All the single ladies, put your hands up...

Last week, the Hindu organization, Sri Ram Sena, attacked several women at a bar for drinking and dancing with men. Television crews caught women being shoved to the ground and others running away from the Sena. Fortunately no one was severely injured and ten men involved were arrested (yet soon after released on bail.)

The Sri Ram Sena is a relatively unknown group in India. They see themselves as crusaders, aiming to protect Indian values from Western temptations. In other words -- the Westboro Baptist Church of the subcontinent. The Sena defended their brash actions, stating that "[the] group was stepping in to enforce morality because the government had failed." While Indian officials have denounced the attacks, it did not stop many placing judgement on "modern" Indian women.

But it nice to see that Indian women not taking these attacks lying down, rather they have created the Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women. The consortia is currently organizing a drive to send pink chaddis to the Sena for Valentine's Day. They have published a 3 Step guide showing how we can send a message to these zealots via adorable underwear.

V-Day is just around the corner -- dig out those pink granny panties you mom used to buy for you and send them over!

Reincarnation key to homosexuality!

According to Jay Lakhani from the Vivekananda Centre, Hinduism provides a simple answer to homosexuality- reincarnation! For example, a male transmigrating into a female's body in his next life = lesbian! So all gay men think like women and all gay women think like men.



Part of me is just happy that we are accepted as a part of Hindu society. But then, is this oversimplification the right way to go about it?

Weekly Mix Masala

List of religions & their positions on homosexuality (doesn't include Sikhism though!)
SignOnSanDiego.com

Another list - this one an English language South Asian LGBT bibliography
Columbia University

"Homosexuals seek social networking sites support"...whoa oh oh! We were totally the first on this trend - check us out on facebook
Zee News

Tale of an Indian Lesbian (fiction)
SAMAR Magazine

There are 9 countries that have the maximum death sentence for same-sex relations; Pakistan and Iran are 2 of them. There are 10 countries that have the maximum sentence for life imprisonment for same-sex relations; India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, and Nepal (hopefully that will change soon) are 4 of them - the other 6 have large South Asian populations.
Pink News

Scroll down to watch the documentary Voices from Nepal, where Scott Long of HRC records stories of LGBT people working for change in Nepal
In The Life

Kinda like the pharmacists who refuse to give birth control, a registrar in UK refuses to conduct civil partnerships
Islington Tribune

And Shiva replied " Oh, oh uh uh .. no no no no."

When Rupal Met Allison

In an almost real life version of When Kiran Met Karen, Rupal Bhatt and Allison Park became two legally married lesbians in Massachusetts in 2006. Both, however, were from New England rather than different ends of the world. Says Rupal, "When I first met Allison...I remember thinking she wasn’t that great." They met again at a friend's party and lo and behold, four years later Rupal and Allison pledged to be partners for life.

Each spouse had different approaches to the marriage ceremony: Rupal wanted a traditional Hindu ceremony whereas Allison, being an atheist, wanted to avoid having any presiding minister or priest. In the end they created a new twist on the marriage ceremony - they changed the seven circles around the fire by alternating laps rather than having the wife only lead the last round, while Allison's mother read passages from the Bible. The alternating laps marked their mutual and equal participation in their marriage. The first six circles are traditionally lead by the male, representing the wife's devotion and obedience to the husband. Traditional straight couples could gain to learn a thing or two about relationships from this Hindu lesbian and atheist mix.

The two were recently featured in India New England, as part of a piece studying four couples.

India New England

The Pregnant King

Finally! The queerness that saturates Hindu mythology is given center-stage, instead of being miserably repressed into the background. The Pregnant King, a perfect title for such a gender-bending book, is by Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik and it focuses on certain stories of the Mahabharata. Easy to relate to in today’s queer world (note: a pinch of imagination needed as well!), are stories of machismo warriors being castrated, FTM able to father children with borrowed penises, and of course, a king that’s preggers!

Now, as a medical student, I am forced to go off on this tangent. How possible is male pregnancy? Surprisingly, it is theoretically achievable (warning: science babble ahead). With in vitro fertilization, the zygote may be transplanted ectopically (outside of the uterus), and can attach onto abdominal organs like the liver or colon. The zygote, not only develops into the fetus, but is also the source of part of the placenta, which nourishes the fetus; thus the placenta is able to grow in the abdomen as well. So, fetuses should be able to grow in males, right? Well, easier said than done. The right hormones need to be thrown into the mix, the male’s body needs to be able to adapt to the extra strain, and, don’t forget, guys don’t have a vagina – the baby would have to be caesarean sectioned!

OK, in summary: Check out the book. And don’t be too surprised if you see some daddy-mommas in the future.