Kalyani Gupta, 9H, 20th October
Many people argue that the LGBTQ+ culture is a relatively new and unnatural concept and did not exist prior to the late 1900s. However, this is definitely not true. In fact, queer culture has been prevalent in the world since before the birth of Christ! Throughout ancient course of history, the queer community can be seen in the Americas, Greece, Rome, India, and even China and Japan. Unfortunately for them, the community was suppressed with the introduction to westernisation in countries. But how were they represented? How was the LGBTQ+ culture portrayed in different cultures in a time that most people today consider to be even more conservative?
First up, the Americas. Mostly everyone knows that Christopher Columbus found them in 1492 while looking for a new route to India. Back then, the inhabitants of the American lands, the natives, were known for their diversity of lifestyles, regalia, art forms, and beliefs. Amongst these beliefs was the belief in people called ‘Two-Spirits’. These people were thought to have a female and male spirit in the same body, closely similar to how one might try to explain gender fluidity or transgenders. Two-spirits were people who behaved in a way that people of the same gender did not. For example, men who dressed in women's clothing and did what were thought to be women's tasks, and, less commonly, women who dressed and worked like men. The Two-Spirits were not only accepted by native Americans, but also valued. Upon the arrival of the Europeans, the Native American acceptance of Two-Spirits and same-sex relationships was noted as immoral, shameful, and perverse. To be told something on the lines of your sexuality being disgusting and gross by a person who claimed not only to bring you on the path of God but also considered themselves to be superior to you, then moving on to centuries of suppression, is truly horrendous.
Next, we have the Greeks and Romans. It would be ignorant to not even hint at them in an article on the same lines. The Greeks and Romans did not replace marriages between men and women with same-sex relationships, but instead these relationships would be prevalent before or alongside. Majorly, these relationships would be amongst men; it was rare to catch sight of lesbian relationships. Mature men were generally not seen with mature male mates, but an older erastes or lover would be in a relationship with a younger eromenos or loved one. In his early writings, the Greek philosopher Plato can be seen praising same-sex relationships as when he suggested that the Greek hero Achilles had an intense relationship with Patroclus, an exiled prince, despite the fact that Homer never mentioned anything of the sort in the Iliad. Although Plato later proposed the prohibition of homosexuality, another Greek philosopher by the name of Aristotle dismissed this proposition by explaining that barbarians like the Celts accorded it a special honour, while the Cretans used it to regulate the population in the Politics. Note however that dressing up and behaving like the opposite sex was considered to be a grave insult to a person and were even punishable by death in some places. Truly, the Greeks and Romans not only had same-sex relations in their lives in the form of people but also in the form of gods! The god Apollo was said to have had many relationships (and troubles with love), but the most popular ones would undoubtedly be the tales of his love with Daphne and with Hyacinthus. While on one side, he pursued the nymph Daphne so relentlessly that she begged the Earth to turn her into a laurel tree; he also loved Hyacinthus dearly. But the god of the west wind, Zephyrus, was jealous of Apollo, and while the lovers played discuss, the wind blew the toy in a manner such as to cut Hyacinthus’ throat. The flower called hyacinth is said to have risen from the young man’s blood. Moreover, Artemis, Apollo’s twin sister, is portrayed as a celibate and, more often than not, an asexual and aromantic woman. It gets better, these are just some tales from the world of Greek myths! Zeus only knows how many more there are.
Moving eastwards still, we come upon India. Vedic texts contain many descriptions of sadhus, demigods, and major gods cutting across gender norms and manifesting multiple combinations of gender. Plus, there have been several epic poems written on same sex love between gods and goddesses as well as kings and queens, like the king Bhagirathi, who was born of two mothers, who is said to have brought the river Ganga to earth. Kama Sutra was an ancient Hindu treatise on love talks about feelings for same sexes. Here’s something surprising, the Hindu temple of Khajuraho depicts same-sex sexual acts! Lastly, there are also the Hijra, a third-gender or transgender group that are generally born male and switch over to femininity. It is often said that people of this group have the power to bless or curse one and were once believed to be demigods.
Finally, we come to China and Japan. In both countries, male homosexuality was more apparent and was considered pretty normal. In China, during the Han dynasty, many emperors had one or more male sex partners. However, during the Tang Dynasty, China became increasingly influenced by sexual morals of western and central Asia and the Chinese began to prefer heterosexual relationships until the Self-Strengthening Movement in 181 CE brought in homophobia. More similar to the Greeks in this respect, Japan had a system called wakashudo (way of the wakashu) in which older men engaged in romantic and sexual relationships with younger men or wakashu. However, during the Meiji Era, homophobia was imported from the west and even led to a ban on homosexual activities.
These were just some prominent examples of LGBTQ+ culture in ancient history, but there are, in truth, many more. In our current world context it is high time that anyone who claims ‘being queer is too modern’ or ‘the world isn’t ready for such drastic change yet’, to please wake up. Homosexuality has been around since ancient times and it's time we stopped discriminating against people who identify as such by telling them that they are simply living in a fantastical world and need to be ‘normal’.
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