A queer bar hosted a Pokemon drag battle and it was super effective

A troupe of drag artists performed as Pokemon including Pikachu and Charmander.

(Troupe 429) Drag queens and kings dressed as Pokemon for a one-of-a-kind battle.
It’s an established fact that Pokemon is the team sport of the gays, so it makes
complete and perfect sense that a troupe of drag queens would see fit to stage
their own PokeBattle. Crowds at Troupe 429 in Norwalk, Connecticut, cheered on as
Ash (Frankie M Cyanide) pummelled Team Rocket villain Jessie (Miss Chevious) and
gagged as Meowth (Angelina D’amor) did a jump-split off the stage. There were also
appearances by a host of queer faves: Charizard (Robin Richard) twirling to the
Jonas Brothers’ ‘Burnin’ Up’, a lip-syncing Pikachu (Sienna Rose) and a truly
iconic Jigglypuff (Kamikaze Jones), with Jynx (Anita Manager) and Psyduck (DJ OMG
Yaaas Kween) completing the set. The Haus of Troupe429 said a Pokemon drag battle
was “a natural choice” for its first-ever production. “We wanted it to be campy and
magical,” they told PinkNews. “The cast is our family of drag queens and drag king
that live and work in Norwalk and surrounding towns – an area that had no drag
scene prior to us opening in November 2017. “It was fitting to kick-off with a show
like Pokemon, which deals with the evolution of characters, as each performer has
used our stage to elevate their craft while balancing their jobs, relationships and
overcoming internal hurdles. “What we love about our performers is that each of
them brings ideas to the table during rehearsals, from choreo to script, and they
support each other as artists and as a second family. It was a packed house and
we’re super proud of all of them.” The battle comes hot on the heels of a Pokemon-
Drag Race crossover that left the internet gagging. Sindre Johnsen dragged up Ekans
and Kaffing for a main stage critique. “Ekans, it’s a piece of fabric with no shape
to it. Why would you cover up your curves like that?” asks Jynx, as Michelle
Visage. “And Koffing honey, I wanted more body from you.” “Ekans, Koffing, your
Team Rocket failed to blast off,” says Lopunny, as RuPaul. The animation was one of
a series of crossovers by Johnsen, who is best known on Instagram for his Drag
Queen Pokemon trainer series. “I wanted to mix my current queer interests with the
nostalgia from my childhood, making something both the six-year-old and the 27-
year-old me would enjoy,” the Norwegian artist told PinkNews. “Pokemon is fun,
campy, doesn’t really take itself too seriously and is pretty non-gendered.” In
October 2019 Pokemon GO appeared to introduce its first-ever non-binary trainer.
Fans had long questioned how team leader Blanche identified because they had
avoided using pronouns completely. But in a blog post, the game’s makers confirmed
that Blache preferred they/them pronouns. While it’s important to note that not all
non-binary people use they/them pronouns, and not all people who use they/them
pronouns identify as non-binary, Blanche’s pronouns appeared to confirm what had
until then only been hinted at.

From Better Call Saul to Bates Motel and Mary Beard's new doc: The best on demand
TV this week

NETFLIX Better Call Saul It’s rare that a prequel matches its progenitor, but
Better Call Saul has gradually, at times achingly slo-o-o-wly, proved the equal of
parent show Breaking Bad. As season five of Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call
Saul begins, Saul Goodman’s (Bob Odenkirk, above) journey to the dark side looks
complete Across four seasons, down-on-his-luck huckster Jimmy McGill has
metamorphosed into Saul Goodman, the bent criminal lawyer whom Walter White meets
in season two of Breaking Bad. As season five begins, Saul’s journey to the dark
side looks complete and, with Bob Odenkirk bringing a complexity to the lead role,
this gem of a show can only get better and better. From Monday on Netflix, or on
Stan in Australia. American Factory Barack and Michelle Obama’s production
company, Higher Ground, won an Oscar for its fly-on-the-wall portrait of the lives
of Ohio blue-collar workers now labouring under Chinese owners. The former General
Motors plant is now run by automotive glass manufacturer Fuyao, which employs 2,000
Americans. The film paints a grim picture of cultural submission in the heart of
Trump’s land of America First: the workers have to put in long hours, work up to
seven-day weeks, with few lunch breaks and not a hope of union support in a
workplace where machines and technology always have the upper hand. Available now
I Am Not Okay With This Things aren’t going well for Sydney, an awkward 17-year-
old. She has anger-management issues and she’s in love with her best friend Dina,
who is dating the awful Brad. However, although Syd tells us, ‘I’m not special’,
she really is ‘special’. Think Carrie but made by The Breakfast Club director John
Hughes. With a soundtrack featuring The Kinks, Prefab Sprout and Roxy Music, and
music by Blur’s Graham Coxon, this new seven-episode, high-school dramedy looks
like a hit. From Wednesday Altered Carbon A welcome second season for this
ambitious sci-fi drama. It’s set a few centuries from now in a Blade Runner-esque
future where a person’s consciousness is stored on a ‘cortical stack’ implanted at
the base of their skull and can be transferred into a different ‘sleeve’ (body).
