Getting rid of homophobia and biphobia

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Image source: Revel and Riot


While I was talking to my family, Ayushmann and Jitendra's 'Shubh Mangal Zyaada Savdhaan' topic came up and one of my parents called it (the film as well as homosexuality) baseless. The film made to educate the public about homosexuality itself was called baseless. This is the unfortunate truth of the majority of the Indian population.

It is unfortunate that its 2021 and we still have homophobia and biphobia in our country. Though these phobias exist all around the world, it exists more in India and countries like India where there is no sex education that isn't inclusive of LGBTQ+. The Bollywood movies (except SNMZ) stereotype gays as someone who wears 'girly' clothes, apply make-up, and all. It might be true for some, but not all. The character of Karan Mehra from Made In Heaven has also depicted character of a gay without the general stereotypes.

Phobias like this stem from a lack of knowledge about unknown things. Homosexuality is not often taught well in India (except for now rising sexual educators on Instagram like Dr.Cuterus and Leeza Mangaldas) and other conservative countries, making it a bigger issue. Countries where sex education is limited to reproduction and contraception (or maybe not even that), including homosexuality and LGBTQ+ in school biology curriculum (for 8th-10th grade) is a distant dream. 

India as a country was very much accepting of homosexuality, bisexuality and other similar things. It is after the Victorian era that it turned into a taboo and a criminalized act in India. And yet, gay marriage is not decriminalized in India.

So what exactly is homosexuality?
-Homosexuality is romantic & sexual attraction or sexual behaviour between members of the same sex or gender.

And what is bisexuality?
- Bisexuality is romantic & sexual attraction, or sexual behaviour toward both males or females, or to more than 1 sex or gender. 

And does this both have any scientific basis? Well, the answer is yes. 

  1. It's not any disease. 
  2. It's not something that needs to be 'cured'. 
  3. Though its much complex, the simple scientific reasoning would be that they are just born like that.
  4.  They may realize that they are heterosexual or gay/bi in their probably (late) teenage years. 
  5. The individuals recognizing themselves do not have any control over this. Though they were born gay/lesbian by CHANCE, the CHOICE of partner is theirs. 
  6. And no, they cannot marry or get in a serious relationship with any heterosexual (for homosexuals). It possibly may not be a happy partnership for them. 
  7. It's not 'just a phase'. Though they might be confused about in start of their realization due to insufficient kmowledge, but its not any phase ghat will pass away. 
So how to get rid of your homophobia or biphobhia?
  1. Read and research about LGBTQ. 
  2. Read books which have correct depiction of homosexuality. 
  3. Watch movies or series that correctly depicts it. Some are - Shubh Mangal Zyaada Savdhaan, Sex Education (series on Netflix).
  4. Maybe make friends with someone who is from LGBTQ+ community. You will learn a lot about this from their struggles with discrimination and coming out as gay/lesbian/bi. 



I came across this video from Brut India on how a father's speech on his gay son's wedding. Its Dr.Vijay Mehta's (the father) journey of being a homophobic person to accepting the sexuality of his son (Parag Mehta) and son's choice of having a gay marriage. Do watch the video here (if the video has some errors). 
Though the above video is shortened version, but if incase you wanna watch the whole speech (22mins), here's the link of video which the groom (Vijay Mehta's son-in-law) shared on his Youtube channel- A Loving Indian Dad's Moving Toast at His Gay Son's Wedding

I know that I cannot change everyone views but even if it changes of one person, this blogpost would have done its work.

And I hope that Indian government legalizes gay weddings very soon and make a change for better in the lives of homosexuals.
Hello, I am Ritika Jakhotiya, the blogger behind Ritika Ruminates. I am an English graduate and currently pursuing an M.A. in English. I love reading and writing. Ritika Ruminates (formerly 'Blogging With Ritz') is my personal blog site, where I write about things close to my heart (and mind) and dish out my thoughts on topics that concern me or inspire my creativity. These topics include books, cinema, feminism, social themes/taboos, and travel. Before you leave, please hit the follow button and subscribe to get notified about new blog posts and share the post with others. I also create content (as a reader) on my Instagram @thisisritika_j, where I share book reviews, relatable memes and reels.

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