Identity, Alienation, and Sexuality in Hanif Kureishi’s ‘My Beautiful Laundrette’
By Adil Bhat
In the screenplay, the immigrant and indigenous idiosyncratic lives vividly reflect the social realities of the time – ambiguous and dark.
Homophobia and the Muslim reaction
By Kouser Fathima
Despite the fact that Omar Mateen himself might have been a closet gay, the strong Muslim reaction against the LGBTs leaves many youth confused, further fuelling their resentment against them. When homophobia is aided by religious diktats and twisted ideologies, tragedies such as Orlando might happen more happen.
Film: An Informal Conversation with Jayan K. Cherian, Director, Papilio Buddha
By Mary Ann Chacko & Mosarrap H. Khan
In this Cafe Dissensus Conversation, Director Jayan K. Cherian discusses his new film, Papilio Buddha, which deals with the land-struggles of dalits and adivasis in the Western Ghats of Kerala.
Interrogating the ‘natural’: Against the Supreme Court’s Verdict on 377 (Part-II)
By Shreya Ila Anasuya
Given that this law was passed in 1860 by the colonial government, it is doubly absurd that it is now being upheld in order to preserve ‘Indian culture’. Even a cursory interrogation of this law will place it firmly within the framework of Victorian morality, which then becomes violently translated into upper-caste, elite Hindu nationalism.
Interrogating the ‘Natural’: Against the Supreme Court’s verdict on Section 377 – Part I
By Shreya Ila Anasuya
From singing Lady Gaga to a rousing Hindi protest song asking who it is – exactly – that can possibly be threatened by people asking for freedom. From warning the participants not to betray their queer communities by voting for a party that has expressly supported the Supreme Court verdict, to dancing to the wonderfully apt ‘Pyar kiya toh darna kya?’
Kaushal v. Naz Foundation: The real ‘revolting subject’
By Nienke Boer
We should take courage from the public outcry that has followed this decision. Homosexuality in India is now, more than ever, a subject of public discussion, an issue for debate. The shame the Victorian legislators tried to brand onto this form of desire is being eradicated, and it is no longer a whispered taboo.
On Being a Gay Activist in India
By Ashley Tellis
Being a gay activist in India over the last two decades – from the repressed and political runt of a lad in Bombay you were then to the thick-skinned whore you are today in Delhi – has been one hell of a ride. It has been most of all, salutary and educative. It has taught you that the business of being a minority means negotiating the sharp and abrasive asymmetries of the various struggles you are simultaneously part of because constituents of all those struggles form who you are.
Cafe Dissensus Everyday 