CHENNAI: Every year, during the Pride Month, organisations and allies working towards the welfare of the people from LGBTQIA+ community conduct events to create awareness. Even as this year’s Pride Month is coming to an end, the celebrations aren’t taking a pause. Affirming that the activities conducted during the month shouldn’t be only restricted to June, The British Deputy High Commission in Chennai hosted Pride and Our Prejudices, on Monday, in collaboration with Fred Rogers, queer affirmative counsellor, trans rights activist and Dr L Ramakrishnan, a public health professional and vice president of Saathii.
Addressing the gathering, Paul Dryden, British deputy head of mission in Chennai, said, “You may be wondering why a white, straight, 50-year-old conservative man is here hosting this event. I would say that this event is exactly for someone like me. I hope it affects my organisation as a whole and also on its individuals.”
Explaining the LGBTQIA+ glossary Fred began, “Sex refers to the biological make-up of a person. It is usually determined based on external and internal parts, hormones, tissues, chromosomes. Gender refers to socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women. Gender identity is a person’s deeply-felt, inherent sense of being a boy, a man, or male; a girl, a woman, or female; or other identities.”
Fighting societal expectations is the hardest battle for a queer person but by educating the public, the members of the queer community hope to bring a change. Fred said, “When I came out as a trans man, I was married and had two children. My youngest kid was only two-and- a-half years old. My first child took a little time to process.
I had to show her animations and books to make her understand what I felt. Even though she took eight months to process it, now she corrects people when they refer to me as her mother. In Chennai, we are lucky enough to find a school that is inclusive and doesn’t question why my kids are having two fathers.” Fred adds that change within the family and society can happen gradually.
The speakers concurred that the first step towards inclusivity is addressing the issues faced by the communities in various sectors. Ramakrishnan said, “We have been able to sensitise Child Welfare Committees, primary schools, colleges and other organisations. In workplaces, we have binaries separating gender and LGBTQIA+ issues. Both have common roots, it is the society that says that men are superior to women. Lot of homophobia has its roots in sexism and misogyny. The POSH Act which all organisations are bound to follow can actually be used to look at both gender and sexuality issues more broadly.”
Impact of queerphobia in workplaces
Steps towards inclusivity