Shep Sgh: “I Want To Assure Other Young Queer Sikhs That One Could Be Gay and Sikh”

Contents:

• SHEP SGH: “I WANT TO ASSURE OTHER YOUNG QUEER SIKHS THAT ONE COULD BE GAY AND SIKH”
• 'I WAS ASHAMED TO E OUT AS A GAY SIKH - BUT I'VE BEEN SHOWERED WH LOVE BY MY MUNY'JASVIR SGH IS A VOUT SIKH AND MARRIED TO A MAN - HE WANTS TO ENURAGE OTHERS TO BE PROUD OF WHO THEY AREBIRMGHAMMAILBOOKMARKSHARECOMMENTSNEWSBYNATHAN CLARKECOMMUNY REPORTER09:53, 24 FEB 2023UPDATED09:21, 27 FEB 2023BOOKMARKJASVIR SGH AND HIS PARTNER NICK GOT MARRIED LAST YEAR. (IMAGE: JASVIR SGH)LATT NEWS OM SIKH MUNI ACROSS THE UK OM LIFTYLE TO BREAKG NEWSMORE NEWSLETTERS SUBSCRIBEINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.MORE NEWSLETTERSWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!WE HAVE MORE NEWSLETTERSSHOW ME SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE&TIM;GROUP 28 LATT NEWS OM SIKH MUNI ACROSS THE UK OM LIFTYLE TO BREAKG NEWSINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.SIGN UPNO THANKS, CLOSEWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE &TIM;GROUP 28THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!
• GAY SIKH
• A GAY MAN’S STGGLE FOR ACCEPTANCE THE SIKH MUNY
• HOW I LEARNED TO HAVE PRI BOTH MY SIKH AND GAY INTY
• BEG SIKH, GAY AND GROWG UP NEW YORK

SHEP SGH: “I WANT TO ASSURE OTHER YOUNG QUEER SIKHS THAT ONE COULD BE GAY AND SIKH”

Unfortunately for you and our other LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr) brothers and sisters, you are born to one of the most hetero-male domated culture ever.

If this is the se for hetrosexuals, then one n jt image how difficult mt be to date as a homosexual an already extremely small muny.

It is also a fah where, for a long time, no large-sle discsns around the topic of homosexualy have taken place wh the muny (for good or bad). But as I started unrstandg my sexualy more, beme part of var onle queer groups and muni, and joed some of the gay datg webs, I started yearng to see gay men who looked like me – wh a turban and beard.

'I WAS ASHAMED TO E OUT AS A GAY SIKH - BUT I'VE BEEN SHOWERED WH LOVE BY MY MUNY'JASVIR SGH IS A VOUT SIKH AND MARRIED TO A MAN - HE WANTS TO ENURAGE OTHERS TO BE PROUD OF WHO THEY AREBIRMGHAMMAILBOOKMARKSHARECOMMENTSNEWSBYNATHAN CLARKECOMMUNY REPORTER09:53, 24 FEB 2023UPDATED09:21, 27 FEB 2023BOOKMARKJASVIR SGH AND HIS PARTNER NICK GOT MARRIED LAST YEAR. (IMAGE: JASVIR SGH)LATT NEWS OM SIKH MUNI ACROSS THE UK OM LIFTYLE TO BREAKG NEWSMORE NEWSLETTERS SUBSCRIBEINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.MORE NEWSLETTERSWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!WE HAVE MORE NEWSLETTERSSHOW ME SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE&TIM;GROUP 28 LATT NEWS OM SIKH MUNI ACROSS THE UK OM LIFTYLE TO BREAKG NEWSINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.SIGN UPNO THANKS, CLOSEWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE &TIM;GROUP 28THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!

Instead of the clean-shaved look that most gay men seemed to have and prefer, my turban and facial hair (along wh the texts the datg s) sowed a doubt my md that no one would ever want to date me, g to a lot of body-image issu that took a while to go. ” Generatg a lot of discsn some Sikh foms onle, I felt empowered to eventually follow up wh an article challengg the homophobia shown by SGPC (the body regulatg Gudwaras India). “At the Delhi Queer Pri 2017, I amplified the msage around my tersectnal inty when along wh the rabow turban, I rried a poster by the group Sarbat that read 'Some Sikhs are gay.

