first paper, published in Science in 1993, reported that maternal, not paternal male relatives of gay men had increased rates of same-sex orientation, suggesting the possibility of sex-linked transmission in a portion of the population. However, this claim was attested by many, including a study conducted on 52 gay male sibling pairs from Canadian families by Rice et al. The study directly contradicted Hamer’s work, claiming no such correlation exists; therefore, no X-linked gene was the underlying cause of male homosexuality. In 1993, Risch et al. suggested in a letter that a “major gene linked to homosexuality is unlikely due to selection pressures against survival”. A similar claim to that in Risch’s...

In a world where equality and inclusiveness are gaining traction, one subject remains ripe for transformation: STEM. The road for LGBTQ+ scientists is far from easy, as they traverse a field filled with prejudice, limited support, and systematic biases. Despite these obstacles, they continue to defy expectations and rewrite the rules. In this captivating exploration, we delve into the significance of LGBTQ+ visibility in the scientific realm, uncover the powerful impact of embracing one’s identity in the laboratory, shine a spotlight on influential LGBTQ+ role models and mentors, and advocate for a pressing need for broad representation. So, let us sail around the huge sea of STEM and take in the successes, hardships, and lessons that this community places on modern-day existence. Talking about this topic might sound easy to listen to, but we can never understand the hardship that people face just for opening up about their sexuality. Lisa Graumlich, for example, currently the Dean of ...

Discrimination: the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of ethnicity, age, sex, or disability. Throughout history, marginalized communities have endured persistent discrimination, leaving no facet of our lives untouched by the prejudice etched into people’s minds. Even in the revered realm of STEM, where talent should be celebrated above all else, discrimination persists, much to our shared disappointment. Among those who have borne the weight of these unjust biases, the LGBTQ+ community stands strong. Shirley Malcom’s words have stood the test of time, remaining both timeless and prescient for the past four decades. Her powerful statement resonates deeply: “The field of science and technology suffers a great loss whenever talent is disregarded due to personal attributes that bear no relevance to one’s ability as a scientist or engineer.” Throughout history, queer individuals pursuing careers in these fields have encountered a mu...

Throughout history, literature from various cultures has depicted and explored diverse expressions of love, desire, and relationships, including those within the LGBTQ+ community. From ancient Mesopotamia to contemporary times, the representation of LGBTQ+ characters and themes has evolved, contributing to a better understanding and acceptance of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. The earliest speculated mention of queerness in literature dates back over 5,000 years to Mesopotamia. In the Almanac of Incantations, an ancient Mesopotamian text, there is a prayer for the well-being of same-sex couples, specifically male partners. While there are no conclusive records regarding relationships between two women during that time, the Code of Hammurabi references the term “Salzikrum,” believed to refer to lesbians. Both ancient Greek and Roman literature displayed a more accepting attitude towards same-sex relationships. In these societies, there was no significant social or cl...

Within the vast tapestry of human experiences lies a mirror reflecting upon our collective journey: literature. Throughout history, literature has served as a powerful medium for expressing communities’ thoughts, amplifying their voices, and affecting societal change. From challenging untouchability practices through local newspaper columns to using the written word to support the struggle against racism faced by ‘The Blacks’ in the West, literature has long been an avenue for driving transformative shifts. In recent years, the LGBTQ+ community has emerged with resilience, courageously fighting for their rights and advocating for their choices in the public sphere. This movement has spurred a significant transformation in the realm of literary arts, previously dominated by narratives featuring heterosexual characters. “ The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say. ” – Anaïs Nin In recent years, the field of literature has spread its wings in ac...