For Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, and Queer Pri Month, Dennis Zotigh, a cultural specialist at the Natnal Mm of the Amerin Indian, ved Native iends to tell how their tradnal culture saw s LGBTQ members. A Chirihua Apache iend replied, “Now, Dennis, this is a human qutn, not [jt] Native.” We agree. But we also appreciate hearg what Native Amerins have learned, renstcted, or been unable to renstct about this part of our shared history and experience.
Contents:
- INDIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE ENDURED YEARS OF TORTURO NVERSN THERAPY. NOW, HE'S FIGHTG TO MAKE THE PRACTICE ILLEGAL.
- GAY INDIAN-AMERIN TO BEE TOP LGBTQ+ WHE HOE STAFFER
- GAY IMAGES; INED, INCLU INDIAN CHIEFS
INDIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE ENDURED YEARS OF TORTURO NVERSN THERAPY. NOW, HE'S FIGHTG TO MAKE THE PRACTICE ILLEGAL.
Army Chief General Bip Rawat has led out cln of gay soldiers ary, sayg Indian Army is not “wternised”, and was “nservative” . * gay indian chief *
In 2006, Prce Manvendra Sgh Gohil me out to a lol newspaper, beg India's first openly gay prce. Prce Manvendra Sgh Gohil, the 39th direct scendant of India's Gohil Raut dynasty, knew he was gay at age 12. But he uld only live his tth three s publicly me out an terview to a lol newspaper 2006, beg the first openly gay royal the untry.
He was 41 at the 2018, homosexualy was illegal India, punishable unr Sectn 377, a lonial-era dranian law that mand up to life imprisonment for anyone mtg sexual acts "agast the orr of nature. He turned the palace grounds he was once thrown out of to a shelter for the LGBTQ+ had expected the homophobic uproar.
The society he grew up around was strongly nserative, and the untry he grew up didn't legally regnize gay rights.
GAY INDIAN-AMERIN TO BEE TOP LGBTQ+ WHE HOE STAFFER
* gay indian chief *
Many around him believed that homosexualy was a mental disorr. Much of his advocy for LGBTQ+ rights ntu to primarily revolve around cimatg the stigma around homosexualy. In 2018, the year that the Supreme Court crimalized homosexualy a landmark lg, Gohil opened up a 15-acre palace grounds to build a shelter for vulnerable members of the muny.
"They thought was impossible that I uld be gay bee my cultural upbrgg had been so rich. Gtam Raghavan, a gay Indian-Amerin, will be the hight-rankg out member of the Whe Hoe staff when he advanc to director of the Office of Printial Personnel.
In 2017, when he told his parents he was gay, their illn of him as the perfect son shattered.
GAY IMAGES; INED, INCLU INDIAN CHIEFS
Unlike Sourav, who nfintly asserts himself as a gay man spe the phback om his loved on, back the 1980s and 1990s, I had no termology to scribe what I was.
There was emotnal blackmail, cludg beg blamed for his mother’s illns; beg taken by his parents to nsult a homophobic nropsychiatrist who diagnosed him wh a “sexual disorr”, prcribed meditn for and remend unsellg to rrect his ways; and opprsive parental surveillance, aid by the lack of privacy their two-room home. To his horror, she told him that he was “not normal”, followed by advice monly given to young gay men: bee more “mascule”. He believ that if his father had not been homophobic, his mother would have e around by now.