‘The kg and his hband’: The gay history of Brish royals - The Washgton Post

Contents:

• 5 GAY BRISH KGS AND QUEENS OM HISTORY
• ‘INDIA HAS ALWAYS BEEN QUEER AF – WE EVEN HAVE A GAY TAJ MAHAL’
• IN INDIA, A GAY PRCE’S COMG OUT EARNS ACLAS, AND ENEMI
• INDIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE ENDURED YEARS OF TORTURO NVERSN THERAPY. NOW, HE'S FIGHTG TO MAKE THE PRACTICE ILLEGAL.
• ‘THE KG AND HIS HBAND’: THE GAY HISTORY OF BRISH ROYALS
• IN INDIA, A GAY PRCE’S COMG OUT EARNS ACLAS, AND ENEMI
• INDIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE ENDURED YEARS OF TORTURO NVERSN THERAPY. NOW, HE'S FIGHTG TO MAKE THE PRACTICE ILLEGAL.
• ‘THE KG AND HIS HBAND’: THE GAY HISTORY OF BRISH ROYALS

5 GAY BRISH KGS AND QUEENS OM HISTORY

By Prabhash K Dutta, India Today Web Dk: Ne years after the Delhi High Court crimalised homosexual acts among nsentg adults by readg down Sectn 377 of the Indian Penal Co (IPC), the Supreme Court today began hearg the matter. Implemented 1860 by the Brish lonial lers, Sectn 377 puts homosexualy unr unnatural offenc providg for sentence up to life imprisonment.

A bunch of petns challenged the wordgs Sectn 377, "whoever voluntarily has rnal terurse agast the orr of nature wh any man, woman or animal" sayg vlated the rights of a sectn of society reprented by lbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenrs (LGBT). The Delhi High Court on July 2, 2009 pronounced a judgment makg voluntary homosexual act between adults as legal. Homosexualy ancient India: 10 potsIn the templ of Khajuraho, there are imag of women erotilly embracg other women and men displayg their genals to each other.

Scholars have generally explaed this as an acknowledgement that people engaged homosexual acts. The famo law , Manmri provis for punishment to homosexual men and women. In the se of homosexual mal, Manmri says that sexual unn between wh two men brgs loss of ste.

‘INDIA HAS ALWAYS BEEN QUEER AF – WE EVEN HAVE A GAY TAJ MAHAL’

The nth chapter of the Kamasutra of Vatsyayana -- posed around 4th century BC, talks about oral sexual acts (Auparistaka), homosexualy and also of siar activi among transgenrs (triya prakri). The book, however, do not favour homosexualy of any kd. Arthashastra of Ktilya -- a treatise on polics -- also mentns homosexualy.

But the book mak a duty of the kg to punish those dulgg homosexualy and expects the ler to fight agast the "social evil". Ancient Indian texts, scriptns and patgs on temple walls, clearly, don't approve of homosexualy, but the repeated referenc do acknowledge s existence those days. Even though some societi embraced homosexualy, most refed to accept a gay monarch.

IN INDIA, A GAY PRCE’S COMG OUT EARNS ACLAS, AND ENEMI

But before we talk about LGBTQ+ kgs and queens, let's start wh the history of sexual terms heterosexual and homosexual didn't exist until the 1860s.

To others, though, Richard I is a gay in. But while the Netherlands, which 2001 beme the first untry to legalize gay marriage, has paved the wave for a queer royal to officially wear the crown, LGBTQ people have long been dog so unofficially.

(The term “cut sleeve” remaed a Che phemism for male homosexualy for centuri. The liph’s sexualy has been the source of some bate: Acrdg to the French medievalist Évariste Lévi-Provençal, the phrase “hubb al-walad, ” found 16th-century historian Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari’s pendium "Nafh at-Tib" reference to Al-Hakam II, translat as a “preference for boys, ” though other scholars mata refers to paternal Medieval Europe scholar Francis Prado-Vilar wrote that knowledge of Al-Hakam’s homosexualy the urt of Córdoba “enuraged the ambns of the factns gathered around his much younger brother, Prce al-Mughira.

INDIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE ENDURED YEARS OF TORTURO NVERSN THERAPY. NOW, HE'S FIGHTG TO MAKE THE PRACTICE ILLEGAL.

”“In his youth his lov seem to have been entirely homosexual, ” queer studi scholar Louis Crompton wrote “Male Love and Islamic Law Arab Spa. Young as “​​the most proment homosexual figure the early morn perd. )“To the shock of many urtiers, the pair were monstratively affectnate to each other public, spe Jam’ var proclamatns agast homosexualy, ” Daniel Smh wrote “Love Letters of Kgs and Queens.

