Karnataka - Bangalore

Attempt to sensitise people about lesbians,transsexuals

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Why is it that individuals refuse to rent out apartments and houses to lesbian couples in the country? Why do individuals run away when they see transsexuals approach them with fear that they are going to be looted?

Well, several of these questions, related issues and the stereotypes surrounding women and community issues were discussed on Thursday by women and gender activists, sections of the public and journalists at the workshop "Opening spaces: Media and Human Rights", organised by a conglomeration of voluntary organisations.

The workshop attempted to initiate a collective search of answers for these issues at the forum and to help each other move beyond the barriers of stereotypes. A. Revathi, a hijra activist, said media and film portrayal of transsexuals was "pathetic". They are always portrayed as goondas who are out to scare people to get money. At another extreme, they are ridiculed and made to look foolish, she said.

Sheela, a lesbian, spoke of the trying times that she and her partner, Sree Nandu, had when they decided to come out of the closet in their hometown in Kerala. The community and the media were initially hostile to them and refused to let them stay in the town. Many participants of the workshop felt that the media needed to be more sensitive to the needs of these communities and portray their lives and activities in better light. "The media needs to become people sensitive and not always work to deadline pressures," said Jyothi Kiran of Milana, a non-governmental organisation that works with individuals with HIV/AIDs and high-risk groups. "They need to publish more positive stories about us. That is when the community itself will begin to see us differently," she said.

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