|
|
|
|
Hinduism is the
dominant religion of modern
India. Though it is no longer as tolerant
of same-sex sexual relations as it seems to have been in the past, Hinduism has
inspired glbtq writers and spiritual seekers from both the West and the South Asian Diaspora. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
The
androgynous god Shiva is an important
deity to India's hijra community. |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
 Sir
Richard F. Burton (1821-1890)
was regarded with
suspicion during his lifetime because of his knowledge and
understanding of same-sex sexual activity, though evidence of his own
homosexual leanings is inconclusive. He was the first to translate The Kama Sutra
and several other Indian and Arab erotic works into English. |
|
| |
| |
| |
Hijras are
Indian men who dress and act like women. They have been a
presence in India for generations, maintaining a third-gender role that
has become institutionalized through tradition. |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
India is the
largest nation in South Asia, and one of the largest in the world. The
country's ancient mythology is replete with stories of both male and
female sex change, androgynous gods, and same-sex eroticism, but India
today harbors negative attitudes toward homoeroticism and gender
variance that largely reflect colonial influences. |
|
| |
| |
| |
Indian Art
not only celebrates sexuality, but many of India's gods consider
gender to be a fluid affair, sometimes manifesting as
androgynes
and sometimes switching gender altogether. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Christopher Isherwood
(1904-1986) was a major Anglo-American novelist and pioneer in the gay
liberation movement. He converted to Vedantism in 1940, and set his
last novel, A Meeting by the River (1967), in a Hindu monastery
on the banks of the Ganges. |
|
| |
| |
| |
Bhupen Khakhar
(1934-2003) earned an international reputation for paintings that are
explicitly homosexual in theme, but also address universal human
needs. In his painting "Yayati," (1987), Khakar combines
blunt homoeroticism with references to traditional Indian mythology. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Terrence McNally
(b. 1939) emerged as America's most important gay playwright since
Tennessee Williams in the 1990s. India and Hinduism form an
important part of his personal mythology. |
|
| |
| |
| |
South Asian Literatures
rarely address homosexuality, though the South Asian diaspora has
recently produced a number of gay and lesbian writers. |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Photo
Credits: The image of Shiva courtesy Northwestern University
Library Art Collection. |
|
|
|
