Anyone who knows me will know that I'm 1) a Sikh, 2) a huge Bake Off fan, and 3) an advocate of anti-discrimination. So, why not combine all three into a blog?
Rav Bansal was on series 7 of The Great British Bake Off, during it's time on the BBC. He is, evidently, a Sikh - no problem with that, right?
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| Rav Bansal, GBBO, 2016 |
Rav Bansal was on series 7 of The Great British Bake Off, during it's time on the BBC. He is, evidently, a Sikh - no problem with that, right?
Well, after publicly coming out as gay, Bansal received a homophobic letter from a 'fellow Sikh'.
Firstly, I would like to show my readers what the Guru Granth (Sikh holy book) says about homosexuality, through use of a Christian meme that I sourced from Pinterest:
Firstly, I would like to show my readers what the Guru Granth (Sikh holy book) says about homosexuality, through use of a Christian meme that I sourced from Pinterest:
Now, forgive me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is the same for every religion - I don't think religion is against homosexuality at all; it is the culture that is homophobic.
As I mentioned in my blog about Islamophobia and homophobia, I believe that so-called 'traditions' are the cause of hatred and discrimination. I can't find any religious scripture that rejects homosexuality, yet people claim that God hates gays. This is wrong. In fact, there is no good reason for anyone to hate anyone, and you're all mad if you're going to hate on someone for something that they cannot change about themselves.
The British Ruining Everything (as usual):
In an episode of The Ganges with Sue Perkins (BBC), Perkins met a group of transgender Hindu women, commonly known as the Hijra. These women are often hired out at baby showers, to spread blessings and happiness upon new Hindu babies, and as entertainers - however, many Hindus are hostile towards these women, as you would expect in this day and age, due to their 'choice' to change their gender identity.
But, here's the thing: before Britain's colonisation of India, there was no such hatred!
The 'British Raj' lasted from 1858-1957. In this time, British officials infected Indians with their discriminatory views, that the transgender community were 'a danger to public morals' and that they evoked images of 'filth, disease, contagion and contamination.'
This negative portrayal of such an innocent, peaceful community has ruined many people's attitudes towards the transgender community in India, and I believe that the same is happening with the gay community. It is such a shame that negativity is more contagious than acceptance, especially where religion is involved.
Decriminalisation of Gay Sex
On a different note, in 2018, gay sex was legalised in India. I cannot be prouder of everyone who protested and fought for the rights of these people, and it has obviously made a huge difference to the Indian queer community: there is more respect, and a willingness to try and understand life as a queer person.
Here is an interview that VICE did with some queer Indians, on the decriminalisation of gay sex: https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/evjze7/queer-lgbtq-gay-indians-tell-us-how-much-has-changed-since-gay-sex-was-decriminalised-a-year-ago-section-377
In 2014, India's government also recognised transgender people as a third gender.
Bansal's Letter
Rav posted the homophobic letter he received on Twitter, so, like a true English Literature student, I'm going to analyse it, and let this person know why they are so, so wrong.
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| Source: Twitter - Rav Bansal |
'You promote a perverse lifestyle as if it is something you should be proud of... Sikhism *explicitly says that lustful behaviour is prohibited.'
*Where?
The gay lifestyle is only perverse because you've made it perverse. If there wasn't a taboo associated with homosexuality, would you be writing this letter? No.
Also, a gay relationship is no more 'lustful' than a relationship between a man and a woman - but I guess you wouldn't know that, as you probably had an arranged marriage, and have never experienced true love. What a shame.
'I have two young children and I don't want them being exposed to this kind of inappropriate material.'
So, two men holding hands is inappropriate, yet a man and a woman holding hands is perfectly fine? Forgive me for not quite understanding your point...
Sadly, your children are growing up in an age where acceptance of the LGBT community is stronger than ever. One day, you'll realise that you're stuck in the past, and by then it'll be too late for you to realise the sadness that you've cause to the many, many LGBT Sikhs in the world, and to no avail.
'With regret, I have to say that I will no longer be supporting you...'
If you regretted your decision, you would stop being a homophobic idiot - safe to say, that isn't going to happen any time soon. And I'm glad that you've stopped supporting Rav, as I'm sure he doesn't want someone as unpleasant as you in his life.
It sickens me that such religious people have a place in their heart to condemn someone's right to love whomever they choose. I hope that the person who wrote this heartbreaking letter will realise their mistakes, and choose to do what really is written in Sikh scriptures: love everyone.
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Thanks for reading this blog - I hope you found it informative, honest and funny!
What do you think about homosexuality and Sikhism - is it acceptable, or not? And, more importantly, why?
- R
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