Gay Indian Prince Gohil to Appear on Oprah

[BeaStKid]

Gay Indian Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil to Appear on Oprah

http://www.towleroad.com/2007/10/gay-indian-prin.html

 

Indian Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, who was disowned by his family in 2006 after coming out to them, has reportedly been invited by Oprah to appear on her talk show later this month.

 

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Wow!!!

[Hylas]

Homosexuality is still illegal in India.

 

omg. i'm sorry beastkid. :S I thought you people are mostly hindu? isn't homosexuality accepted in hinduism?

 

When he came out in 2006, Gohil said: "I knew that they would never accept me for who I truly am, but I also knew that I could no longer live a lie. I wanted to come out because I had gotten involved with activism and I felt it was no longer right to live in the closet. I came out as gay to a Gujarati daily because I wanted people to openly discuss homosexuality since it's a hidden affair with a lot of stigma attached."

 

Gohil's festival included not only gay people, but "socialites" and "curious villagers" interested in mingling. Said Gohil: "Gays are talented, creative, imagine a world without us. I was born gay with some talent and skills, this festival is for people like me."

 

Imagine a world without gays, says gay Indian prince

 

go Gohil! and strangely enough it is true. Gays are talented and creative. In some ancient cultures, gay men and women oftentimes become shamans because they are supposed to harbor the best of two spirits - the male and the female. today, we get artists, writers, designers, etc.

[AFriendlyFace]

Gay Indian Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil to Appear on Oprah

<a href="http://www.towleroad.com/2007/10/gay-indian-prin.html" target="_blank">http://www.towleroad.com/2007/10/gay-indian-prin.html</a>

 

Indian Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, who was disowned by his family in 2006 after coming out to them, has reportedly been invited by Oprah to appear on her talk show later this month.

This is nifty! Appearing on Oprah ought to bring more awareness to the issue. I just hope for his sake he can back up everything he claims happened to him!

 

go Gohil! and strangely enough it is true. Gays are talented and creative. In some ancient cultures, gay men and women oftentimes become shamans because they are supposed to harbor the best of two spirits - the male and the female. today, we get artists, writers, designers, etc.

Great point! I guess we're just lucky

[BeaStKid]

omg. i'm sorry beastkid. :S I thought you people are mostly hindu? isn't homosexuality accepted in hinduism?

:wacko:

 

Ummm.... My dear Hylas!! India is not only full of Hindus, but it has virtually every other religion. Even though Hindus are in the majority, other religions like Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Jews, etc are very much there. Even though they are a minority in our terms, in actual terms (actual numbers) they are quite a big population keeping in mind that 'minority' would be in proportion to India's mammoth population!!!

 

As far as I am concerned, I am a Sikh. And no, Hinduism doesn't accept homosexuality....

 

go Gohil! and strangely enough it is true. Gays are talented and creative. In some ancient cultures, gay men and women oftentimes become shamans because they are supposed to harbor the best of two spirits - the male and the female. today, we get artists, writers, designers, etc.

Seconded!!!

 

This is nifty! Appearing on Oprah ought to bring more awareness to the issue. I just hope for his sake he can back up everything he claims happened to him!

Yeah!!

 

The Beastkid

[CoLeYy]

WOW!!!!!

 

Oprah ... i that lady. She doesnt judge anyone for anything and looks out for people like Gohil who stand up for themselves and what they believe in!!!!!! I agree with kevin tho.. i hope he can back everything up that he claims happend to him

[AFriendlyFace]

As far as I am concerned, I am a Sikh. And no, Hinduism doesn't accept homosexuality....

I actually thought Hinduism was pretty accepting of homosexuality too. Well actually I just thought they were extremely peaceful and thus unlikely to actively oppose it. I confess my knowledge of Eastern religions isn't as thorough as I'd like. What precisely are the tenants of Sikhism anyway? (feel free to PM me with regards to this if you feel like discussing it but would rather not do so here )

 

Take care all

-Kevin

Edited October 19, 2007 by AFriendlyFace

[BeaStKid]

I actually thought Hinduism was pretty accepting of homosexuality too. Well actually I just thought they were extremely peaceful and thus unlikely to actively oppose it. I confess my knowledge of Eastern religions isn't as thorough as I'd like. What precisely are the tenants of Sikhism anyway? (feel free to PM me with regards to this if you feel like discussing it but would rather not do so here )

 

Take care all

-Kevin

You were right in your thinking that Hindus don't actively oppose homosexuals. Neither do any of the other religions in India.

 

Let me give you some background info on how things are here--->

 

Almost everyone has heard of the Kamasutra. There is a mention of homosexual acts in it (there is a full chapter dedicated to it, so calling it just a 'mention' would be wrong). This proves that Indians of that era were quite accepting of homosexuals.

 

Come Britishers...and the introduction of the Victorian-era law--> Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code--->that criminalizes all sorts of sex not meant for procreation.

 

With this, the mindset of the Indian society started changing towards the worse with respect to homosexuals. The Muslim rulers that preceded the British rulers also contributed to this, but the final straw was the British law and their overt discrimination towards gays.

 

200 years of rule is enough time to change the society and here we are, the law still remains and so does the discrimination. The only difference is that it is not overt. The law is now days used by the police for extortion, blackmail and sexual gratification.

 

High-School scene is just taunting. I have not yet come across any physical gay-bashing. But the taunting can get severe. Total boycott may also take place. Same is the case with families that are not that accomodating.

 

With special reference to Sikhism, which is the youngest religion and by far the most liberal, there is not overt discrimination against gays. But with the whole Indian mindset against homosexuals, Sikhs (who are Indians too) are not very gay-friendly.

 

Those Indians, regardless of the religion, who have spent some time abroad, have a liberal attitude towards homosexuals. Same is the case with the more aware population like the upper-middle class.

 

So, the conclusion is that India consists of a mixed group of liberals and orthodox with the latter group in majority. And the best part is that the liberal group is fast gaining in numbers.

 

The Beastkid

[AFriendlyFace]

What an excellent, concise little history/cultural lesson.

 

Thanks, Beasty

-Kevin

[BeaStKid]

What an excellent, concise little history/cultural lesson.

 

Thanks, Beasty

-Kevin

My pleasure...

[Ieshwar]

I ddin't knew that part in Kamasutra. And hindus are not all non-violent. If you look in our Holy books- Ramayana and Mahabharata, there're lots of wars and bloodshed.

 

Btw, I'm a Hindu.

 

And I remember that Oprah had invited Josh Aterovis and his partner for a show on family. You must know Josh Aterovis, the great gay writer and painter!

 

Ieshwar

[BeaStKid]

I ddin't knew that part in Kamasutra. And hindus are not all non-violent. If you look in our Holy books- Ramayana and Mahabharata, there're lots of wars and bloodshed.

Ieshwar

I purposefully refrained myself from commenting about that. You see, almost all religions have been violent at some point in their history. Except for Buddhism, for which I cannot remember anything that says otherwise.

 

Christianity, Jews and Islam have the crusades and Sikhs have been famous for their battles with the Mughals and British.

 

But the fact remains that no religion preaches violence!!

[AFriendlyFace]

And I remember that Oprah had invited Josh Aterovis and his partner for a show on family. You must know Josh Aterovis, the great gay writer and painter!

That's so cool! I didn't know that! I've heard of him, but I'm not familiar with his work.

 

You see, almost all religions have been violent at some point in their history.

That is probably because religions are limited in that they all consist of people, and of course people are violent little things.

Except for Buddhism, for which I cannot remember anything that says otherwise.

An amazing fact indeed!