The modernity of society is headed towards raising ‘marriageless’, ‘childless’, and ‘fiercely independent’ individuals free from the familial bond on one hand, and on the other front, there’s the rising concern and plea for a concept called ‘Same-Sex Marriage’. Whereas a gradual change is seamlessly incorporated into the mindset of people and societal setups, a sudden shift is bound to cause the disorder. As opposed to several countries across the globe that have legalized same-sex marriage, India among many other nations is still divided in the tensity of the plea as, ‘An urban elitist concept’ vs ‘upliftment of powerless’. Does this civil union, domestic partnership, or marriage alliance threaten the traditional concept, socially conservative setup, and incorporated value system of the family unit in the country, or strengthen the basic rights of two hearts bonded into one that lurks to live beyond the biology and abstract legality?
The uproar, the landmark hearing, and the subsequent consequences have all stirred humanity to reconsider the concept of marriage, the right to have one’s love recognized by society regardless of gender and consecrate a lifetime commitment of two people. The country being home to the world’s largest LGBTQ+ community stands on tenterhooks with divided viewpoints. Is gender merely a social construct, or contrary to stereotypical perception and dominant framework, it compels us to unveil a broader perspective of the terms ‘man’ and ‘woman’ that is not simply intertwined with gender, class, caste, race, ethnicity, and religion. Although the public attitude has been changing and evolving in the country, the younger ones being more open to drastic changes and shifts in family and societal setups, and globalization hugely impacting larger mindsets, there’s still a requisite of living our lives as one for ourselves and the one for society. Letting society develop an understanding of the issues faced by people of the sexual minorities through education, awareness, empathy, and evolved mentality at its own pace is important, instead of rushing people into hurried adjustments and letting it sit on a stick of dynamite ready to explode any moment.
‘Queer marriage’, and ‘queer families’ raise another significant concern- the act of natural procreation. Whereas there are cases where straight couples are unable to procreate naturally or consciously choose to remain childless, that does not necessarily pave the way to causing an existential threat to the notion of family in a country where traditions and values consider marriage as a sacred bond.
Whereas ‘love’ should be the fundamental constituent of keeping a family together and building a healthy society, there still seems to be some wait before the legalization of same-sex marriages, their right to marry, divorce, adopt children, and exist beyond ‘found families’, takes place in the country’s civil marriage statute. Societal progress and equality are on its way…one step at a time! Before we move to the next step after the legalization of homosexuality, let there be moments of pause and reflection.