It’s essentially a sci-fi film noir detective show. And down these mean streets our
tough hero, Takeshi Kovacs, must go, now decanted into a fancy new hi-tech sleeve
and on a new assignment. From Thursday Formula 1: Drive To Survive The speed, the
danger, the tension, the glamour... it’s all here in this riveting documentary
series about the 2019 F1 season. For the first time, Mercedes and Ferrari have
joined the other teams in collaborating with the producers for what promises to be
a must-see for any F1 fan. Above: Max Verstappen For the first time, Mercedes and
Ferrari have joined the other teams in collaborating with the producers (the ones
behind the films Senna and Diego Maradona) for what promises to be a must-see for
any F1 fan. From Friday Babies Netflix puts its obsession with true-crime
documentaries to one side (only temporarily) to focus on a very different aspect of
life – our earliest months. Shot over the course of three years, this 12-part
docu-series charts the lives of 15 families from across the globe as the youngest
members of their clans develop from helpless newborns into more independent (and
very loud, tantrum-throwing) toddlers. Scientists embark on a journey into the
infant mind, discovering that the baby brain knows far more than we ever thought
possible. Available now AMAZON Bates Motel Move over Anthony Perkins, there’s a
new Norman Bates on the block. If you’re a fan of Alfred Hitchcock’s adaptation of
Robert Bloch’s seminal novel Psycho, chances are you’ll be intrigued by this
prequel, which ran for five seasons until 2017. Freddie Highmore (above with Vera
Farmiga as his mother, Norma) stars in this Psycho prequel as young Mr Bates which
charts how he became the frock-wearing killer we know today It stars British actor
Freddie Highmore as young Mr Bates and charts how he became the frock-wearing
killer we know today. Vera Farmiga co-stars as his infamous mother Norma. Seasons
1-5, available now All Or Nothing: Brazil The latest in the series of behind-the-
dressing-room-door sports documentaries focuses on the Brazilian national football
team (Neymar and all) as they bid for glory at last year’s Copa America. What gives
the series an extra edge is that the tournament took place on home soil –
disgruntled British footie fans are mere amateurs compared to the notoriously hard-
to-please fanbase of the Samba Kings. Across five episodes we follow the sporting
drama as the team is booed off after an unconvincing opening win against Bolivia.
Then, after scraping past Paraguay on penalties, old rivals Argentina and Lionel
Messi lie in wait to block their path to final glory at the Maracana. Available now
The Doctors Take your pick of your favourite Doctor from yesteryear in this
extensive Doc-whomentary collection, which compiles interviews with many of the
stars from the classic British sci-fi show. From William Hartnell, via Bakers Tom
and Colin, to Sylvester McCoy, the Doctors from the original run give the lowdown
on the making of the series and what they thought of their companions. It’s cult
heaven for Whovians and, even better, is presented by the exterminator himself,
voice of the Daleks Nicholas Briggs. Available now Why is there such a buzz
about..? The Outsider (Sky Atlantic/NOW TV) This ten-part drama is the most
terrifying show on TV right now. When a boy is horrifically murdered in a Georgia
town all the evidence points to one man. It’s an open-and-shut case… until videos
emerge suggesting that the prime suspect was in two places at once. Double Oscar
nominee Cynthia Erivo is the standout star of a brilliant cast What initially
appeared to be a straightforward, if classy, crime procedural corkscrews off in a
completely unexpected direction, landing us in True Detective meets The X-Files
territory. The supernatural element of the story – based on a Stephen King novel –
is slowly ramped up in each episode with the atmosphere of mounting dread
punctuated by scenes that make your blood run cold. Double Oscar nominee Cynthia
Erivo is the standout star of a brilliant cast. The British actress and singer is
absolutely magnetic as Holly Gibney, an intense but sensitive private investigator
who is on the autistic spectrum. One to watch with the lights on. Neil Armstrong
SKY, BRITBOX & APPLE TV+ The Last Weekend We’d almost forgotten about Rupert
Penry-Jones (although he’s due to return to TV this year in eagerly awaited
Australian thriller The Commons), but he pops up as one of the leads in this three-
part ITV psychological drama from 2012, based on a Blake Morrison novel. He plays
