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In 2018, the Indian penal code scrapped section 377 and decriminalized consensual homosexuality. However, there exists a significant knowledge gap regarding what extent Indian workplaces have been successful in ensuring a discrimination-free environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) employees. Thus, to address this gap, the current study explored discriminatory workplace experiences encountered by Indian lesbian and gay (LG) employees. The qualitative data has been collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews and analyzed through the thematic analysis method. A hybrid of the inductive and theoretical thematic analysis revealed four themes, that is, subtle discrimination, disclosure dilemmas, dressing and appearance norms, and gender-binary filter. LG employees frequently encounter workplace discrimination in subtle forms(distancing, excluding, commenting behind the back, and dignity-attack). Experiences of discrimination and fear of going through workplace discrimination lead to disclosure dilemmas, that is, a multilayered decision-making process involving strategy formation, risk perception, and fear of discrimination while choosing/not choosing whether/how/where/when to disclose sexual identity at the workplace. Also, to establish heteronormativity, Indian organizations often maintain strict dress and appearance norms. In addition to these externally employed norms, LG employees use a gender-binary filter to screen their behaviors, gestures, speech(content, tone, pitch), walking, and dressing to confirm they align with the gender binary and to avoid workplace discrimination. Thus, the study shows that in Indian organizations, the workplace experiences of LG employees are far from discrimination-free. The organizations can use the study findings to understand current affairs and develop policies to ensure an inclusive workplace for LG employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In the Indian subcontinent, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community, commonly referred to as the third gender or transgender, is expected to exceed one million by 2030. Data on dermatologic conditions of the transgender population is deficient. Aims This study aimed to identify the common dermatological concerns and dermatologic procedures of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community of India. Methods This cross-sectional survey analysed the transgender participants of a non-institutionalised population in India via health camps that included 51 adult participants who self-identified as trans men and trans women. Results This study included 51 participants aged 20-49 years, of which the majority (94%) were trans women. The common dermatological problems were terminal hairs over the face, beard distribution, androgenetic alopecia, scars of gender-affirming surgeries, facial melanosis with topical steroid damaged skin and the need for facial feminisation procedures among trans women, while trans men had testosterone-related acne, androgenetic alopecia. Overall, 40.6% of participants reported dissatisfaction with one or more of their body parts. Laser hair removal was the most common gender-affirming dermatologic procedure. Conclusion This study provides an essential overview of the common dermatological conditions and procedures in the Indian lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons have insufficient access to dermatological services due to inadequate exposure and fear of discrimination. Even though transgender patients also present with similar dermatologic conditions as the general population, they have distinct cosmetic and treatment concerns during the period of transition owing to hormone-related or surgery-related changes. Addressing these challenges through enhancing dermatology residency training programs should be the focus of tomorrow. Limitations Considering convenience sampling and representative bias, further studies need to be conducted involving multiple study locations and larger sample sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the mental health of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) often emphasises individual vulnerability to mental health issues. However, attitudes towards LGBT individuals may also contribute to their experiences of minority stress. In the present study, the relationship between mental health literacy (MHL) and attitudes towards LGBT individuals in Australia and India was investigated. Seven-hundred and eleven participants (355 male) from Australia (n = 303) and India (n = 408) completed an online survey which included questionnaires indexing the participants' MHL and their attitudes towards LGBT individuals. MHL was associated with attitude scores, such that participants with higher levels of MHL tended to report more positive attitudes towards LGBT individuals. These relationships were stronger for Australian participants compared to Indian participants. These findings suggest that minority stress may be intensified for LGBT individuals when the MHL of the people they interact with is low. Alternatively, MHL may signal how willing an individual is to offer mental health support to a LGBT person. The present results also highlight the influence of cultural context on MHL and the need to consider this when examining attitudes towards LGBT individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Men who have Sex with Men being sexual minorities are a vulnerable section of society and are at greater risk of ill-treatment if they are 'out of the closet' regarding their sexuality. Previous evidence suggests that they experienced heightened susceptibility to physical and mental illnesses owing to widespread discrimination and victimization across different walks of life, particularly in developing countries. However, there is a paucity of sound data and scientific understanding related to linkages between physical-mental health and awareness about Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Sexually Transmitted Infections among Men who have Sex with Men in the Indian context. Methods: Using a mixed-method approach, the present study examined the association between physical-mental well-being and awareness of comprehensive Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Sexually Transmitted Infections/relevant health behaviours based on primary data collected from 300 respondents from six selected metro cities in India. