Before embarking on our discussion of Hinduism and Pride, we must remember the difference between Shruti and Smriti (I have made story highlights about this). The Shruti texts, which are considered to be the word of the Divine, do not go into the specificities of much. They deal with dharma, artha and kama, which leads to moksha, and how one can achieve said moksha. This involves being a good person, following your dharma, engaging in other yogic practices, etc. But they do not elaborate much on any other topic.

It is thus imperative to understand that the Shruti texts did not make members of the LGBTQ+ community ineligible from attaining moksha – which is considered to be the end objective. A member of the LGBTQ+ community who has control of their impulses and is a selfless person is thus closer to moksha than a straight person who has no control of their impulses and is a selfish person. That in itself should be all the proof you need on what Hinduism preaches about members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Nonetheless, some of the Smriti texts, which are man-made, and most importantly – valid only depending on the time period – do mention homophobic practices, such as the fact that a man engaging in sexual activity with another man should be fined. I am not denying that these texts may have had an impact. However, there is plenty more evidence, from other Smriti texts as well, to suggest that the general attitude was one of acceptance. Vanita and Kidwai noted in their assessment of Sexuality and Hinduism, that “the basic Hindu idea, variously expressed, that the universal spirit pervades all things means that in the ultimate analysis, nothing is abnormal or unnatural.”

It is also tantamount to understanding that the Manusmriti, which is so often cited for allegedly spreading homophobia, was largely ignored throughout Indian history and was not widely followed when the British took over. Homosexual relations was not a crime in India before the British arrived, and once again, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that members of the LGBTQ+ community were accepted at the time. Once again, I am not denying that there were cases of members of the LGBTQ+ community being ostracised, harmed, or discriminated against, what I am saying is that those engaging in such acts of discrimination had no religious validity for it.

Gay sex was criminalised under the British colonial rule (Due to Section 377 of the British Colonial Constitution, gay sex is STILL a crime in over 40 countries), based on the Manusmriti (because the British wanted a code of law for Hindus). The British resurrected the Manusmriti, and treated it as Hindu canon, even though it had no merit for that status. This, solidified by the fact that the British institutionalised homophobia, supports the argument that homophobia spread rapidly due to the British arrival. Once again, I’m not arguing that there wasn’t any homophobia before the arrival of the British, or that the Manusmriti did not contribute to this, only that the British’s imposition of homophobic laws allowed homophobia to spread like wildfire, and that the Manusmriti’s bandwidth had long expired. Ruth Vanita discusses how after British rulers passed the antisodomy law, many educated Indian social reformers and nationalists began to express a new aversion to elements of their heritage, including polytheism, polygamy, and sex outside marriage, including same-sex relations. For the first time, it became unacceptable to write about same-sex relations in polite literature. This continued through the first half of the 20th century. Some Hindu gurus continued to express tolerance and several Hindu priests from the 1980s onward are recorded as performing same-sex marriages in various parts of the country. Hindu gurus today take a variety of positions on the subject, as do Hindu political leaders and organizations.

Anyway, so here’s what Hinduism has said about gender and sexuality:

The Third Gender

• Tritya Prakriti, or third nature, is mentioned repeatedly in Hindu texts (including the Vedas). The Kama Sutra, for example, says this about the third nature: “There are two sorts of third nature, in the form of a woman and in the form of a man. The one in the form of a woman imitates a woman’s dress, chatter, grace, emotions, delicacy, timidity, innocence, frailty, and bashfulness.”

• The Third Nature doesn’t quite fit one particular label in today’s context. Shereen Shafi notes how “the many identities proliferating under the category of a “third gender” are defined not only in relation to the dimorphic male and female identities—being born in one of these two genders, or as a hermaphrodite, and identifying as another—but in terms of feminine or masculine-coded behavior or expression, sexual practices—both the role taken in sex and the gender of one’s partner—or asexuality, impotency, occupational and ritual roles, and so on.”

Being Non-Binary Is Not A Sin

• Gender expressions are often viewed as errors or transgressions of nature in other cultures. However, in Hinduism, the duty of men may be to marry women and to create offspring, but napums men would not incur sin for failing to do so because procreation is not their dharma. They will contribute to society in other ways. (Wilhelm, 2008)

Homosexuality

• The Rig Veda, which dates back to 1500 BC, talks about a time when there was a system of thought, which was triadic, anti – binary, focused on female sexuality. Giti Thadani writes that, “one of the earliest cosmologies recorded in the Rig Veda is that of the dual feminine deities – dyava. This dual cosmogony represents a holistic feminine union, whereby the feminine twins can be seen as lovers, as mothers, as sisters etc. In these early feminine cosmologies one does not find consorted deities in a heterosexual arrangement, but dual deities of the same sex, referred to as twins (jami).” Nityanand Tiwari writes that according to Thadani, during this period importance was not attached to the male – female couple, but on the notion of yoni that signifies the womb, the infinite source of energy. The symbol of the yoni was a triangle, which consists of two points of lights represented by the female twins and a third point that was the earth. The notion of twins or jami signifies homosexuality. Vanita and Kidwai support this, writing that ‘the Rig Veda tends to celebrate individual deities but when it does celebrates pairs, they predominantly same – sex pairs – twins, sisters, co-mothers, friends – rather than conjugal couples.”

