Contesting heteronormativity: the fight for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender recognition in India and Vietnam

Abstract

Recent public debates about sexuality in India and Vietnam have brought the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people sharply into focus. Drawing on legal documents, secondary sources and ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the urban centres of Delhi and Hanoi, this article shows how the efforts of civil society organisations dedicated to the fight for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights have had different consequences in these two Asian contexts. The paper considers how these organisations navigated government regulations about their formation and activities, as well as the funding priorities of national and international agencies. The HIV epidemic has had devastating consequences for gay men and other men who have sex with men, and has been highly stigmatising. As a sad irony, the epidemic has provided at the same time a strategic entry point for organisations to struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender recognition. This paper examines how the fight for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender recognition has been doubly framed through health-based and rights-based approaches and how the struggle for recognition has positioned lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in India and Vietnam differently.

Los recientes debates públicos sobre sexualidad que han tenido lugar en India y Vietnam han puesto en primer plano los derechos de las personas lgbt. Apoyándose en documentos legales, fuentes secundarias y estudios etnográficos realizados sobre el terreno en los centros urbanos de Delhi y Hanói, el presente artículo examina cómo el trabajo orientado a luchar por los derechos lgbt realizado por organizaciones de la sociedad civil ha tenido distintas consecuencias en relación al reconocimiento de las personas lgbt en ambos países asiáticos. En este sentido, el artículo analiza la manera en que estas organizaciones enfrentan las normas gubernamentales respecto a su formación y a sus actividades, así como las prioridades de financiamiento establecidas por las agencias a nivel nacional e internacional. El reconocimiento de que la epidemia de vih tuvo consecuencias devastadoras para los hombres gais y para otros hombres que tienen sexo con hombres, además de haber sido sumamente estigmatizadora, conduce a identificar una triste ironía: las organizaciones de la sociedad civil concluyen que la epidemia ha sido una manera estratégica de abordar la lucha por el reconocimiento de las personas lgbt. Al respecto, el artículo revela que la lucha por tal reconocimiento puede plantearse desde dos perspectivas, la de la salud y la de los derechos, lo cual ha llevado a posicionar a las personas lgbt de manera distinta en India y en Vietnam.

En Inde et au Vietnam, les récents débats publics sur la sexualité ont sensiblement mis en évidence les droits des personnes LGBT. En exploitant des documents juridiques, des sources secondaires et un travail de terrain mené dans les centres urbains de Delhi et de Hanoï, cet article montre comment les efforts des organisations issues de la société civile engagées dans la lutte pour le respect des droits LGBT ont eu des conséquences diverses pour la reconnaissance des personnes LGBT dans ces deux contextes asiatiques. Aussi l'article aborde-t-il la façon dont ces organisations gèrent les réglementations gouvernementales concernant leur formation et leurs activités, ainsi que les priorités des agences nationales et internationales en matière de financement. L'épidémie de VIH a eu des conséquences dévastatrices pour les hommes gays et les autres hommes qui ont des rapports avec des hommes, et a été très stigmatisante. Par un triste paradoxe, elle a simultanément offert un point d'entrée stratégique pour les organisations luttant pour la reconnaissance des droits LGBT. Cet article examine comment cette lutte a été doublement formulée à travers des approches fondées sur la santé et sur les droits, et comment la lutte pour leur reconnaissance a positionné les personnes LGBT en Inde et au Vietnam de manière différente.

Keywords::

• lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
• LGBT
• recognition
• civil society
• Vietnam
• India

Acknowledgements

We appreciate the helpful suggestions provided by the editors and anonymous journal referees. Colleagues at the Department of Gender Studies, Lund University, provided useful comments on the paper, as did participants at the Differentiated Citizenship Workshop organised by the Centre for Women and Gender Studies at Bergen University, Norway, and held in February 2015 at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. We acknowledge the support of our collaborating partners in the Department of Geography at Delhi University, especially Anindita Datta; in the Department of Sociology, especially Ravinder Kaur and Rajni Palriwala, and in the English Department, especially Aneeta Rajendran. We also thank our partners at the National Institute of Educational Sciences in Hanoi, especially Bui Thanh Xuan, Nguyen Loc, and Tran Thi Kim Thuan; at the Institute of Gender and Family Studies in Hanoi, especially Nguyen Huu Minh; and in the Department of Anthropology at Hanoi University, epecially Nguyen Thi Thu Huong. In addition, we are very grateful to those who participated in our research and agreed to share their experiences and time with us.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

^1. In India and Vietnam, the focus has mainly been on the recognition of gay men and lesbians, while less attention has been paid to bisexuals and transgender people. With this in mind, we refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people rather than homogenising them by using the term LGBT.

^2. On previous fieldwork and research, see Horton (e.g. 2012, 2014) and Rydstrøm (e.g. 2003, 2006, 2010, 2012).

^3. Estimates suggest that there may now be as many as 2000 organisations, including the mass organisations and various umbrella organisations (Salemink 2006; Wells-Dang 2011).

^4. See Sidel and Vasavakul (2006) for an exploration of the contestations over the Law on Associations.

^5. Both kothi and panthi were terms initially defining elements of homosexual practice. Panthis, the putatively insertive partners in the context of sexual intercourse, tend to be masculine in appearence and behaviour. Kothis, the putatively passive sexual partners, usually dress and behave in more feminine ways.

^6. Pseudonyms are used for informants throughout to ensure anonymity.

Additional information

Funding

This study was made possible thanks to generous funding from the Swedish Research Council (VR) for a project entitled Recognition and Homosexuality: The Socio-Cultural Status of Same-Sex Relations in India and Vietnam (SWE-2010-041).