Exhibition brings to light LGBT Indians in SA
AFEW weeks ago I attended the opening of a photo exhibition at the KZNSA Gallery in Glenwood, Durban, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that we are certainly making progress in terms of ending the stigma around sexual and gender diversity.
The exhibition was called Re-membering: Memory, Intimacy, Archive.
Artist Jordache Ellapen, originally from oThongathi (formerly Tongaat), and now an assistant professor at the University of Oregon, US, used film and photography to create a risqué display about sexuality, race and everyday intimacies in post-apartheid South Africa.
His photographs of naked Indian men in creative and intimate poses were placed over old black-and-white family photos.
As I stood in the gallery, feeling slightly awkward, it was a “good” awkwardness, because we, the viewers, are left to interpret the meaning of these curious, erotic and disruptive photos.
Later on, while listening to Professor Betty Govinden deliver the opening speech and recite poetry about the power of troublesome, transgressive images and art, I smiled at the thought of being present at a public event that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. We have come a long way! In a pamphlet describing his work, Ellapen says he is opening up a new window into a world previously unseen: queer Indian intimacies.
The word “queer” is used in a positive sense here, not in a demeaning way.
Indians tend to be very narrowly portrayed – as sugar cane workers or business people or in the context of Gandhi.
However, there are hidden groups within our small community that have remained largely invisible until now.
They exist in the shadows or as stereotypes.
Remember the gay couple in Broken Promises 2?
It was quite something to see two Indian guys in a relationship on local cinema.
However, that on-screen romance was unfortunately a very stereotyped, comedic representation of what being a gay man is – flamboyant and feminine – and this portrayal probably irritated the majority of local gay men, who are no different in mannerisms, personality or presentation than their straight friends. This is not to say that there is anything wrong with being flamboyant or feminine, but that depiction tends to dominate.
Given the rare visibility of Indians who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) in South Africa, these typecast depictions are what many people are exposed to, unless they are fortunate to know members of the LGBT community.
There was some progress made in 2010 when actor Ashish Gangarpersad achieved local fame playing a gay Indian character in the soapie Isidingo, which was less stereotypical and on mainstream TV.
Against this background, these are some of the reasons why my colleagues and I began a new study this year to uncover the hidden stories of being an LGBT Indian in South Africa.
This is one of the first major psychological research projects ever undertaken on this topic and is a collaboration between psychologists at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of Pretoria and Nelson Mandela University.
There is some evidence to suggest that being LGBT is incredibly difficult for Indians in South Africa.
In 2005, a study by two organisations, Out LGBT Well-being and the Durban Lesbian and Gay Community Health Centre, showed that hate crimes in KwaZulu-Natal were extremely high, even in schools.
Results of that survey showed that 20 percent of gay and bisexual men and 19 percent of lesbian and bisexual women reported having been raped or sexually assaulted when they were at school with black and Indian people experiencing more victimisation than whites.
Most of this victimisation in school was perpetrated by other pupils (65%), followed by teachers (22%), school principals (9%) and other staff.
In 2014, I presented a paper at the South African Psychology Congress showing that there is major absence of research on LGBT Indians in South Africa.
Some studies confuse race and religion, for example, using the terms Indian and Muslim as if they are the same thing; or not realising being an Indian in Phoenix, Durban, is a different experience from being an Indian in Rylands, Cape Town.
These are some of the nuances we hope to explore in our current study.
We also hope to learn about ways in which people have come out to their families, so we can help families deal with prejudice and encourage acceptance.
I invite people to participate in this survey, if you currently identify as an LGBT South African Indian.
It is completely anonymous and can be accessed on this link: https:// goo. gl/ forms/ K1ySxLMTcVnGvLTI3. Otherwise, you may e-mail me directly: suntoshpillay@gmail.com