Research

Queer Concepts in Hinduism and Indian Literature

Indian history is complex since it is a country that is a mix of many different cultures and “From the earliest Vedic culture up to the colonial era,” it has seen many different attitudes and legislation (Dasgupta, 2011).

• Mahabharata - Hinduism and queer platonic relationships 

• Queer relationships lacking nature can be seen in pieces of religious literature such as these, love comes in many dynamic forms, it isn’t concrete, a quote from a modern American novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, is that love isn’t still and concrete but instead a “[moving] thing” that “takes the shape from [the] shore it meets, and it’s different with every shore”

• Romantic love doesn’t necessarily need certain displays, a good example is asexual people who still have romantic feelings,  

• Displays of affection can include confessions, words of affection and affirmation, time spent together, innocent physical touch etc. 

• Hinduism and gender 

• Gender fluidity can be seen in Hindu deities who were known to be “multidimensional and fluid” 

• Medieval Indian literature 

• Devotional poetry to people of the same gender

• Rekhti Poetry

• Urdu poetry in southern Indian, 1700s 

• Poetry about love and female relationships, poetry of women who had revelations about their own needs and desires, conveying more free and independent women who either longed to follow their desires and wishes or who actually did

• Critically denounced by the British during the colonial regime, seeing this poetry often as hedonistic and indecent 

• This poetry often suffered censorship of the the homoerotic themes and also hasn’t been discussed as heavily mainstream

Dasgupta, R. K. (2011). Queer Sexuality: a cultural Narrative of India’s Historical Archive. Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 3–4, 652–653. http://rupkatha.com/V3/n4/20_Queer_Sexuality_India.pdf

Rekhti Poetry. (2023, July 11). Enroute Indian History. https://enrouteindianhistory.com/rekhti-poetry/

Gender, Feminism, and Sexuality in Greek and Indian Poetry and Responses to it

Both Ancient Greek and 18th Century Indian poetry conveyed concepts of feminine independence, desire, and love. Sappho and her works exemplified these concepts extensively. Sappho wrote and orated poetry that was often addressed to young women. Her poetry is one of the most famous and well known works to come from Ancient Greece. The magnitude of the influence of gender in Sappho’s work has been debated. Many scholars believe her poetry connects her to, rather than distinguishes her from the poetry of male writers. However, Sappho’s marginalized status as a woman led to a distinct version of love and desire than what can be seen in poetry written by men. (Greene E., 1994; Lardinois, A. (1994))

Sappho distinguishes herself from men in Sappho Fr. 16: 

“Some men say an army on horse, some say an army on foot, and some say an army on ships is the most beautiful thing on the black earth. But I say it is what you love.”

She separates herself from men by stating what “Some men say” and then what “I say,” conveying a stark difference in perspective. Whether this is due to her own perspective on love and romance and the magnitude to which she felt it rather than because she is a woman, she still significantly distinguishes herself from men and traditionally valued concepts such as war and victory by emphasizing that she valued love more. 

A feminist voice comes out in her poetry as she wrote based on her own desires and wishes. This is similar to 18th century Rekhti poetry as women wrote about their own desires. Both of these forms of poetry were critically denounced as time went on, especially by outsiders. Many of Sappho’s works were lost or destroyed while Rekhti poetry suffered extensive censorship of its queer themes. 

Greene, E. (1994). Apostrophe and Women’s Erotics in the Poetry of Sappho. Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-), 124, 41–56. https://doi.org/10.2307/284285

Lardinois, A. (1994). Subject and Circumstance in Sappho's Poetry. Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-), 124, 57-84.

Rekhti Poetry. (2023, July 11). Enroute Indian History. https://enrouteindianhistory.com/rekhti-poetry/