Ollie who, out of the blue, invites his old friends Em and Ian (Claire Keelan and
Endeavour’s Shaun Evans) to accompany him and his other half Daisy (Genevieve
O’Reilly) on a weekend trip in rural Suffolk. It should be a peaceful break but
the rivalry between the two men soon reaches boiling point… BritBox, from Thursday
Strike Back All good things must come to an end – and it’s certainly nigh for
Strike Back. The latest season, its eighth, begins on Tuesday on Sky One at 9pm,
and it will be the pulse-raising action thriller’s final run. This last season of
Strike Back sees the Section 20 team (Alin Sumarwata, Warren Brown and Daniel
MacPherson, above) is in Kosovo looking to rescue a British scientist being held
hostage For those who can’t wait seven days between episodes, the whole package is
being made available to stream. This time the Section 20 team (Alin Sumarwata,
Warren Brown and Daniel MacPherson, right) is in Kosovo to rescue a British
scientist being held hostage. They must locate the boffin before the location of
his latest invention is revealed. Sky/NOW, from Tuesday The End Not for the
faint-hearted, this challenging ten-parter stars Dame Harriet Walter as Edie, a
defiant grandmother determined to take her own life. Her daughter Kate (Frances
O’Connor) moves the old girl out to Australia, where she works as a palliative-care
doctor, and the crux of this painfully funny, at times provocative, comedy drama is
set. Can Kate save Edie, or should she even bother? Humanity flows from the pen of
writer Samantha Strauss in a show that’s as watchable as a comedy about assisted
dying could possibly be. Sky/NOW, available now BBC iPLAYER, ALL 4 AND ITV HUB
Mary Beard’s Shock Of The Nude The historian takes a wry and often mischievous look
at depictions of nudity in Western art, from the classical Greek period onwards.
The historian takes a wry and often mischievous look at depictions of nudity in
Western art, from the classical Greek period onwards in her irreverent and
scholarly new series Along the way she criticises the representation of women as
‘coy Venuses’ for the leering eyes of men, explores images of men as ‘expressions
of moral and political virtue’ prone to having their bits covered with fig leaves,
and views modern ‘Body Worlds’-type art, which look to her like a ‘rather nasty
crime scene’. The two-part series is both irreverent and serious and, like
everything Mary Beard produces for TV, scholarly. And revealing, in this case. BBC
iPlayer, available now The Tuckers Last Chance To See Untouchable: The Rise
& Fall Of Harvey Weinstein His fall has been more precipitous than Icarus’s.
This film portrays the movie mogul as a manipulative monster. Most powerful is how
each testimony mirrors the next, revealing Weinstein’s modus operandi. BBC iPlayer,
ends Monday Slipping quietly onto the iPlayer last month, this bawdy character-led
sitcom about a Welsh family of chancers aims for laughs as broad as the Valleys,
and largely succeeds. Creator Steve Speirs (a familiar face from Pirates Of The
Caribbean: Dead
Man’s Chest to Upstart Crow) stars as workshy Glyn, who lives with mother Peggy
and his two sons, and rides the mean streets of Tregarreg on his mobility scooter
to general disdain. Peggy dispenses life lessons over the garden fence, while
Grandpa Murphy (Robert Pugh) lives in the outdoor bog. A bunch of low- lifers who
are not altogether low on laughs. Iechyd da. BBC iPlayer, available now
Grantchester There’s much to enjoy about this gentle take on James Runcie’s
Fifties-set crime stories – and a lot of this is down to Al Weaver, who plays gay
curate Leonard, a character so delightful he deserves his own series. But it’s Tom
Brittney who shares top billing with Robson Green. They play the Rev Will Davenport
and DI Geordie Keating, an unlikely double act who, in the latest run, deal with a
paedophile, a hit-and-run killing and an LSD-related death. ITV Hub, available now
The Accident Sarah Lancashire is back on the box this week in a new run of Last
Tango In Halifax, so now is the perfect time to binge-watch her most recent Channel
4 project. Written by Jack Thorne, it’s a thought-provoking look at the impact a
devastating incident has on a small, poverty-stricken Welsh town. Lancashire’s
accent leaves a lot to be desired, but ignore that and you’ve got a compelling
drama on your hands. All 4, available now The Unshockable Dr Ronx Remember
Channel 4’s Embarrassing Bodies? Well, the BBC has come up with its own variation.
