In North America, LGBT rights are often discussed through institutions, social media, and organizations supporting such cases. However, one can notice that leaving this North American mindset results are dramatically different in attitudes towards LBGT issues. This literature review will be centering on LGBT rights in India, and will focus upon the Supreme Court decision that upheld Section 377 of the Indian Constitution and repealed the Delhi High Court’s ruling. This research paper will additionally investigate the exact timeline of each decision by highlighting the history of Section 377 of the Penal Code of India, the ruling of the Delhi High Court in 2009 and finally what the Supreme Court’s ruling was in December of 2013. Moreover, it will focus and discuss the discourse behind why the Supreme Court reinstated criminalizing gay sex in the country. Lastly, this research paper will offer a critical perspective by addressing a possible solution in order to gain awareness and take a stand against the Supreme Court for reinstating criminalization of gay sex in the country.
To begin with, the history of Section 377 can be taken as far back to the 1800s. Lord Macauley first created this law in 1860 where he was the President of the Indian Law Commission (Misra 20). The reason for this law was because the British wanted to “impose Victorian values” on the colony of India (Misra 20). Not only were such values trying to be inflicted on the Indian society but also the Constitution of India wanted to “…narrow constructions of patriarchal gender relations and heteronormativity” (Ramasubban 91). To understand more about the history, one needs to understand what exactly was written under Section 377. This section reads th...
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...w.ndtv.com/article/cities/bangalore-supreme-court-verdict-on-gay-sex-haunts-queer-film-festival-490279>.
Sheikh, Danish. “The Road to Decriminalization: Litigating India's Anti-Sodomy Law.” Yale Human Rights and Development Journal. 16.1 (2014): 104-132. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. .
Tellis, Ashley. “Ethics, Human Rights and The LGBT Discourse in India.” Applied Ethics and Human Rights - Conceptual Analysis and Contextual Applications. 1st Edition. Delhi: Anthem Press India, 2011. 151-170. Print. .
Timmons, Heather, and Kumar, Hari. “Indian Court Overturns Gay Sex Ban.” New York Times. (2009): n. page. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. .
All human beings are born with genes that are unique to them and make us the individuals we become. The right to exist as an individual in society achieving the best possible potential of one’s existence irrespective of any bias is expected by most humans. In the essay, ‘The new Civil Rights’ Kenji Yoshino discusses how the experience of discovering and revealing his sexual preference as a gay individual has led to him proposing a new civil rights by exploring various paradigms of the rights of a human being to exist in today’s diverse society. In exploring the vast demands of rights ranging from political or basic human rights we have differentiated ourselves into various groups with a common thread weaving through all the demands which
Young, Alan. "The state is still in the bedrooms of the nation: the control and regulation of sexuality in Canadian criminal law." The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality 17.4 (2008).
The ruling of Baehr vs. Lewin was a victory for gay rights activists, hope for other states searching for the same freedom, and disappointment for opponents of same-sex marriage. Yet this victory was short lived (until complete legalization in November 13, 2013) since the state appealed the lower court’s decis...
In the following essay, I will cover the history of how homosexuals has been discriminates and treated different just because of their sexual orientation, the types of prejudices against them and initiatives individuals and government has implemented in the political, sociological and educational aspect to help them reach similar standards of life as straight people; and how population is opening their minds to understand this type of behavior, helping society and job market to open their doors to employment opportunities for the gay community.
The intersection between one’s mental integrity and privacy entitles the individual to freedom of thought, the freedom to believe in what is right, and the freedom of self-determination. When these guarantees intersect with gender, they create a private space which protects all those elements which are crucial to gender identity. The family, marriage, procreation and sexual orientation are all integral to the dignity of the individual. The right asserted in a variety of formulations, enshrined in the major human rights instruments, and found in constitutions and interpretations, has enabled international bodies and national courts to protect individuals in the protection of the home and the person and the right to personal autonomy, and in such personal decisions as sexual orientation, choice of a marital partner, the surname one wishes to use, and keeping secret one’s correspondence , as well as protecting the right to be free from surveillance and other intrusion in a person’s ‘private
Nagourney, Adam. "Court Strikes Down Ban on Gay Marriage in California." New York Times. N.p., 7 Feb. 2012. Web.
basic civil rights protections for GLBT people.” (Currah, Minter p.9) Many of the LGBT population feel like their personal freedoms and liberties have been violated as lawmakers in some states and countries infringe on their personal rights. Passings of legislature that marginalizes the LGBT population is not only unjust and inhumane but it causes sociological and societal implications that question that persons beliefs about themselves leading to the dangerous climate facing the group from within themselves and the population around
* Wiegand, Shirley; "Part of the Moving Stream: State Constitutional Law, Sodomy, and Beyond; Kentucky Law Journal; Vol. 81; 1992-93; p. 449 - 481.
Humans have established their own rights in society for many, many years now. However, because some humans differ from the norms that are built in society, they are shunned and denied their rights until they conform to society’s norms. There has been numerous groups of people who have been denied their rights in America. African Americans, immigrants, Native Americans, and gays have been isolated simply because that is the way that they were born into this world and others do not find them “normal”. There is another group that has also been mistreated though; people who identify themselves as transgendered. A good portion of society is unknowingly misinformed about these kinds of people.
The LGBTQIA community has faced strong opposition from groups falling outside this minority for years, primarily conservative and religious groups. This phenomenon is not particular to the United States, but spans hundreds of countries across the world. Religious leaders in varying religions not only oppose the act of marriage, but often times oppose the actual act of homosexual behavior. Often religious oppositionist will cite religious text, like the Bible as a means of opposing the LGBTQIA lifestyle. One of the most blatant oppositions to homosexual b...
Nowicka, Wanda. "Sexual and Reproductive Rights and the Human Rights Agenda: Controversial and Contested." Reproductive Health Matters, 19.38 (2011): 119.
... decades ago. This book is one that will allow the reader to view many aspects of sexuality from a social standpoint, and apply it to certain social attitudes in our society today, these attitudes can range from the acceptance of lesbian and gays, and the common sight of sex before marriage and women equality. The new era of sexuality has taken a definite "transformation" as Giddens puts it, and as a society we are living in the world of change in which we must adapt, by accepting our society as a changing society, and not be naive and think all the rules of sexuality from our parents time our still in existence now.
Stoddard, T, Fein, B, (Jan. 1990) Gay Marriage, Personal relationships, Marriage, Legislation, Homosexuality, American Bar Association, (Pages 42, 42)
In conclusion, Eastern and Western cultures clearly vary in the level of tolerance and acceptance they each have towards what is considered outside of the social norm for sex and gender. This is evident with the amount of acceptance of homosexuals and transsexuals in our everyday society as well as in some religious places of worship. There is also a great deal of tolerance for the idea of a third sex within the Indian and Hindu culture. Eastern cultures are definitely more accepting and open then Western cultures. Many studies have been done to prove this information and this paper draws on some of them.
The doctrine of human rights were created to protect every single human regardless of race, gender, sex, nationality, sexual orientation and other differences. It is based on human dignity and the belief that no one has the right to take this away from another human being. The doctrine states that every ‘man’ has inalienable rights of equality, but is this true? Are human rights universal? Whether human rights are universal has been debated for decades. There have been individuals and even countries that oppose the idea that human rights are for everybody. This argument shall be investigated in this essay, by: exploring definitions and history on human rights, debating on whether it is universal while providing examples and background information while supporting my hypothesis that human rights should be based on particular cultural values and finally drawing a conclusion.