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test and binary logistic regression model have been used for the quantitative data analyses. In-depth interviews were conducted to contextualize and appreciate the substantive meanings and significance coming out from the quantitative results with the lived experiences of the study respondents. Results: Finding suggests that one-fourth of the respondents were experiencing long-term illnesses while close to four out of ten respondents experienced short-term illnesses. About one-third of the respondents experienced disordered eating behaviour and mood swings. Close to one-fifth of the respondents reportedly contemplated suicidal thoughts. Awareness related to Sexually Transmitted Infections and preventive measures related to Human Immunodeficiency Virus risk was considerably low among Men who have Sex with Men. Conclusion: Awareness about sexual and reproductive health issues among Men who have Sex with Men needs to be strengthened to curtail the disproportionate risk and vulnerability of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Sexually Transmitted Infections. The public healthcare system needs to be sensitized and upgraded to cater user-friendly quality healthcare services, without any discrimination against sexual minorities including Men who have Sex with Men. Furthermore, generating public awareness about gender and sexuality-related matters and reducing stigma and discrimination is critical for achieving the health-related sustainable development goals in India without leaving no one behind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"A petition titled Abhijit Iyer Mitra & others v. Union of India, W.P. (C) 6371/2020 is pending before the Delhi High Court to recognize the „same sex marriage?. The petition was rebutted by the central government on the ground that the same sex marriage cannot be allowed in India as it is against the traditional norms of the Indian culture. However, this rebuttal goes against the very root of Navetj Singh Johar judgment in which the court clearly said that a human has an intrinsic right to choose a partner of his choice. However, the focus of my paper is not on the validity of the same sex marriage but beyond that i.e., whether the same-sex couples can be called a „family? as against the definition of govt. which said that only heterosexual?s partner with a child can be called a family and also as to whether the same sex couples can adopt a child in India.". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On September 6, 2018, homosexuality was decriminalized in India. It was the result of a rights mobilization that started almost two decades ago. From the start, Indian lesbian, gay, bi, trans (LGBT) activists tried to influence society and the judges directly, not least through contact with other judges who happened to be gay. This article is a first attempt at understanding the mobilization and decriminalization in light of contact. It is also a first attempt at combining contact theories from both gestalt and the social sciences, including Allport's (1954) contact hypothesis. It seems quite plausible that contact of a certain kind played an important role in the Indian case. Other social movements could learn from this case. Gestaltists, as contact artists could have much to contribute, especially if they also draw upon social sciences and recognize that status, social identity, and power play a role in contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Comparison. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative, Analytical. Findings: The paper will suggest where the Pakistani legislation will have to be amended without affecting the core subject of the transgender rights in Pakistan. Originality/value: Novel idea of comparing Pakistani law with an identical Indian law on transgender has been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Section 377 of the IPC talks about unnatural offence. Unnatural offence means sexual intercourse with any person which is against the order of nature. Now here question arise that does homosexual gives good message to the society? This paper also talks about natural offences and the LGBT Community and the various aspects of homosexuality and is it really fair to discriminate the homosexual or LGBT community? It also contains the reason behind homosexuality. Whether any special legislation should be enacted to protect the fundamental rights of the LGBT community? It focuses on the law of India and fundamental rights of every citizen of India. The first chapter in this paper introduces the unnatural offence which is provided in section 377 of IPC with its punishment. Second chapter talks about the history of the legislation i.e from where unnatural offence came. Third chapter talks about arguments in favor of section 377 and also contain defense statement. The forth chapter talks about constitutional validity of section 377 and some important case laws like Naz foundation where they are appealing to repeal this section because it is violating fundamental rights of the citizen. It also discussed about the homosexuality as a disease. It also contains various people opinion on homosexuality. Our legal system will not enforce homosexual activities in India, if it does it leads to unconstitutional. This paper mainly aims that as we all know that homosexual in India are not treated well. They were discriminated on every ground. So if any special law enacted for the homosexual community, it will just like new hope for the survival of LGBT Community. Everyone has right to choose their partners and they have rights to be treated as heterosexual couples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understandings of sex and intimacy carry important implications for individuals' behaviours and health. In many research studies, sex is narrowly defined as penile-vaginal intercourse, which may exclude the experiences of sexual and gender minoritised individuals. Likewise, sexual intimacy, or intimacy related to sexual experience between two or more people, is under-researched. Even less is known about how sexual and gender minoritised individuals in countries such as India understand these concepts. This qualitative study included focus group discussions and interviews conducted in three urban areas in India - Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata. Data were analysed thematically. Participants described sex as a context-dependent experience, acknowledging that their definitions might not capture others' characterisations. Participants reported numerous barriers to intimacy, especially for transgender and other gender minority individuals. We discuss the implications of simplistic definitions related to gender and sexuality for future sexuality research and public health in settings such as those discussed here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main problems that are being faced by the transgender community are of discrimination, unemployment, lack of educational facilities, homelessness, lack of medical facilities like HIV care and hygiene, depression, hormone pill abuse, tobacco and alcohol abuse, problems related to marriage and adoption. There are approximately 4.8 million transgender people in India. 