Queer people have existed in society for an invariable long time period. However, many refuse to accept this fact and mislabel queerness as part of modernity and dismiss it because of their lingering homophobic views. Without knowing the true history and backstory behind the community, people oppress them and treat them as misfits. But queers have known and seen the turning of time for longer than any of us know.
Ancient South Asian societies had not only normalised but warmly embraced same-sex intimacy. All this changed in the reign of colonial rule. The Victorian-era mindset and values completely changed people’s beliefs and led them onto a path where same-sex relations were frowned upon. These weren’t merely morally obligated changes but also changes made in terms of legal norms.
Colonial rule in South Asia transformed religious beliefs and practices. European ideologies considered same-sex intimacy as sinful and linked engaging in it with karmic consequences. Such hateful views were not part of the population’s ideology before colonisation. They took an entire community of people from being celebrated to becoming sinners.
The nation of Sri Lanka, located in South Asia, has witnessed the colonial rule of the Portuguese, British and Dutch from 1505 to 1948. These occupations resulted in severe socio-economic, political, as well as cultural shifts in the country. Amendments in the Constitution that set the foundation to prosper within the citizens were created; these continue to dominate their people’s beliefs.
Their government still refuses to make changes to legal reforms that protect the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and allow them the same liberty as other citizens. Despite evading the countries they forcibly ruled over, the impact Victorian rule had on countries continues to influence the descendants that followed those whose independence they took.
The ironic part of all this is that Britain itself has legalised consensual same-sex relationships, but Sri Lanka continues to follow the so-called Victorian code of conduct and criminalise those who engage in them. This refusal to change for the community is also linked with keeping in par with the heteronormative and patriarchal views that the entire South Asian landscape has set up. To socially humiliate and ostracise queer people has continued for generations, and with no signs of change from the government, the vanishing of homophobia is far from happening.
Evidence in history books and recordings proves that same-sex relations existed in pre-colonial times and that they weren’t treated with such cruelty and immorality as they are now. An example of this is a monarch by the name of King Buwanekabahu III in the Kotte kingdom who was one of the rulers involved in scandalous schemes such as inviting officials to search for them attractive young men to engage in same-sex relationships.
In this way, it was quite a common affair for queer relations to occur. And mostly because people of influence, including monarchs, were part of the community, there was little to less chance of questions arising or gossipmongers spreading rumours. Queers were just as common and accepted as heterosexuals. There were no laws criminalising them, and no boundaries existed that frightened them from being who they were.
Another example of a community that highly honours queer people is Native Americans. Even today, they refer to transgender people as “Two-Spirit”. They are considered to be an entirely separate gender from men and women, as someone who evolves or is born a certain way. By holding them in high regard, Two-Spirit people are considered to be doubly blessed and viewed as being spiritually gifted.
European colonisers were shocked by the community these people represented and perceived them as inhumane and wicked. By oppression and through forced colonialism, Europeans instilled transphobic ideas into people’s minds and turned Two-Spirited people from being legends to becoming subjects of mockery.
A similar case is witnessed in India with the Hijra community. These people were considered to be spiritually blessed with the special powers to grant fertility and bring good luck to families. But when this community, which rejoiced at births and weddings in strangers’ families, faced the rejection and disrespect of colonisers who turned their worlds upside down by making their fellow Indians believe that accepting and respecting them was a mistake, what was once a cheerful community became black-and-white.
And just like other nations that couldn’t get over the after-effects of colonial rule, the queer Hijras stood on the sidelines watching the same country that invited them over to gain their blessings treat them with contempt. The Hijra community proved to be another victim of the colonisers’ closeted views, bringing shame to countries with rich cultures by disposing of those communities that lightened them up.
It is saddening to witness how, despite leaving the country, colonial views cannot be restored to how they were back in a time when there was more love and acceptance than rage and discrimination.
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