Tracing a western concept of Lesbianism as resistance to patriarchy

Questions of sexuality and desire have been an essential part of feminist discourse in the contemporary feminist movement. Feminists worldwide have grappled with questions of gender identity, desire, agency, and sexuality — homosexuality, heterosexuality, asexuality, lesbianism, just to name a few. The shift in understanding human sexuality from a narrow biological and psychological phenomenon to including the role society and culture play has made the scholarship on sexuality more inclusive and representative. The anxiety surrounding women’s sexuality and desire lies at the core of the patriarchal structure. Women have always fought for fair representation in terms of — marriage, reproduction, adoption, property, voting rights, or any other fundamental right as human beings. The growing scholarship in the area of sexuality can be traced back to the beginning of the second wave of feminism which was also focused on the advocacy of LGBTQ+ and women’s liberation. (Jackson &Scott, 1996)

It is no hidden fact that the only form of sexuality that is ‘acceptable’ in society is heterosexuality. Heterosexuality is considered the norm, and anyone who does not identify with that is regarded as a ‘deviant’. The LGBTQ+ community is one of the most marginalised communities in the world. Moreover, they are today, fighting for fundamental rights for safeguarding simply their existence. Feminists have attempted to distinguish between the ideas of sex, gender, and sexuality at different points in time. While our perceptions of ourselves, our identity, and our sexuality are not simply based on anatomy, it is crucial to understand that the cultural or broader understanding of masculinity and femininity affects the dynamics of all kinds of relationships — homosexual or heterosexual. The gendered hierarchy between men and women affects how gays or lesbians are viewed in society. When one’s sexual identity intersects with other social divisions like religion, caste, and class, it accounts for variable lived experiences of women and others in different parts of the world. In this piece, I focus on lesbianism in the Indian context.

While drawing on material from secondary resources, my attempt is to understand and find a connection, if any, between lesbian identities, their experiences in a deeply patriarchal society such as India, and whether their identities are by themself a symbol of powerful resistance to a normative understanding of sexuality that is reinforced by the Indian society.

Background

From the late 18th and early 19th centuries, psychiatry, as a branch of medicine, focused on identifying and curing mental illnesses. During that time, any aspect of human behavior that did not model the ‘normative’ or ‘expected’ behavior was treated as pathological. This view was further strengthened by subsequent research on homosexuality, generalizing to larger populations. The wider perception of homosexuality has negatively influenced the representation of the LGBTQ+ community in all possible ways. In other words, the homophobia, discrimination, prejudice, and stereotyping of the community have been perpetuated for hundreds of years. There needs to be a radical restructuring of people’s mentalities and the adoption of a more humane approach to ‘studying’ and ‘researching’ about people and communities.

For instance, Charles Socarides (1972), in his work on Homosexuality, traces the origins of homosexuality caused by the presence of an aggressive mother and a father with a weak personality as the educator of a child. Socarides’s work was based on viewing female homosexuals as mother-fixated individuals who were incapable of getting over their preodiepal attitude towards their mothers. The general perception of lesbian couples as hyper-feminists who are exceedingly sensitive to dependence coupled with the idea of them reenacting mother-child relationships problematizes and pathologizes lesbianism as a psycho-developmental failure.

Situating Lesbians in the Indian Context

The denial of lesbian identity and the question of marriage are two notable concerns that lesbians in India struggle with. The question of marriage is pertinent to lesbians in India as there is an intrinsic fear of being ‘found out’ or ‘outed’, which could adversely affect their social lives. The social stigma associated with being lesbian has prevented many women from embracing their true selves and has forced them to cover parts of their lives that are not socially acceptable because of the fear of retribution.

The institutions of family and marriage hold extreme importance among Indians. These institutions also play a significant role in the oppression of women all around the country. There is a strong sense of communitarianism attached to the idea of family. Family name dictates one’s social standing in society; women’s identities are formed based on their relations with the male members of their families. It is not uncommon to refer to a woman only as someone’s wife, sister, mother, or aunt. The close-knit family structure in India provides significantly less space for women to explore, make meaning of their lives, and have experiences when their body is constantly treated as a hallmark of a family’s honor. Traditionally, women are expected to live in their parent’s homes and then move into their in-law’s homes after marriage. Society is so deeply rooted in patriarchal values that a woman, from the time of her birth, is socialized in ways that would ensure her dependency on the male members of the family. (Kannan. 2011)

The lack of scope for exploring one’s sexuality could be frustrating. In India, lesbians are confined by the fear of being harassed, abused, and thrown out of their homes. Discriminative attitudes and a threat to their safety have had an enormous impact on the way lesbians perceive themselves and how they navigate relationships with others. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for a lesbian to subvert their sexual and emotional preferences and enter heterosexual marriages to fulfill the wishes and expectations of their families.

To balance their own identities with societal expectations, many lesbians enter into marriage contracts with gay men that enable both parties to avoid condemnation. Such marriages empower lesbians to make their own decisions before they are forcibly married by their families and have access to the benefits that marriage provides.

There is a general discomfort in Indian society with regard to lesbian identities. It is irrationally believed that women marrying women would make men redundant and subvert the family’s institution. The widespread opposition to homosexual rights is born out of deep-seated fear of breaking down established power hierarchies as women would no longer be responsible for the burden of continuing a family’s lineage. The incarceration of self-identifying lesbians in society has stopped women from coming ‘out’ and embracing their identity in public.