2/5th of homosexuals in country have faced blackmail after the 2013 ruling. LGBT people are not allowed to do sex reassignment surgery, to make same sex marriages and acquire civil rights (as a married couple).They are not allowed to adopt a child, access to IVF, commercial surrogacy, entry into the military services as well as not authorised for blood donation. Among men who have sex with men, rates of human papilloma virus-associated anal cancers are 17 times higher than those of heterosexual men. International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD) or the American Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM5) refers it as Gender Dysphoria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines emerging trends in contemporary representations of queerness in popular Hindi cinema in an attempt to argue against the bourgeoning popularity of “positive images,” i.e. sanitized, tractable portrayals of queer lives on screen that find recognition among sections of mainstream audiences so long as these depictions resonate with one’s desire to see characters who are reassuringly “like us.” This sets forth a normalizing agenda that deems queerness intelligible only when it is shorn of its subversive, destabilizing potential. As a counter-narrative to this trend, I study two shorts compiled in the 2013 anthology film, Bombay Talkies- essentially, my contention is that both these texts feature protagonists (Avinash and Vicky) who are not “positive” or likeable in any reductive sense. Nonetheless, they embody, in their own peculiar ways, the revolutionary potentialities of queerness. It is precisely for this reason that Bombay Talkies can be considered representative of a negative aesthetic, a term that consciously draws from John Keats’ notion of “negative capability” and its emphasis on embracing “uncertainties, mysteries, [and] doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason” (1818, p. 498). The textual and ideological open-endedness and variability intrinsic to Keats’ concept may help us evolve an interpretive framework that interrogates the prevalence of narrow, “either/or,” “good/bad” representational paradigms specifically geared towards rendering queerness “normal” and “acceptable” in the popular consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, attitudes in many parts of the Arab region have hardened towards non-conforming sexualities and gender roles, a shift fuelled in part by a rise in Islamic conservatism and exploited by authoritarian regimes. While political cultures have proved slow to change in the wake of the ‘Arab Spring’, a growing freedom of expression, and increasing activity by civil society, is opening space for discreet challenges to sexual taboos in a number of countries, part of wider debates over human rights and personal liberties in the emerging political and social order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent public debates about sexuality in India and Vietnam have brought the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people sharply into focus. Drawing on legal documents, secondary sources and ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the urban centres of Delhi and Hanoi, this article shows how the efforts of civil society organisations dedicated to the fight for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights have had different consequences in these two Asian contexts. The paper considers how these organisations navigated government regulations about their formation and activities, as well as the funding priorities of national and international agencies. The HIV epidemic has had devastating consequences for gay men and other men who have sex with men, and has been highly stigmatising. As a sad irony, the epidemic has provided at the same time a strategic entry point for organisations to struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender recognition. This paper examines how the fight for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender recognition has been doubly framed through health-based and rights-based approaches and how the struggle for recognition has positioned lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in India and Vietnam differently. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper will consider whether LGBT rights are best seen as drawing from a wider notion of struggle. To make this point, the present paper will first map the role that pioneers of democratic struggle, whether Luis Gama in Brazil, Mahatma Gandhi in India or Nelson Mandela in South Africa, have played in setting in place an understanding of transformative democracy. It will be argued that this foundational struggle has had an imprint upon the constitutional framework in those countries and hence makes it possible for the Constitution to be transformative. This paper then argues that a successful LGBT articulation in each of these countries draws upon these histories of resistance, be they against colonialism in India, racism and military rule in Brazil or apartheid in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Surveying vulnerable and incarcerated populations is often challenging. Newer methods to reach and collect sensitive information in a safe, secure, and valid manner can go a long way in addressing this unmet need. Homosexual men in India live with inadequate social support, marginalization, and lack legal recognition. These make them less reachable by public health agencies, and make them more likely to continue with high-risk behaviors, and contract human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Aims: To understand coping skills and HIV testing patterns of homosexual men versus heterosexual men. Materials and Methods: An internet based study using a secure web platform and an anonymised questionnaire. The brief COPE Inventory was used to assess coping styles. Results: A total of 124 respondents were studied. Homosexual men used negative coping skills such as behavioral disengagement and tested for HIV significantly more often than heterosexual men. Heterosexual respondents