Section 377 of Indian Penal Code: Unnatural Offences, - Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature, with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.”
( REPEALED)
I bet, if you are over 30 & still romantically unattached, to the opposite sex that is, people must have questioned, if not directly to you ( That would be rude, won’t it & highly politically incorrect, amongst certain sections of society),amongst themselves about your sexual orientation being on the “wrong side”.
What makes homosexuality a topic of gossip or worthy ( In absence of any better word in the dictionary) of a frown or even an outrage? If you put this question to a “modern & rational citizen of any country, you would be presented with the “un-naturalness” argument. Not the culture or the religious ones ( modern people are suppose to be above all these petty issues you see) .
What is so “unnatural” about being homosexual as opposed to heterosexual? Many of my friends ( the modern & rational ones) have quoted Darwin who says “ the only function of sex is procreation” ( or something to this effect. No doubt I have ALWAYS scored barely passing marks in Biology in school). & I thought the main function of sex was to provide sensory pleasure! Silly me! Were we not told that like food, sex is a basic instinct! If the “basic Instinct” thing has any grain of truth, then the prime “function” of sex is to satisfy the urge. Procreation is a bi-product of that process of satisfying the urge & NOT the only function as some of us might want to belive. Further, if the only function of sex is procreation, then why use condom, have sex once have enough children or when you are beyond child bearing age ! One could argue that a few things (like condoms) might be the “necessary evil” even if they are unnatural. What, then, distinguishes the “necessary evil” from just plain, simple “evil”.
Who decides the necessity of the evil! Surely not poor nature. Nature to induce a fun element in the banal life of a living creature, gave us equipment to have fun with. Humans being humans, added a set of rules (Unlike other creatures of the animal kingdom) of how, when where & with whom to have sex. To use or not to use condom, to have 2 or 12 children! The complex rules governing the sexual activity unique to us humans is nothing to do with nature and everything to do with the society & social conditioning. And the “cherry picking” of the necessary evils depends upon how deeply the social norms are ingrained in our minds. Further, the segment which believes strictly in “ Sex for procreation & hammer for nails” approach, should be reminded that hammer is used for other purposes as cracking the nut or flattening a surface”. The other uses of hammer do not make it any less natural. So if sex organs are used for other ( & better, in my opinion) purposes than procreation, why does it become unnatural! & If sex for pleasure is not unnatural, how can we label homosexuality as unnatural ( Confusing? No, just logical). And, and and........ In view of the peculiar design of these organs, with their great concentration of nerve endings, it would seem that they were designed (if they were designed) with that very goal in mind
What is nature? There is a lot of ambiguity surrounding the definition. When something is said to be "natural" or in conformity with "natural law" or the "law of nature," this may mean either (1) that it is in conformity with the descriptive laws of nature, or (2) that it is not artificial, that man has not imposed his will or his devices upon events or conditions as they exist or would have existed without such interference. Natural laws by its very definition are“ descriptive “ laws as in they merely state or describe what occurs in nature. Human or man made laws on the contrary are “prescriptive”. As in they define how the humans should behave & have penalties attached to it unlike the natural laws. When we say that objects on earth follow Newton’s law of gravity, we do not by ant means imply that Angle of God appeared in Newton’s sleep & told him how the earthly objects should behave. Nor that a ghostly policeman patrols the world, ready to mete out punishments to any object that "violate" the heavenly decree. What we want to say is Newton simple observed a phenomena & described it. And if nature law is a mere description of what occurs in nature ( frequency being, irrelevant), even the true- exceptions, are a part of the naturally occurring phenomena.
A logical extension of the argument then would be that despite the frequency of its occurrence, homosexuality too is a naturally occurring phenomenon! To condom an act/ a phenomenon on the basis of its uncommonness would be gross injustice. Because then we should not just condemn homosexuals but also left-handed people, physically challenged & differently able people and people with exceptionally high IQ! After all these too are “ Unnatural”!
Hatred/ apathy/ indifference towards homosexuals is shaped by the social norms & values which regard certain behaviours as “right” & certain others as wrong”. Nature has no role to play in this. By using the garb of “argument- based on naturalness”, we do nothing but pretend to give a scientific logic & rational to our misplaced-value loaded existence. The issue of homosexuality is rather like the issue of race. Like race one does not “choose” his/ her sexuality or sexual orientation. If heterosexual do not get up one day & “decide” to be attracted to the opposite sex, why are words like “preference/ choice” appended to being homosexuals. Talk to homosexuals you know & they’ll tell you that just like their “straight” counterparts, they knew that they were “different”. & even if sexual orientation was a question of choice , why would any rational minded person choose an orientation which bring upon them so much hate, discrimination and condemnation.
If homosexuality were a disease why has Pfizer not come out ( or at least trying) with a pill or a vaccine !
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