Although more Indian youths are accepting of homosexuality and queer identities than ever before, acceptance of their sexuality and the freedom to openly express their gender choices within the boundaries of family, home, and the school remains a constant struggle for the community.
In urban India, where social media and corporate initiatives have raised awareness of LGBT rights, the situation for homosexual males appears to be more positive than for transgender persons or lesbian women. In rural India in some areas, hidden honour killings are arranged such that a young gay man’s sole option for survival is to flee to a metropolis in the dead of night, with no money or social support. Lesbian women in various parts of the world are subjected to family-sanctioned corrective rapes, which are frequently carried out by family members. When it comes to basic human rights within the family and village, lesbian women and transmen in rural places are at the bottom of the hierarchy.
According to a recent study, parental reaction to homosexuality is one of the primary variables that leads to the stigmatization of LGBTQ+ persons. According to the report, most LGBT people are only acceptable to their families if they agree to behave like heterosexuals.
Lack of family support can be a major blow to LGBTQ+ people’s mental and physical health in a society where inflexible social and cultural norms control the terms and conditions of education, employment, and marriage. Isolation and pressure to comply frequently result in despair, suicidal ideation, and psychosomatic illnesses. Many of them would rather relocate to another city to avoid the enormous pressure to marry and start a family.
When their own families have been less accepting, LGBT citizens have organized alternative support networks, or family-like groupings, to help them cope. Fortunately, there are significant LGBT groups and societies in metropolitan India, so people are never alone. However, having access to secure online spaces and support groups does not always make up for the void left by familial disapproval.
Any parent’s primary job is to accept their children’s identities. Accepting a child as he or she is contributing to the creation of a better society that celebrates variety and accepts people for who they are.