Disgust or Equality? Sexual Orientation and Indian Law

2018 ◽  
pp. 164-194
Author(s):  
Martha C. Nussbaum
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Supreme Court Decision ◽  
The Body ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Central Component ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Rabindranath Tagore ◽  
High Court ◽  
Indian Law ◽  
Indian Supreme Court

The landscape of laws regarding sexual orientation and same sex conduct is changing rapidly around the globe. In all of these changes, we can see the operation of a form of stigma and group discrimination that has disgust as a central component—people share an acute discomfort with features of their own body that remind them of their animality and mortality, and then project this disgust onto powerless minorities. Recent legal developments in India are of urgent human significance, but also appear to confirm this account of the operations of disgust in stigma and discrimination. In this chapter, Nussbaum details the historical background to India’s current struggle, showing how the Hindu Right and the legacy of Victorian British puritanism have fostered an ideology of disgust, forgetting the celebration of the body exemplified by Indian poet, philosopher, and choreographer Rabindranath Tagore. Nussbaum then analyses Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalizes same sex intercourse, as well as the 2009 Naz Foundation case in which the Delhi High Court struck down this law, rejecting the ideology of disgust that it represented. Finally, Nussbaum discusses the recent Indian Supreme Court decision reversing this ruling, as well as some promising Indian legal developments for hijras and rights to privacy.

Case Comment: Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India: The Indian Supreme Court’s Decriminalization of Same-Sex Relations

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 218-233
Author(s):  
Gautam Bhatia
Keyword(s):  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
High Court ◽  
Personal Liberty ◽  
Judicial Decisions ◽  
The Right To Privacy ◽  
Judicial Proceedings ◽  
Indian Supreme Court ◽  
The Right

The Indian Supreme Court’s judgment in Navtej Singh Johar, delivered in September 2018, decriminalizing same-sex relations in India, generated a storm of discussion and debate, in both India and in the world beyond. Apart from its clear and sharp verdict that held that the Indian Constitution protected the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, the decision was also noteworthy because it reversed the Court’s own prior judgment, delivered a mere five years before (in 2013), that had upheld the constitutional validity of the law that penalized same-sex relations. In this case comment, we set out the chronology of judicial decisions that led to the final judgment in Navtej Singh Johar: the judgment of the High Court of Delhi in 2009, which first decriminalized same-sex relations, the 2013 judgment of the Indian Supreme Court that reversed it, and the various judicial proceedings that continued to rumble on in the Court—an additional round known as the ‘curative hearing’, and separate litigation on the constitutional status of the right to privacy. Within this context, the paper then discusses the multiple opinions that were delivered by the Bench in Navtej Singh Johar, and examines the reasons on the basis of which the Court held that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code—insofar as it criminalized same-sex relations between consenting adults—violated the fundamental rights to equality, nondiscrimination, freedom of expression, and life and personal liberty, guaranteed by the Constitution of India. The article will conclude by setting out some possibilities for the way forward, in light of the judgment.

Swagger, sway, and sexuality: How the body conveys sexual orientation

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerri L. Johnson ◽  
Simone Gill-Alvarez ◽  
Victoria Reichman
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
The Body

scholarly journals Does Leader Same-sex Sexual Orientation Matter to Leadership Effectiveness? A Four-study Model-testing Investigation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Wang ◽  
David S. Steffensen ◽  
Pamela L. Perrewé ◽  
Gerald R. Ferris ◽  
Samantha L. Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Leadership Effectiveness ◽  
Model Testing ◽  
Same Sex

LAW, RELIGION, AND THE POLITICIZATION OF SEXUAL CITIZENSHIP IN KENYA

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-129
Author(s):  
Damaris Seleina Parsitau
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Sexual Difference ◽  
Family Values ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Sexual Orientations ◽  
Before And After

AbstractIn Kenya, debates about sexual orientation have assumed center stage at several points in recent years, but particularly before and after the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya in 2010. These debates have been fueled by religious clergy and by politicians who want to align themselves with religious organizations for respectability and legitimation, particularly by seeking to influence the nation's legal norms around sexuality. I argue that through their responses and attempts to influence legal norms, the religious and political leaders are not only responsible for the nonacceptance of same-sex relationships in Africa, but have also ensured that sexuality and embodiment have become a cultural and religious battleground. These same clergy and politicians seek to frame homosexuality as un-African, unacceptable, a threat to African moral and cultural sensibilities and sensitivities, and an affront to African moral and family values. Consequently, the perception is that homosexuals do not belong in Africa—that they cannot be entertained, accommodated, tolerated, or even understood. Ultimately, I argue that the politicization and religionization of same-sex relationships in Kenya, as elsewhere in Africa, has masked human rights debates and stifled serious academic and pragmatic engagements with important issues around sexual difference and sexual orientation while fueling negative attitudes toward people with different sexual orientations.

Finally, Our Own Brown! (?)