It’s presented by Dr Ronx, an A&E medic who realises there are many people who
are reluctant to visit their GP. So she takes health advice on to the streets,
setting up consulting areas in gyms, nail salons and cafes. BBC iPlayer, from
Thursday FILMS Judy Renée Zellweger gives an Oscar-winning performance as a
fragile Judy Garland in the final months of her life. The film centres on
Garland’s visit to London in 1969 to give a series of sold-out performances. The
broke former child star of The Wizard Of Oz agreed to do the shows even though it
meant leaving her two children in America. Renée Zellweger gives an Oscar-winning
performance as a fragile Judy Garland in the final months of her life Being apart
from them sends an already vulnerable Judy sinking further into alcohol and pills
dependency, affecting her ability to perform. Jessie Buckley gives an impressive
performance as Judy’s assistant. BFI Player (player.bfi.org.uk), available now
Pokemon: Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution If your ideal way to spend 98 minutes is
watching cute flying creatures the colour of Liquorice Allsorts doing battle with
bright-blue giant kangaroos, you won’t want to miss this. It’s a Japanese computer-
animated blend of The Lord Of The Rings and Godzilla. Evil organisation Team
Rocket has created MewTwo, a creature plotting revenge against humanity with an
army of cloned Pokémons (that’s pocket monsters to the uninitiated). Pitted
against him are the good Pokémons, like the psychic Mew and the yellow, rabbit-like
Pikachu. Strictly niche. Netflix, from Thursday The Host/Mother Suddenly bathed
in Oscars glory, South Korean film-maker Bong Joon-ho is no neophyte in the cinema
world. Two of his earlier movies are now available to stream on MUBI (£9.99 a
month, seven days’ free trial), and what a wonderfully odd world his is. The Host
(2006) was inspired by a newspaper article about a strange, deformed fish and tells
the story of a father seeking revenge on the huge river monster that has swallowed
his daughter. And Mother (2009) concerns a widow’s fight to free her son, who has
learning difficulties, from wrongful arrest for murder. MUBI, available now Not
sure how to watch on demand TV? Read our ultimate guide here

Breaking Free In A Country Of Caged Desires

// The Rainbow Flag flying high during the Bhopal Pride, 2018, by Wikimedia Commons
O n September 6th, 2018, the Supreme Court of India decriminalized section 377 of
the Indian Penal Code and in that moment, hundreds of thousands of queer people of
this vast country became its constitutionally accepted citizens. Their love,
genders, desires and dreams became legal in the eyes of the law. On that historic
day, India got rid of a colonial era law more than 70 years after its independence
and the country of more than 1.25 Billion people declared that it would no longer
consider love between consenting same sex adults a criminally punishable offence.
Also on the same date, I completed two months of open relationship with my same-sex
partner. What a happy coincidence, I thought, that soon after making our
relationship sexually non-exclusive, the highest court of the country got rid of
the law that posed the biggest hurdle to our new decision to have sex with as many
people as we can while still being romantically and emotionally committed to one
another. We were ecstatic to, finally, be considered as part of the lawful Indian
society as well as excited for our new sexual adventures but we were also as naive
as Baby Groot and as a result, massively overestimated the impact of the monumental
Supreme Court Decision. Sure, sex with a same-sex person was decriminalized in the
eyes of the law but what was its status in the eyes of the common people? Was the
Indian Society ready to accept a queer person with open arms? Was the Indian LGBTQ
community ready to let go of their heteronormative relationship structures and
embrace all queer identities? The answer was, to our huge surprise, a big and
emphatic NO. However, in hindsight, I do realize that this was very much in line
with the ideas and thoughts of the popular queer activists of the country. To truly
comprehend the complex social fabric of the Indian society (including the Queer
community), one needs to understand its hierarchy in a caste-based structure, in
which certain sections of people are bestowed with much greater social privileges,
acceptance and economic capital than others simply on the basis of their births.