used positive coping skills more often. The most commonly used coping skill by heterosexual men was instrumental coping and by homosexual men was acceptance. Discussion: Overall, homosexual men used negative coping mechanisms, like behavioral disengagement more often. The Indian family structure and social support is probably responsible for heterosexual men's over-reliance on instrumental coping, while resulting in disengagement in homosexuals. Conclusion: The lack of legal and social recognition of homosexuality has negatively impacted lives of gay men in India. This is strongly linked to harmful psychological and public health implications for HIV prevention and mental health for homosexual men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare a group of Indian dental students' attitudes toward HIV-positive status, substance misuse, intellectual disability, acute mental illness, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) orientation. Two hundred and twelve students at various stages in the dental curriculum anonymously completed the Medical Condition Re-gard Scale (MCRS) for these conditions. Friedman and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used, respectively, to analyze the intrastage and interstage differences in MCRS scores. The results revealed that the regard of dental students was considerably positive for all the conditions except LGBT, for which it was just borderline positive. Intellectual disability received the highest regard among all the conditions and LGBT the least. An intermediary and comparable regard was noted for acute mental illness and HIV-positive status followed by substance misuse. While the regard for LGBT remained consistent throughout the curriculum, those for other conditions showed a marginal decrease at the completion of the clinical training. Active curricular reforms are required to ensure a more inclusive and nondiscriminatory dental care environment for patients from such often-stigmatized populations, especially those with LGBT orientation and substance misuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural collectivism, a core feature of honor cultures, is associated with the acceptance of aggression if it is used in the name of so-called "honor." Currently overlooked in the research literature, this study explored perceptions of antigay "honor" abuse in collectivist-orientated honor cultures, where homosexuality, in particular, is considered to be dishonorable. To conduct exploratory and comparative analysis, this study recruited 922 students in four Asian countries (India, Iran, Malaysia, and Pakistan), as well as Asian British and White British students in England. All participants read a brief vignette depicting a man whose relatives verbally abuse him and threaten him with life-threatening violence, after suspecting that he is gay and has joined an online dating website to meet men. Participants then completed a short questionnaire that assessed the extent to which they thought the man's actions had damaged his family's honor and their approval of the antigay "honor" abuse depicted in the scenario. Broadly in line with predictions, data analyses revealed attitudes more supportive of antigay "honor" abuse in all five collectivist-orientated populations than the sample of individualistic-orientated counterparts in England. Notably, however, a series of one-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) demonstrated that these results varied depending on country of residence, gender, religious denomination, educational status, and age. The findings show that individual and demographic differences influence perceptions toward homophobic "honor" abuse in collectivist cultures. These differences are useful indices of the psychosocial factors that underpin hostile attitudes toward gay males in cultures where homosexuality is denounced.

Background: Leveraging internet-based communication tools (eg, messaging apps, SMS text messaging, and email) may be an effective avenue for delivery of HIV prevention messages to men who have sex with men (MSM) in India, but there are limited models for such internet-based interventions., Objective: The CHALO! pilot was an online educational and behavioral intervention aimed to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact of a peer-delivered, internet-based messaging intervention for HIV testing and consistent condom use for MSM in India. The messages addressed barriers to HIV testing and condom use and were theoretically based on the information-motivation-behavioral skills model., Methods: Between February and March 2015, we recruited, enrolled, and randomized 244 participants via online advertisements on mobile dating apps and Facebook. Eligible men (18 years or older, sexually active with other men, and self-reported HIV-negative or unknown status) were randomized to receive educational and motivational messages framed as either approach (ie, a desirable outcome to be achieved) or avoidance (an undesirable outcome to be avoided) over 12 weeks via internet-based messaging platforms. Participants completed online surveys at baseline and immediately postintervention., Results: Participants were similar across arms with respect to sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics. Over 82.0% (200/244) of participants were retained (ie, viewed final messages), and 52.3% (130/244) of them completed the follow-up survey. Of those completing the follow-up survey, 82.3% (107/130) liked or strongly liked participating in CHALO!. The results showed a significant increase in self-reported HIV testing in the past 6 months from baseline to follow-up (41/130, 31.5% to 57/130, 43.8%; P=.04). When including those who reported intentions to test, this percentage increased from 44.6% (58/130) at baseline to 65.4% (85/130) at follow-up (P<.01). When examining intentions to test among those without prior HIV testing, intentions increased from 32% (16/50) of the sample at baseline to 56% (28/50) of the sample at follow-up (P=.02). Condom use during anal sex did not significantly change from baseline to follow-up. HIV testing and condom use did not significantly differ between approach and avoidance conditions at follow-up., Conclusions: As one of the first studies of an online HIV prevention intervention for Indian MSM, CHALO! was feasible to implement by a community-based organization, was acceptable to participants, and demonstrated potential to improve HIV testing rates., (©Viraj V V Patel, Shruta Rawat, Alpana Dange, Corina Lelutiu-Weinberger, Sarit A Golub. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 16.04.2020.)