• The Kama Sutra also includes homoerotic description of both female and males which are described in the chapter on Auparishtaka. It is worth noting however, that the homosexual acts mentioned in the Auparishtaka were “scorned for Brahmans and those of good repute” (Tiwari, 2010).

• The Sushruta Samhita, a respected Hindu medical text dating back to at least 600 BC, also mentions two different types of homosexual men (Kumbhika – men who take the passive role in anal sex; and Asekya – men who devour the semen of other men) as well as Sandra – men with the qualities, behaviour and speech of women. [Sushruta Samhita: 3.2.42]

It’s Not A Choice

The Sushruta Samhita also states that men who behave like women, or women who behave like men, are determined as such at the time of their conception in the womb. [Sushruta Samhita: 3.2.43]

Others

The Hindu tradition includes many figures, both humans and deities, who are sexually ambiguous, androgynous, who impersonate the opposite sex, or who undergo sex changes. One should also remember the numerous temples that display homosexual relations, such as Khajuraho.

The Importance of Reading in Full

The Manusmriti mentions, in one verse, “A damsel who pollutes (another) damsel must be fined two hundred (panas), pay the double of her (nuptial) fee and receive ten (lashes with a) rod”. In another, the Manusmriti mentions “A woman who pollutes a damsel (virgin) shall instantly have (her head) shaved or two fingers cut off; and be made to ride (through the town) on a donkey.”

Tiwari discusses how these provisions quoted, seem homophobic, but in fact they are concerned not with the gender of the partners but with the loss of virginity that rendered a young woman unworthy of marriage. There is also no penalty prescribed for two non – virgins who have sex together.

Once again, not saying that certain Smriti texts, such as the Manusmriti, the Yajnavalkya Smriti and the Vishnusmriti, do not mention homophobic practices. Just that not all verses used to support the arguments of “Hinduism is homophobic” are valid.

https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=L7fx52UR2jUC&pg=PA298&lpg=PA298&dq=yellamma+change+sex&source=bl&ots=GVhKYNHqJM&sig=ACfU3U3G9__ZsJ0Bk6plmF0aMYjwSbuYxA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwid9fLX07XqAhVIfX0KHXlED9cQ6AEwAXoECAwQAQ#v=onepage&q=yellamma%20change%20sex&f=false

Homophobia

All of that, is evidence that Hinduism as a religion is sex-positive. However, there is some evidence of homophobia as well. The Manusmriti mentions that “an unnatural offence with a man results in the loss of caste”, that “a twice-born male who commits an unnatural offence with a male shall bathe, dressed in his clothes”, and that fines should be imposed on males who engage in sexual acts with other males.

The Sushruta Samhita also mentions the possibility of a child being born out of the union of two females being ‘boneless’. However, the text also discusses a woman dreaming of sexual intercourse can give birth to a jellylike mass. The ‘boneless’ and ‘jellylike’ mass babies are both seen as unfavourable in the text.

Bibliography:

1. Homosexuality and World Religions, Arlene Swidler

2. The “Third Nature” in India: Gender & Sexuality Throughout Indian History in Religious & Political Context https://www.academia.edu/31572874/The_Third_Nature_in_India_Gender_and_Sexuality_Throughout_Indian_History_in_Religious_and_Political_Context

3. Que(e)rying Religion: A Critical Anthology https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=L7fx52UR2jUC&pg=PA298&lpg=PA298&dq=yellamma+change+sex&source=bl&ots=GVhKYNHqJM&sig=ACfU3U3G9__ZsJ0Bk6plmF0aMYjwSbuYxA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwid9fLX07XqAhVIfX0KHXlED9cQ6AEwAXoECAwQAQ#v=onepage&q=yellamma%20change%20sex&f=false

4. The Hindus: An Alternative History https://books.google.com.sg/books/about/The_Hindus.html?id=aoiwqK8D_7AC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

5. Homosexuality in India: Review of Literatures https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1679203

6. Tritiya-Prakriti: People of the Third Sex: Understanding Homosexuality https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=iZ5RAAAAQBAJ&pg=PR4&lpg=PR4&dq=6+Amara+Das+Wilhelm,+Tritiya-Prakriti:+People+of+the+Third+Sex+(Philadelphia:+Xlibris+Corporation,+2008).&source=bl&ots=PKLtrSwG8K&sig=ACfU3U201NvA7Pwz7WRBEx4oRRMfGqyG_Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiYxNbj0rXqAhXKXSsKHTi6ABUQ6AEwA3oECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=6%20Amara%20Das%20Wilhelm%2C%20Tritiya-Prakriti%3A%20People%20of%20the%20Third%20Sex%20(Philadelphia%3A%20Xlibris%20Corporation%2C%202008).&f=false

7. Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ Issues: Hinduism https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-hinduism

8. Homoeroticism in Hinduism https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195399318/obo-9780195399318-0223.xml

9. Sexuality and The World’s Religions https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=p52Envn3rLkC&pg=PA175&lpg=PA175&dq=Homosexuality+and+World+Religions+arvind+sharma&source=bl&ots=uHXqePO7IJ&sig=ACfU3U19COb-V1MaHP6vD4LO4B20_W6TQg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj8rKXhhrHqAhWx8XMBHWvVBfsQ6AEwAnoECAYQAQ#v=onepage&q=biologically%20fixed%20&f=false

10. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-48619734