Tamil sexual minorities
There are currently laws that criminalize homosexual sex implemented in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Mauritius, all of which have Tamil as an official or recognized language, and have referenced Section 377 of the British penal code as far back as colonial times.
A Buddhist movement[6][7] and the INC[8] both openly support reforming the colonial law criminalizing gay sex, but the remaining parties have been silent on the issue.
[11] The Manimekalai a literary work, written by Buddhist poet Satthanar, that told the story of how Buddha would show compassion to people of a city, which included a man cross-dressing and a Jain monk as main characters.
[12] Several religious statues created during this period, such as at Ranganathaswamy Temple,[13] Srirangam, some of which depict explicit homosexual acts, are attributed to the Chola era.
[9] A number of artwork and records exist that can attest to the freedoms enjoyed by homosexuals prior to colonialism, including religious statues such as the ones at Tanjore.
[21] The indigenous arts suffered during this era, as ethnomusicologist Anna Morcom points out, 'As modernity, nationalism, and colonial and bourgeois morality began to sweep definitively across India in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, performing arts changed radically' with anything considered morally 'repulsive' such as erotic dancing and gender fluidity being swept under the carpet.
[22] The act of homosexual sex would have been decriminalized in the late 18th century as part of the Napoleonic Code's view on the privacy of people and state intervention,[23] which applied in the French colonies of India at the time.
[24] Chennai-born Anjali Gopalan, whose father was a Tamil Hindu and mother was a Sikh, was one of South Asia's pioneers in providing support for sexual minorities.
According to Ottilingam Somasundaram, in pre-colonial Tamil culture, "The male pedus were described to have many effeminate features such as gait, other bodily movements, high-pitched voice, prudery, lacking virility, beauty and fine feelings.
[49] Aravaani can access sex reassignment surgery (SRS), accommodation, various identity documents, education, social security, and support for job/income seeking, and the state was also the first in India to introduce a Welfare Board with participants from the transgender community.
[50] In November 2017, General Nerin Pulle, the Deputy Solicitor of Sri Lanka, has stated that the government 'remains committed to law reform and guaranteeing non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity', and that the government has vowed to repel the colonial era law criminalizing homosexual sex during its periodic review of governmental affairs.
This is due to the nationalist climate of Tamil Nadu, the State's history of supporting reformation in favor of sexual minorities, and its diverging interpretation of the Hindu Marriage Act.
[54] The parent organization of BJP Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its head Mohan Bhagwat stated LGBTQ people were part of society.
The BJP has formally voices support for the colonial law, but their Tamil office has members who attended various pro-LGBT events in Chennai, whereas the INC has said it wants to decriminalize homosexual sex.
[60] The Chief Minister of neighboring state of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan of the Communist Party, has actively voiced support for decriminalizing gay sex.
[44] One of Tamil Nadu's most senior BJP politicians, Pon Radhakrishnan, launched a website for sexual minorities called Shrishti, with the aid of several volunteers from RSS.
None of those surveys had issues with dating someone from the opposite ethnolinguistic group, either Tamil or Sinhalese, But apart from one person, the majority expressed dislike for Muslims (including Moors) and did not like them as friends or sexual partners.
[63] Community development may be traced back to Sunil Menon's mapping of sexual networks among MSM and TG in the early 1990s[64] and subsequent formation of Sahodaran, the oldest group of its kind in the city and state to provide spaces for community support and sexual health, primarily for working-class MSM who visit public cruising spots.
[68] Some of the panellists were Michiel Kolman, a senior vice president at Elsevier, Parmesh Shahani, head of Godrej India Culture Labs, Sunil Menon, founder of NGO Sahodaran, lawyer Poongkhulali Balasubramanian, Mahesh Natarajan, form InnerSight, Ritesh Rajani, an openly gay HR diversity professional, and journalist Lavanya Narayan.
[69][70][71] A major problem with discrimination, namely racism and colorism, against South Indians remains commonplace throughout the Tamil world, with issues of casteism also playing a role in India.
[73] Kollywood is based on traditional entertainment in Hindu temples, where dances would perform a ballet to a story accompanied by musical instruments and singers.
[78] Manimekalai was composed during the closing centuries of the Sangam period (or after depending on the definition used) by the Tamil Buddhist poet Sathanar, which tells the tale of how Buddha gave compassion to various people of a city, including a monk, a drunk man, and a cross-dressing boy.
The festival involves religious rituals, blessings, parades, re-enactments of scenes from the folklore, political protests, and sexual intercourse under the full moon, among other things.
[82] The YR Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education (YRGCARE) conducted rapid study of homosexuals in Tamil Nadu around 2008 across 18 cities, towns, and villages.
The study found that prevalence of HIV among homosexual sexual minorities in major urban areas stood at around 10%, and was compounded by a lack of education.
[92] Gopi Shankar Madurai is a human rights activist, first openly Intersex and Genderqueer candidate to contest in Tamil Nadu State Assembly Election 2016.