Brahmins occupy the top most bracket of this social pyramid and as a result, had
historically enjoyed the power and privileges that come with it. Perhaps, it was my
naivety and innocence of youth which made me believe that the Indian LGBTQ
community would be immune from the discriminatory and heteronormative philosophy of
Brahminical Patriarchy, an ideology that has been rampant in this region for
thousands of years (shocked Pikachu face, right?). During my initial days of
meeting queer people over a cup of coffee or tea (we Indians love tea), I felt a
wonderful and amazingly lovely vibe of homely belonging from them. After suffering
through years of State and Law backed oppression, it was, honestly speaking, quite
liberating and heart warming to finally experience this feeling of love, kindness
and community that had been robbed from me and many other queers like me for most
of our lives. Most of the people that I met were educated, intelligent, kind and
made me feel loved and wanted. However, none of them were as accommodating and non-
judgemental as Mr. X (let’s just call him that). It was ironic (I was practicing
Ethical Non-monogamy, after all) that the person who I bonded with the most was an
adulterer. In hindsight, it was definitely wrong and unethical of me to get it on
with someone who was cheating on his wife, and not just with me, but with many
other young queer guys. But I was so ecstatic to finally have someone in my life,
other than my partner, who filled my heart and soul with unmitigated love and
comfort that I never bothered to care about the fact that he was lying to his
family the whole time. After all, he was one of the very few people in my life who
didn’t try to take advantage of my passive and compromising personality, didn’t
hate the sight of my belly fat and not-so masculine features (I had deep-seated
body image issues) and and didn’t try to invalidate my bisexual orientation
(Biphobia is very common in the queer as well as straight community). Mr.X was
kind, funny and fully accepted my relationship status with my partner without
barraging me with unsolicited advice or criticisms. He also didn’t unload on me his
insecurities and vulnerabilities or tried to guilt trip me for my non-monogamous
nature. I thought at that time that it was perhaps because he understood the
difference between love and sex owing to his own romantic relationship with his
wife and his sexual encounters with men outside his marriage. Mr. X was also one of
the few Brahmins (Upper-caste Hindu) in India who actually understood his
privileges and used his knowledge, higher social position and wealth to make the
Indian queer space as inclusive as possible. Mr. X was the first man that I had sex
with who was not my partner and that was the moment my faith in my open
relationship strengthened as it allowed me to meet and form intimate relationships
with other people. It also reinvigorated the love I had for my partner. I could not
thank him enough for instilling in me his complete trust and faith and letting me
explore my sexual desires, kinks and fantasies as well as allowing me to form
meaningful emotional connections with other people without any guilt and shame. He
invited me to his bedroom, massaged my shoulders and reassured me through his words
and actions that my body is worth loving. In his company, I felt safe to try out
all my fantasies and explore all my kinks. I also realized the different ways in
which people can express their love and emotions in the bedroom and it doesn’t
necessarily have to be based on any romantic feelings for the person. This
honeymoon period, however, soon came to an end. A series of deeply traumatizing
incidents soon followed which made me understand and experience the deep connection
patriarchy (in this case, Brahminical Patriarchy) has with monogamy and the webs of
manipulation it can spun to satiate its lusts of controlling you through your
vulnerabilities. One night as we were kissing and undressing each other, I noticed
a sudden aggression and dominance in him which I had never seen before. Before I
could ask him anything, he told me that he was not getting full satisfaction from
the sex that we were having and he wanted more. He wanted to penetrate me. I
refused him as I didn’t feel comfortable enough to indulge in penetrative sex with
anyone other than my partner. I was pretty nonchalant about it as I expected Mr. X
to respect my boundaries and I knew that he would. But I was wrong. He did the
unthinkable and the unimaginable. He tried to violate me. In that moment, for the
first time in my life, I felt completely and utterly helpless as well as terrified.
AND ALONE. I kicked him away, grabbed my clothes and just ran. Over the next few
days, Mr. X called me numerous times. After ignoring his call for probably the
hundredth time, I finally picked it up hoping that he would apologize for his grave
mistake of violating my boundaries the other night. I know, stupid me, right? Well,
he did say it was a mistake but it was my mistake of refusing him that led him to
force himself on me. He also told me that I should feel grateful to him for
accepting me in spite of my ridiculous non monogamous relationship status and went
on to ridicule me with a host of other demeaning statements. Out of those, one
really stood out. “Non-monogamous whores (like me) need monogamous family men like
him in my life to keep me in check or else we will destroy the entire relationship
and family structure that God created for us.” I didn’t say anything and simply
hung up the phone and went to sleep. // Photo by Random Sky on Unsplash Perhaps, I
knew deep down that his accepting nature and liberal ideals were simply a part of
his public facade when he slut-shamed his wife for talking to another man in front
of her entire family even though he was the guilty party and his affairs with other
men the reason behind their failing marriage. Or that time when he ridiculed an
effeminate gay man for being ‘too feminine’. Or even that time when he bullied a
younger queer man for being in a polyamorous relationship with two women. He
considered such men ‘pussies for allowing their girls to sleep with other people’.