Frerick the Great of Pssia (1712 - 1786)Even his lifetime, this Pssian royal was wily mored to be a homosexual, though that term wouldn’t be ed till nearly 90 years after his years after the kg’s ath, his physician Johann Ge Rter von Zimmermann published a book which he sperately tried to dispel gossip Frerick had a “Grecian taste love. And rather than let that secret out, Frerick pretend to be gay, “so that he would ntue to appear virile and pable of sexual terurse, albe wh men.

But he did ltle to obscure his sexualy: Sanssouci, his palace Potsdam, was filled wh homoerotic art and, across Europe, “l Potsdamists” beme slang for kg allegedly pursued the Veian philosopher Franc Algarotti and even famed French philosopher Voltaire, who lived wh him at Sanssouci, though ’s not certa if eher relatnship was Voltaire’s ath 1778, a mancript of his memoir tailg Frerick’s homosexual tennci tail was stolen and published the Netherlands. ”The archde spent the rt of his life secln at Klsheim Palace near Salzburg, where he died at the age of 76 1919, three years after his brother’s ath and one year after the Atro-Hungarian Empire was dissolved after the end of World War II of Buganda (1868 - 1903)Discsn of Uganda’s treatment of homosexualy ually settl on Print Yoweri Meveni’s “Kill the Gays” bill, but this 19th century kabaka, or kg, of Buganda allegedly had sexual relatnships wh men along wh his 16 1886, Mwanga II orred the btal torture and aths of dozens of urtiers and pag, wh many burned alive. “I hear there was homosexualy Mwanga’s palace, ” Meveni told a crowd of thoands on Martyr Day 2010, the Atlantic reported.

‘THE KG AND HIS HBAND’: THE GAY HISTORY OF BRISH ROYALS

This article is Part I of a three-part article seri that will discs the history of homosexualy India pre-lonial and lonial tim and the crimalisatn of Sectn 377. But many oppose homosexualy based on the reasong that subscrib to wtern tennci. Deepanshi Mehrotra, this article, as part of this seri, will bunk the ‘wtern ialogy’ argument, unterg through lerary and graphic evince of homosexualy visible across India’s monuments and Deepanshi Mehrotra, a law graduate om Symbsis Law School Pune, Maharashtra.

IntroductnIn September 2018, the Supreme Court of India crimalised homosexualy.

IN INDIA, A GAY PRCE’S COMG OUT EARNS ACLAS, AND ENEMI

They believe that this judgment took India back to s roots, where love was celebrated and accepted all s Brishers proscribed nsensual ‘homosexual nduct’ by troducg Sectn 377 the Indian Penal Co 1861. However, crimalisg homosexualy reflected European moraly based on relig beliefs (primarily Christian beliefs) more than Indian stcts.

Gog by the relig texts and history, pre-lonial India seemed much more tolerant towards owng of the primary arguments agast homosexualy stat that fi Indian cultural valu and morals, termg unnatural. Therefore, is necsary to unrstand the history of homosexualy India and s prence Indian valu and culture. History of Homosexualy India: Speakg om Lerary EvinceHdu ScripturThe fluidy of genr, for humans and yakshas, is an acknowledged ncept ancient India.

INDIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE ENDURED YEARS OF TORTURO NVERSN THERAPY. NOW, HE'S FIGHTG TO MAKE THE PRACTICE ILLEGAL.

Followg are certa stanc accentuatg the prence of homosexualy and the acceptance of homoeroticism India. Chapter ne of Kamasutra by Vatsyayana discs oral sexual acts, termed Auparashtika, homosexualy and sexual activi among transgenr persons.

‘THE KG AND HIS HBAND’: THE GAY HISTORY OF BRISH ROYALS

For example, the term ‘gandharva vivah’ acknowledged gay marriage or lbian marriage. Regardls, prov the prence of homosexualy those LeratureThe founr of the Mughal Empire was not himself void of attractn towards the same sex. Certa Sufi poetri also exhib homoerotic or same-sex stance, Sufi Sat Bulleh Shah had pre-morn notns of sexualy and relign and portrayed them his wrgs.

Their remas several texts symbolise dive love that lasted beyond their Stavor, a Dutch traveller, wrote about male homosexualy among Mughals Bengal his Voyag to the East Indi. ”Graphic EvinceBis lerary evince, Indian history has abundant visual trac of homosexualy India. Scholars and historians have terpreted this as an acknowledgement of homosexualy and same-sex love those tim.

The patgs portray men and women engagg lovemakg wh the same visual rerds unter any and every belief associated wh the absence of homosexualy om the Indian culture.