By Sarah Hannan
Marking Pride month, this week we are turning our focus on how LGBTQIA persons are perceived in Sri Lanka. While many other countries have recognised them as part of the society by giving them the option of listing themselves as the third gender or providing pronouns beyond the generic masculine or feminine pronouns, we are still at the stage where we would feel comfortable if we could clearly define them as a male or female.
During a media forum that was conducted in Colombo, the matter at hand was discussed in length and we were told that one must not presume that an LGBTQIA person would prefer to be called by the pronouns he or she.
“As it is already established, gender is a spectrum and one might come across a person who is in transition, and if we are to assume their gender as we would for a cisgender person, we would be offending them. Therefore, we have to first obtain their consent as to how we should address them,” Attorney-at-Law Radika Gunaratne stated.
Gunaratne further noted that many of the LGBTQIA persons find it uncomfortable to socialise due to these presumptions: “In this day and age, a woman can attire herself in a dress or even a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. However, should a man dress in a saree or wear a dress, the entire society is ready to judge him. Transgender persons and intersex persons go through a range of discomforting moments from the way they dress, the way they talk, and the way they carry themselves in society; they are constantly looked at in a demeaning way. This societal attitude drives them to a dark place, where they fear to be themselves in society.”
A person should have the freedom to dress in any clothing that is comfortable and be able to go about their work on a day-to-day basis without being judged, Gunaratne opined: “Gender identity and sexual orientation has nothing to do with a person’s biological gender. Furthermore, the ingrained thinking that women should wear a certain type of clothing and men should wear a certain type of clothing has inconvenienced the LGBTQIA persons. The society also has a preconceived notion that LGBTQIA persons should behave and dress in a certain way, which is incorrect.”
Gunaratne also stated that just a few weeks ago, Mexico City (1) had introduced a gender-neutral school uniform policy. “This decision was taken by the Mexican education ministry to improve the rights of the LGBT persons in Mexico. While we are fully aware that Sri Lanka cannot change its laws or policies just yet, the LGBTQIA community is at present seeking acceptance from society.”
Children should have the freedom to choose what they want to wear at a young age; when they are old enough to realise they are more comfortable in a certain way of dressing, they could always switch into it, Gunaratne added.
“What we need to experience is a shift in the attitudes and pre-conditioning we have been used to over the years as a society. One must always empathise with transgender persons as they are constantly living in fear; they are bullied by society, banished from their homes, and are at times rejected from their workplaces.”
Fifteen years on, Equal Ground and other organisations that stand for the rights of the LGBTQIA community have consistently battled with law enforcement, legislators, and society to accept them. The progress seems to be invisible, yet the organisations are now gathering many allies who are actively working towards gaining the fundamental rights for LGBTQIA persons.
Sensitising the society
Even with several years of activism, the awareness sessions are still only reaching a minority of society, and the level of awareness has yet to penetrate the majority of society. During the media forum, Gunaratne shared a story on how a transgender person who secured a job at a financial institute was humiliated when wanting to use the restroom of the organisation.
“With the current situation in the country, they are further harassed; especially if they are in transition and they do not look as they do in their identification documents – chances are they would be humiliated at the hands of law enforcement. Even to get the gender identification certificate (GIC), one must go to a clinic and register, and the consultant should assess them to arrange the application for the GIC,” Gunaratne added.
The Government of Sri Lanka is yet to provide due recognition and rights to the transgender and intersex persons who would not want to be categorised as male or female. Therefore, activists are also not entirely happy with the present system the Government has implemented.
Using the correct pronoun (2)
Meanwhile, in countries where the gender spectrum is acknowledged, the LGBTQIA community is demanding that they are addressed with pronouns that would depict their gender identity. However, if the incorrect pronoun is used to address a person from the LGBTQIA community, one would be misgendering them.
A gender neutral or gender inclusive pronoun is a pronoun which does not associate a gender with the individual who is being discussed.
Some languages, such as English, do not have a gender neutral or third gender pronoun available, and this has been criticised, since in many instances, writers, speakers, etc. use “he/his” when referring to a generic individual in the third person.
Also, the dichotomy of “he and she” in English does not leave room for other gender identities, which is a source of frustration to the transgender and gender queer communities.
People who are limited by languages which do not include gender-neutral pronouns have attempted to create them, in the interest of greater equality.
