Following the Divine Structural Violence Religiousity and The Life Journey of the Jogappas of Karnataka

Abstract

In colonial and postcolonial India, the heterosexual conjugal unit constitutes a form of social legitimacy (Vanita 2002). Non-procreative sexuality and forms of gender difference that exist beyond the social boundary of normalcy are labeled as deviant, and are either disowned or looked down upon by society in India. Such an environment promotes wide spread stigma and discrimination and gives rise to internal forms of distress and self-denigration among those who engage in gender and sexual nonconformity. Such social marginalization not only renders sexual and gender minorities vulnerable to discrimination and social exclusion but also reinforces health problems by impeding a person from seeking health and social services for fear of having their identity disclosed (Teunis, Herdt 2007). newlineThe extent of stigma and discrimination encountered by sexual minorities (LGBTI) is deeply rooted in political, economic and ideological structures (Kruger 2008, Lancaster 1999). These structural forces give rise to experiences of stigma and discrimination that have been attributed to depression, anxiety and higher rates of psychiatric disorders (Kessler 1999, Fife 2000); to limited or complete lack of access to housing and health care (Addis et al. 2009); and they have been linked to high risk sexual behaviors (Bockting 1998). Males having a feminine identity and practicing sex work are often exposed to environments where they become susceptible to physical and sexual violence (Lorway et al. 2012). As the work of Paul Farmer demonstrates, deeply embedded social, economic and political inequalities, reinforced through human rights violations and social suffering, make people vulnerable to disease (Farmer et al. 2006, Parker 2002). Indeed, the unequal disease burden that male born sexual and gender minorities shoulder globally in relation to the HIV epidemic has been attributed to highly discriminatory social and political climates (Cáceres et al. 2014). newline