For a longtime, Indian law has been hostile to the queer community. For a longtime, we have lived in a highly homophobic society which refused to even believe that something like this actually exists. In the past few decades, the queer community suffered extreme discrimination and backlash for accepting their true identity. To enjoy a respectable status in society, they had to wear the mask of being straight and normal. Things got even worse when Section 377 was legalised. Not just there was no law to protect their interest, the acceptance of their reality became an offence. Over time, LGBTQ became the most vulnerable section of the society. There was no one to stand up and speak for their rights. In 1996, when Deepa Mehta’s Fire depicted love between two women, it met with violent protests from the workers of Shiv Sena. People even burned down the theatres in which it was being screened. A protestor was quoted as saying, "If women's physical needs get fulfilled through lesbian acts, the institution of marriage will collapse, reproduction of human beings will stop.” Apparently, people felt that the presence of gays and lesbians would threaten the normality of the society. They even consider homosexuality as something which angers God as it is believed to disrupt the cycle of procreation. In reality, however, homosexuality seems more like the nature’s way of regulating population growth.

But then, as time passed and we progressed a little, a slow change started taking place. When Chief Justice Deepak Misra stunned the nation with his remarkable judgement and decriminalised Section 377, people began realising that they can be true to their self. For the first time, the air of their country was not suffocating. However, while the decriminalisation of the act allowed a lot of people to come out of the masks they had been wearing, their acceptance is still a far away dream. Our society gives little space to those who are different. The court allowed people to come out of their garb but it cannot guarantee their acceptance by the society. Recently when sprinter Dutee Chand opened up about being a lesbian, she was outrightly rejected by her family and received blackmailing threats from her coach. Its true that decriminalising Section 377 has made us more aware about queer identity but for coming out, one still needs to muster enough courage to survive through all the backlash from society.

Most often, being different is not an option. The fear of being ridiculed by the society forced people to paste a straight personality on their faces. In most cases, the pressure of being normal comes from within the family itself. When parents come to identify their child as a queer, they assume it to be a disease or disorder which can be cured with medicines. This unwillingness to accept their child’s sexuality arise because of the societal pressures. The “log kya kahenge” factor plays a big role here. The respect you’ve earned in years gets tainted in minutes if a member of your family recognises himself/herself as a queer. The acceptance of homosexuals is a major issue in educational institutions and workplaces as well. People who are open about their sexuality become easy targets of bully. So, in order to avoid public humiliation, many people prefer to conceal their identity. Recently, a story from Humans of Bombay revealed the level of homophobia present in the medical field. “When I started working as a doctor, my colleagues found it difficult to accept my unconventional appearance. Someone had a problem with my coloured hair too. But what they didn’t say loud was that their real problem was with the fact that I’m gay.”, it said. Even some of the medical textbooks treat homosexuality as a form of mental illness which can be cured through counselling and medicines.

It is peculiar and disappointing at the same time that even our cinema has been largely indifferent to the queer community. The number of films that have been produced on the subject are not even worth a count. In most mainstream films of the 2000s era, gays were treated as an element of humour and farce. We had films like Dostana which literally made fun of having a gay identity.

Decriminalisation of the act however brought a drastic change in cinematic depiction of gays and lesbians. We have witnessed a massive boom in the number of films and series being made on same sex relationships. The best part here is that this kind of content is getting favourable response from the viewers. When films and series celebrating queer pride are consumed largely by the audience, it seems that we are progressing towards a society that is more free and inclusive.

The acceptance is still a slow process and it will take time. A change in a law cannot bring an instant change in people’s mentality. Till then, it is better to surround yourself with people who respect your identity. If you cannot be accommodating then at least be kind.