The red flags and warning signs were aplenty but I chose to ignore them all. I was
happy that Mr. X was taking care of me and I didn’t want our relationship to end.
Over the next few months, I met more people. Some were coffee dates while others
were one-night stands. The former were fewer while the later were more. If there’s
one thing for which I’ll always be grateful to Mr. X, it’s his help in removing my
inhibition to get naked in front of people who are not my partner. I was on a
mission. To prove Mr. X wrong. Non-monogamous whores like me exist and we are here
to stay, whether you like it or not. Our Sexualities are Real and Natural and
cannot be controlled or dictated. My Partner even got these words printed on a
white sheet of paper and put it on my work table. I DON’T NEED ANYONE TO KEEP ME IN
CHECK. I AM A FREE PERSON AND THE CONSTITUTION OF MY COUNTRY GRANTS ME MY
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IRRESPECTIVE OF MY CASTE, RELIGION, SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND
RELATIONSHIP STATUS. The surprising thing that all of the men that I slept with had
in common was that they didn’t approve of my open relationship with my partner and
considered it sinful. It was another thing altogether that most of them were
sleeping with other people behind their partner’s backs. A glance through the
popular Indian queer groups on various social media platforms will corroborate this
hypocritical and judgemental nature of the Indian queer community. The domination
of queer spaces in India
by Upper-caste and privileged Gay Men over the last few years has led to the
formation of a heteronormative queer community (an oxymoron I know) which fully
believes in the overall patriarchal social structure (the status quo) as well as
strives to distance itself from other queer folks who don’t agree with their
conservative views. There were also some men who disapproved of my pansexuality and
called me confused. But, they had no hesitations in sleeping with me as I was
exotic due to my non-monogamous lifestyle and pansexual nature (their words, not
mine). I also met a few men here and there who told me that my same-sex attraction
was unnatural and a threat to the balance of nature. My real identity was my
attraction towards women and it needs to be preserved for it would come in handy
after my marriage to a woman to make babies. Ironically, they also had no
hesitations in taking a part in some unnatural acts with this mentally disturbed
person. They were, after all, experimenting and there’s nothing wrong in
experimentation. Anyway, coming back to the point. I had sex with them all. Because
I wanted to. I liked having sex and still do. It makes me feel wanted, needed,
cherished and liberated. In a conservative country, where almost every other person
suppresses their sexual desires, fantasies, kinks and most importantly, their
sexual identities owing to the fear of being judged by the society, my active sex
life with people other than my boyfriend makes me feel completely free. JUST LIKE A
GOLDEN EAGLE SOARING THROUGH THE BLUE SKY WITH WINGS SPREAD WIDE WITHOUT GIVING ANY
F*** ABOUT THE SOCIETY. Photo by Malcolm Lightbody on Unsplash During the last 14
months, the one thing that I’ve realized through my countless encounters, both
sexual and platonic, and experiences with men and women, queer and straight, cis
and trans, binary and non-binary, rich and poor, Hindu and Muslim, young and old,
is that the scrapping of the section 377 by the Supreme Court was an anomaly, a
surprise when it should have been an expectation. The progressive judgment came in
spite of the massive resistance carried out by my fellow countrymen through their
prejudiced thoughts, actions and beliefs. Forget the whole country, even the Indian
Queer Community is far from being an inclusive society. It is headed by rich and
affluent men like Mr. X and he is not alone. There are countless Mr. X’s roaming
the streets of New Delhi, the nation’s capital, and Mumbai, the nation’s commercial
center. They live in huge mansions, attend literary festivals and walk with us in
Pride Marches but they are not our Allies. They don’t like our queerness, they want
to control those who don’t fit into their narrow world views of monogamy and use
the power of patriarchy to create friction within the gay community. The Supreme
Court Judgment only made us ‘not criminals’; the next step is to get our rights as
humans.