Campaigns for LGBTQ Rights in India

Due to the direct connection of queer movement with economic disadvantages, material oppression, exploitation, and denial of rights, there is an overt correlation between queer struggles, political economy, and materialism. Historical reference points enable us to determine a community’s sense of self. Tracing the history of how the LGBTQ+ movement took shape in India allows us to look into specific moments that have decided the movement’s course and direction while highlighting areas that need sustained advocacy.

If one traces the trajectory of the movement, the first known protest for gay rights was held on Aug. 11, 1992, 45 years after India gained independence from British colonialism. The protest did not see any desired outcome. Two years later, in 1994, ABVA activists filed public interest litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court challenging the constitutionality of Section 377. This PIL was the first legal attempt to legalize homosexuality in India. After the demise of Siddhartha Gautam, ABVA failed to follow through on the petition, and the case was dismissed in 2001. The NGO Naz Foundation and the Lawyers Collective filed another petition to the Delhi High Court in 2001 against the law, which brought a desired, overdue but short-lived verdict on July 2, 2009, decriminalizing homosexuality. The Supreme Court of India decided to overturn the judgment within two years. India witnessed increasing protests against Section 377; several high-profile names also filed petitions against this law. On 6th of September 2018, the Supreme Court of India delivered a historical verdict decriminalizing homosexuality by partially striking down Section 377 of IPC.

This landmark event should not be construed as the culmination of more than two decades of a legal fight against the draconian law but rather should be understood as a beginning of a new era in the fight for LGBTQ Rights.

Issues of identity form a significant part of modern politics worldwide. Lesbianism is rooted both in the LGBTQ movement and the women’s movement in India and needs to be understood from their specific standpoints in both movements. It is worth noting that even the LGBTQ movement is mainly male-dominated. Lesbians have participated actively in the movement; however, they have had to assume a secondary role next to the gays in voicing their concerns and demands. Although the LGBTQ community collectively fights for some common goals, different people across the spectrum have very different and specific expectations from the movement that sometimes do not necessarily align with each other.

Resistance to patriarchy?

Heterocentrism, or the belief that heterosexuality is the only norm of human relationships, coupled with homophobia and patriarchy, has forced lesbians to fight for the assertion of their rights. Questions of heterosexuality and lesbianism have historically been responsible for tensions in the women’s liberation movement. During the beginning of the second wave of feminism, discussions around sexuality were often assumed to be about heterosexuality. Even among feminists, the only imaginable and acceptable form of relationship was a heterosexual relationship.

The women’s movement highlighted the ongoing treatment of female bodies as objects of male fantasy and desire and challenged normative ideas of penetrative/reproductive sex as the only acceptable form of sexual activity. Anne Koedt’s work highlights the discovery of clitoral orgasm was pioneering in rethinking sexual politics and practice. By calling attention to clitoral orgasms, Koedt debunked not only female sexual obligations but also rendered penetrative sex insignificant. However, Koedt’s work was not mainly aimed at lesbian advocacy.

Historically, lesbians were not universally accepted in the women’s movement in many parts. It was not until 1974 that the agenda of lesbian rights were a part of the women’s liberation movement in Britain. During that time, many women identified themselves as lesbians in an attempt to define themselves rather than passively accept and continue being who they were taught to be. Heterosexuality was seen as a means of controlling women’s bodies and perpetuating patriarchal domination. Political lesbianism was perceived as one way to defy societal givens and well-entrenched historical institutions. There is a divide among lesbians when it comes to the question of political lesbianism as it encourages women to refrain from any sexual contact with men and says that sexuality is a choice; women can become lesbians if they choose to be. This stance subverts the broader ideal that the LGBTQ movement is fighting for as it states that sexuality is a choice. Therefore, even though political lesbianism helped put forth a solid opposition to male domination, its present relevance needs to be carefully examined.

Lesbian existence by itself challenges the idea of ‘normative’ sexualities and presents a robust stand against the treatment of female bodies as passive pleasure objects of male desire. They present a factual case of women not being solely dependent on their husbands to have a fulfilling life. Lesbian existence, in the context of India, challenges the ideals of the Sangh Parivar and their hyper-nationalist stance on marriage.

Conclusion

The Indian Government’s stance with regard to sexual minorities is almost nil. The lack of structural acknowledgment in the context of rampant homophobia in Indian society has pushed lesbians to live an invisible life. They lack the space to form a community. While radical feminists in the West have claimed that lesbians are patriarchal resisters because they refuse to fit into the heterosexual framework of society, contemporary lesbian theorists are skeptical of subscribing to that view. They are less likely to treat lesbianism as feminist resistance to male domination and instead focus on constructing new ways of imagining female agency, friendship, and relationships. Therefore, they call for a separation of lesbian theory from feminist theory. Heterosexuality is a system of male ownership of women which is ‘compulsory’ for both men and women. Both heterosexual women and lesbians are subject to penalties if they fail to fit into this framework. (Calhoun,1994)

Furthermore, lesbians have advocated for their rights separately and have asserted their differences from gay men. The queer or the LGBTQ movement clubs the experiences of lesbians and gays as sexual deviants under the same umbrella. Therefore, to treat lesbianism as resistance to patriarchy, in a way, takes away the myriad of other dimensions of this identity and diminishes the political significance of lesbian’s experiences. Although heterocentrism and patriarchy are intertwined, the fall of heterosexuality does not necessarily mean the end of patriarchy. To theorize the lesbian identity only in relation to heterosexual dominance would take away the individuality and specificity of their political existence.

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