Reference:
1. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-lgbt-uniforms/mexico-city-unveils-gender-neutral-school-uniforms-policy-idUSKCN1T512Q
2. https://uwm.edu/lgbtrc/support/gender-pronouns/
“As it is already established, gender is a spectrum and one might come across a person who is in transition, and if we are to assume their gender as we would for a cisgender person, we would be offending them. Therefore, we have to first obtain their consent as to how we should address them,” Attorney-at-Law Radika Gunaratne stated.
Gunaratne further noted that many of the LGBTQIA persons find it uncomfortable to socialise due to these presumptions: “In this day and age, a woman can attire herself in a dress or even a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. However, should a man dress in a saree or wear a dress, the entire society is ready to judge him. Transgender persons and intersex persons go through a range of discomforting moments from the way they dress, the way they talk, and the way they carry themselves in society; they are constantly looked at in a demeaning way. This societal attitude drives them to a dark place, where they fear to be themselves in society.”
A person should have the freedom to dress in any clothing that is comfortable and be able to go about their work on a day-to-day basis without being judged, Gunaratne opined: “Gender identity and sexual orientation has nothing to do with a person’s biological gender. Furthermore, the ingrained thinking that women should wear a certain type of clothing and men should wear a certain type of clothing has inconvenienced the LGBTQIA persons. The society also has a preconceived notion that LGBTQIA persons should behave and dress in a certain way, which is incorrect.”
Gunaratne also stated that just a few weeks ago, Mexico City (1) had introduced a gender-neutral school uniform policy. “This decision was taken by the Mexican education ministry to improve the rights of the LGBT persons in Mexico. While we are fully aware that Sri Lanka cannot change its laws or policies just yet, the LGBTQIA community is at present seeking acceptance from society.”
Children should have the freedom to choose what they want to wear at a young age; when they are old enough to realise they are more comfortable in a certain way of dressing, they could always switch into it, Gunaratne added.
“What we need to experience is a shift in the attitudes and pre-conditioning we have been used to over the years as a society. One must always empathise with transgender persons as they are constantly living in fear; they are bullied by society, banished from their homes, and are at times rejected from their workplaces.”
Fifteen years on, Equal Ground and other organisations that stand for the rights of the LGBTQIA community have consistently battled with law enforcement, legislators, and society to accept them. The progress seems to be invisible, yet the organisations are now gathering many allies who are actively working towards gaining the fundamental rights for LGBTQIA persons.
Sensitising the society
Even with several years of activism, the awareness sessions are still only reaching a minority of society, and the level of awareness has yet to penetrate the majority of society. During the media forum, Gunaratne shared a story on how a transgender person who secured a job at a financial institute was humiliated when wanting to use the restroom of the organisation.
“With the current situation in the country, they are further harassed; especially if they are in transition and they do not look as they do in their identification documents – chances are they would be humiliated at the hands of law enforcement. Even to get the gender identification certificate (GIC), one must go to a clinic and register, and the consultant should assess them to arrange the application for the GIC,” Gunaratne added.
The Government of Sri Lanka is yet to provide due recognition and rights to the transgender and intersex persons who would not want to be categorised as male or female. Therefore, activists are also not entirely happy with the present system the Government has implemented.
Using the correct pronoun (2)
Meanwhile, in countries where the gender spectrum is acknowledged, the LGBTQIA community is demanding that they are addressed with pronouns that would depict their gender identity. However, if the incorrect pronoun is used to address a person from the LGBTQIA community, one would be misgendering them.
A gender neutral or gender inclusive pronoun is a pronoun which does not associate a gender with the individual who is being discussed.
Some languages, such as English, do not have a gender neutral or third gender pronoun available, and this has been criticised, since in many instances, writers, speakers, etc. use “he/his” when referring to a generic individual in the third person.
Also, the dichotomy of “he and she” in English does not leave room for other gender identities, which is a source of frustration to the transgender and gender queer communities.
People who are limited by languages which do not include gender-neutral pronouns have attempted to create them, in the interest of greater equality.
Reference:
1. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-lgbt-uniforms/mexico-city-unveils-gender-neutral-school-uniforms-policy-idUSKCN1T512Q
2. https://uwm.edu/lgbtrc/support/gender-pronouns/