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yifat Bitton
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Theoretical Analysis ◽  
Supreme Court Decision ◽  
The Other ◽  
Court Decision ◽  
High Court ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Us Supreme Court ◽  
Distinctive Group ◽  
Contextual Reality

The decision in Noar Kahalacha, an anti-segregation in education case that was recently delivered by the Israeli High Court of Justice, has been ‘naturally’ celebrated as the ‘Israeli Brown’. But is it? This article points to the differences between the monumental US Supreme Court decision of Brown and the Israeli Brown-equivalent – Noar Kahalacha. It contends that the two cases bear differences that stem from the divergent patterns of discrimination they represent, and that they reflect these differences squarely. The discrimination patterns reflected by the cases differ by virtue of traits that are traditionally overlooked in antidiscrimination theoretical analysis. Comparing the two cases, therefore, allows us an opportunity to revisit the notion of discrimination and its antidote, antidiscrimination. Drawing on the dichotomous concepts of de jure/de facto discrimination and difference/sameness discrimination, the article shows how these dual theoretical notions are determinative in shaping the distinctiveness of each of these cases. While the African American victims in Brown were easily recognised as a distinctive group suffering from de jure discrimination, the Mizrahi victims in Noar Kahalacha – who suffer from de facto discrimination within a Jewish hegemonic society – lacked such clear recognition. Accordingly, the discrimination narrative that Noar Kahalacha provides is very incomplete and carries only limited potential for effective application in future struggles to eliminate discriminatory practices against Mizrahis in Israel. Brown, on the other hand, carries a converse trait. Though criticised, Brown, nevertheless, strongly signifies the recognition by White America of its overarching discriminatory practices, and implies a genuine dedication to break from it. This understanding further illuminates the limitations embedded in the possibility of ‘importing’ highly contextual antidiscrimination jurisprudence from abroad into our system's highly contextual reality of discrimination.

Paraprofessional Christian Ministries for Sexual Behavior and Same-Sex Identity Concerns

2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Yarhouse ◽  
Lori A. Burkett ◽  
Elizabeth M. Kreeft
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Behavior ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Sexual Behaviors ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Definition Of Success ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Exodus International

Paraprofessional Christian ministries for sexual behavior and same-sex identity concerns have grown significantly in recent years. Some ministries are affiliated with organizations that have specific standards for affiliation; others are independent. Some emphasize change of sexual orientation; others promote change of behavior and chastity. Some ministries provide services exclusively to homosexuals; others provide resources to homosexuals and heterosexuals alike. This paper reviews similarities and differences among paraprofessional Christian ministries for persons struggling with sexual behaviors and same-sex identity concerns. Similarities and differences are related to (a) mission/vision, (b) view of etiology, (c) method of intervention, (d) format, and (e) definition of success. Christian ministries include Exodus International-affiliated ministries, independent Christian ministries, Homosexuals Anonymous, and Courage. Impressions from the review of the various Christian ministries are also offered, including recommendations for making appropriate referrals.

scholarly journals Faith in Rights: the Struggle Over Same- Sex Adoption in the United Kingdom

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (1, 2 & 3) ◽  
pp. 2008
Author(s):  
Carl F. Stychin
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Labour Government ◽  
The Past ◽  
The United Kingdom

Over the past decade of Labour government in the United Kingdom (U.K.), the regulation of sexual orientation through law has frequently been explained by its supporters through a nar- rative of progress and even emancipation. The most recent junction in this journey came in 2007, with the coming into force of the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations on 30 April 2007.1 These Regulations contain measures pro- hibiting discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in the provision of goods, facilities and services, education, the use and disposal of premises, and the exercise of public functions.

Freedom’s Frontiers: The Travails of LGBT Travelers

Pólemos ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-295
Author(s):  
David Austin ◽  
Mark E. Wojcik
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Sexual Minorities ◽  
Positive Change ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Tourist Industry ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
The Status

Abstract This article considers the status of same-sex couples whose lawful marriage in one jurisdiction may not be recognized in another, or who may face discrimination and criminal penalties for their sexual orientation. The article surveys positive developments that promote equality for sexual minorities rather than their punishment. The degree of positive change varies across countries. While traveling across borders, sexual minorities are often subjected to strange dislocations in time and space: they can accelerate through centuries of struggle to find freedom in foreign lands, or they can be hurled back into the darkness of the closet or, worse, detained in a prison cell. The article also focuses on some of the positive developments – legal and otherwise – that have led to the growth of a gay tourist industry; some of the problems that gay travelers may potentially encounter when crossing into countries where the legal rights of sexual minorities are not safeguarded; and some potential “solutions” that will allow gay travelers to engage in cross-border travel without feeling that they are being forced back into the limiting borders of the closet’s confines.

Female and Male Perceptions of Ideal Body Shapes: Distorted Views Among Caucasian College Students

1992 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence D. Cohn ◽  
Nancy E. Adler
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
College Women ◽  
College Men ◽  
The Body ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Female Figures ◽  
Ideal Body ◽  
Body Shapes ◽  
Male Perceptions

Recent studies have demonstrated that women overestimate male preferences for thin female figures. This study examined whether women also overestimate the desirability of thin figures among female peers. Using body silhouettes employed by Fallon and Rozin (1985), 87 college women and 118 college men indicated the size of their own body figure, their ideal figure, the figure most attractive to other-sex peers, and the figure most attractive to same-sex peers. As predicted, the female silhouette that women selected as most attractive to same-sex peers was significantly thinner than the silhouette that women actually selected as most desirable. College men also misjudged the body preference of same-sex peers, exaggerating the extent to which other men perceived large physiques as ideal and desirable.

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