For a fah which has always advoted equaly and stood up for the opprsed, but where s texts are silent on the issue of homosexualy, we need to open up nversatns wh the Sikh fah to safeguard s re and ensure that we do not let homophobia w. He ntributed the chapter on Sikhism and homosexualy the book I Am Dive So Are You about Karmic fahs and sexualy and has pleted a documentary on LGBT Sikhs, Sab Rab De Ban (We Are All God’s Children).

From them I have received ath threats for beg gay, I have been acced on a TV statn of beg an fil and I have even had dividuals ll me up and threaten to expose me. "Jasvir says that the Sikh relign which he grew up wh his fay, was very foced on a central te of equaly, and says he has never felt his fah to be nflict wh his homosexualy. Though many Sikhs see thgs differently, Jasvir says he never saw any nflict the relign's teachgs and scripture between his fah and his sexual Gu Granth Sahib, the re Sikh relig text, do not refer to homosexualy at all, but do make mentn of hbands and wiv.

GAY SIKH

This has allowed Sikhs on different sis of the bate to pot to scripture as backg up their own posn on homosexualy and on same-sex unns. "Sadly I know gay Sikhs who have given up their fah, or who feel their only optn was to cut their hair, and to bee ls fahful, or jt foc on their ner fah rather than spend time at the gurdwara.

A GAY MAN’S STGGLE FOR ACCEPTANCE THE SIKH MUNY

I'm not gog to waver om my fah but I'm also not gog to be ashamed of my sexualy, " Jasvir of Jasvir's reason for speakg out is also bee he says he had never had gay Sikh role mols, particularly upl and those who nsired themselv to be relig. "When that weddg vio was leaked and malicly spread around social media, was the way one of my elrly relativ found out I was gay, " he says. However, no one has a license om the Gu to jtify their own personal habs, behavur or liftyle that is not advoted by the Sikh relign wh the label of Sikhi, whether straight or gay.

Sri Gu Granth Sahib Ji and other Sikh scriptur like Bhai Gurdaas Ji’s Bani (holy wrgs) do not enterta the possibily of a homosexual marriage or relatnships. In addn to this, there has been no promotn or even a reference to homosexual relatnships and marriag the history of Ten Gus perd or beyond till prent day.

HOW I LEARNED TO HAVE PRI BOTH MY SIKH AND GAY INTY

For someone to jtify or promote homosexualy based on the absence of homosexualy or the reference to Sikh scriptur and Sikh history om the tim of the Sikh Gus till morn tim would be dishont and manipulatn of the tth. However, any relatnship before or outsi wedlock, irrptive of whether is a heterosexual or homosexual relatnship, is clearly forbidn Sri Gu Granth Sahib Ji and the Sikh Co of Conduct rerd historil texts and mancripts, as well as the morn-day 'Sikh Rehat Maryada' document that is ed an official reference pot for Sikh relig by Sri Akal Takhat Sahib, the Sikh Supreme Authory Amrsar. The qutn then is, if homosexual relatnships are ‘natural’ and should be accepted as a fundamental part of the self, then why all of a sudn would people mand that Sikhs should support and allow same-sex marriag when this practice has not been spoken of, advoted nor practised over 500 years of Sikh history?

Eher homosexualy existed Punjab, the land where the Sikh fah was revealed and flourished, 500 years ago but not promoted, and therefore, no reference to s promotn Sikh sacred texts and relig . Pro-homosexualy activists seekg to jtify their personal liftyle preference wh the seal of approval of Sikhi, stretch the Sikh Gus’ teachg of nsirg all humany as one and treatg all wh rpect, wh advotg homosexualy.

If someone was to e the Sikh ncept of universal brotherhood or fayhood to jtify gay relatnships and gay marriag om a Sikh perspective, would be like g universal brotherhood to jtify the crim of crimals, or social wrongs of people society? How n the zealot gay activists force acceptance of homosexualy on the Sikh fah unr the ransom of otherwise claimg Sikhs are tyrants better words for not? A Sikh may not agree wh homosexual’s liftyle or behavur but we uld also on a personal level not agree wh the liftyl of 95% of humany who love to drk, and others smoke, etc.

BEG SIKH, GAY AND GROWG UP NEW YORK

It seems that “homophobia” is brand around for the nvenience of the lik of such activists who wish to jtify their personal liftyle and beliefs unr the label of the Sikh fah, rather than as their own dividual eedom of choice, which no Sikh would terfere wh. Although Sikhi do not fd homosexual behavur acceptable, Sikhi do not “hate” or believe that homosexuals are damned to hell as propagated by some religns.