Finding love in modern times is hard enough, but as humans have evolved, so have social constructs of romance and relationships. Thanks to this, LGBT relationships, what’s known as “alternate” sexualities have become more acceptable in mainstream societies.
Immersing itself into the mix is the concept of gender fluid relationships, in which a person — while not aligning himself or herself with a particular type of sexuality — explores relationships with people across genders, and can change with time.
International celebrities like Cara Delevingne, Kristen Stewart and Miley Cyrus have — in the past and at present — found love with people of the same sex. And while it’s hard to find such relationships in public in the Indian context, the concept is on the rise.
It’s all about exploration, says Jayati Sharma, co-founder of LGBT group Wajood Society and a consultant. “Initially it was only male-female relationships, but now you see so many people in relationships with people of the same gender. The comfort of being with the same gender — it’s more about chemistry. When we were growing up, there was never really the concept of dating as such. But now there are people who are not marrying for a long time, and some even don’t want to be in relationships — asexual,” Jayati says.
Globalisation and increasing access to the world around us is the reason for this, she explains. “People are more open to the idea of keeping it fluid. They’re defining relationships in terms of people, not in terms of their gender. People are now travelling and are going to places and seeing such relationships everywhere, so that’s one reason why they aren’t constraining themselves into looking for partners just by their gender.”
Sadhak Navdeep, an LGBT rights activist, has a cynical point of view — “Celebrities talking about it would help,” Navdeep says, adding that mainstream media needs to stop “making a mockery” of same sex relationships: “Especially in films. If you’re not supporting it, it’s fine... but don’t do any damage. The so-called jokes they make in the films are extremely harmful.”
