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Hindu views of homosexuality and, in general, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) issues, are diverse and different Hindu groups have distinct views. Homosexuality is regarded as one of the possible expressions of human desire. Although some Hindu dharmic texts contain injunctions against homosexuality, a number of Hindu mythic stories have portrayed homosexual experience as natural and joyful. There are several Hindu temples which have carvings that depict both men and women engaging in homosexual sex. Same-sex relations and gender variance have been represented within Hinduism from Vedic times through to the present day, in rituals, law books, religious or so-called mythical narratives, commentaries, paintings, and sculpture. The extent to which these representations embrace or reject homosexuality has been disputed within the religion as well as outside of it. In 2009, The United Kingdom Hindu Council issued a statement that 'Hinduism does not condemn homosexuality', subsequent to the decision of the Delhi High Court to legalise homosexuality in India.〔http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/jul/03/hinduism-does-not-condemn-homosexuality.htm〕 ==Difference between Western and Hindu views of male sexuality== Unlike the West, the Hindu society does not have the concept of 'sexual orientation' that classifies males on the basis of who they desire. However, there is a strong, ancient concept of third gender, which is for individuals who have strong elements of both male and female in them. According to Sanskrit texts such as the Narada-smriti, Sushruta Samhita, etc., this third sex or gender includes people who have conventionally been called homosexuals, bisexuals, transgender people and intersex people (LGBTI). Third genders are described in ancient Vedic texts as males who have a female nature—referring to homosexual men or feminine-gendered males. The gender/ sexual role of third genders has for long been predominantly associated with receiving penetration from men, just like the gender/ sexual role of manhood has been to penetrate men, women or third genders. However, the Kama Sutra clearly describes third-gender men assuming both masculine and feminine identities as well as both receptive and dominant sexual roles. Although Hindu society does not formally acknowledge sexuality between men, it formally acknowledges and gives space to sexuality between men and third genders as a variation of male-female sex (i.e., a part of heterosexuality, rather than homosexuality, if analysed in Western terms). In fact, Hijras, Alis, Kotis, etc.— the various forms of third gender that exist in India today— are all characterized by the gender role of having receptive anal and oral sex with men. Sexuality between men (as distinct from third genders) has nevertheless thrived, mostly unspoken, informally, within men's spaces, without being seen as 'different' in the way it is seen in the West.〔(The social construction of male 'homosexuality' in India ), by S Asthana and R. Oostvogels, published in 'Social Science & Medicine', vol 52(2001), Quote: "Indian culture is highly homosocial and displays of affection, body contact and the sharing of beds between men is socially acceptable (Kahn, 1994) This creates opportunities for sexual contact, though sexual behavior in this context is rarely seen as real sex, but as play. Much of this same-sex sexual activity begins in adolescence between school friends and within family environments and is non-penetrative... Young men who cultivate such relationships do not consider themselves to be 'homosexual' but conceive their behavior in terms of sexual desire, opportunity and pleasure."〕 As in some other non-Western cultures, it is considered more or less a universal aspect of manhood, even if not socially desirable. It is the effeminate male sexuality for men (or for women) which is seen as 'different,' and differently categorised. Men often refer to their sexual play with each other as 'musti.'〔(Males Who Have Sex with Males (MSM) and HIV/AIDS in India: The Hidden Epidemic ), Gregory Pappas, Omar Khan, Jason Taylor Wright, Shivananda Khan, Lalitha Kumaramangalam, and Joseph O’Neill; Quote: "Manliness and Musti Another important aspect of MSM in the subcontinent is the meaning of manliness. Many men consider it a display of sexual prowess for an older, sexually dominant man to have sex with a young and/or submissive man or boy. Jokes and folk knowledge regarding sex incorporate this theme and create some flexibility for socially acceptable MSM behavior in an otherwise repressive environment.23 The notion of musti also provides an open space for sexual behavior. Musti is translated as “fun or mischief” in Hindi and Urdu; the word is understood by most to describe sexual release through ejaculation and non-penetrative sex. In that sense, oral sex or mutual masturbation is not considered to be “sex”; this affords wider license to be given to musti between men. A phrase commonly heard is that a particular liaison was “just musti,” connoting that it is not to be taken seriously, and therefore below the level at which it would draw moral opprobrium. Musti is also tacitly acknowledged as a common part of boyhood experience: it is considered of little consequence, and it is believed that boys grow out of this behavior.24"〕 The Hindu concept of homosexuality seeks to break this distinction between third gender and men, and to isolate sexuality between men along with the third genders, with all its negative consequences.〔(The social construction of male 'homosexuality' in India ), by S Asthana and R. Oostvogels, published in 'Social Science & Medicine', vol 52(2001), Quote: "As with Indian men and women, a social distance exists between masculine- and feminine-identified MSM and it is difficult to envisage a fundamental change in these arrangements - e.g. the development of more reciprocal social and sexual relations. It is therefore highly unlikely that a collective 'gay' consciousness and solidarity can be achieved in the Indian context. Indeed, care should be taken in assuming that an incipient 'gay movement' already exists in the country (Drucker, 1996)."〕 As such, men in India have long resisted the concept of 'gay,' and have sex with men without identifying as a 'homosexual.' 〔(HIV in India — A Complex Epidemic ), Robert Steinbrook, M.D., N Engl J Med 2007; 356:1089-1093March 15, 2007, Quote: "For many Indians, sex between men is not sex but “mischief,” and many men who have sex with men do not identify themselves as homosexual."〕 Gay activists have sought to introduce a locally acceptable term for 'homosexual' for two decades, without success. Finally, the term MSM was taken, because it was technically difficult for men to avoid, if they had sex with men. However, it too was rejected by Indian men, as if was seen as just another term for 'gay.' 〔(The social construction of male 'homosexuality' in India ), by S Asthana and R. Oostvogels, published in 'Social Science & Medicine', vol 52(2001), Quote: "In practice, however, MSM is often use interchangeably with that of 'gay men'."〕 In the past few years, however, the concept of 'homosexuality' has finally taken root, as men's spaces have weakened, because of Westernization and gay groups becoming strong with years of gay and AIDS activism. A significant fallout of this has been that sexual desire between men, which was near universal earlier, is now become more and more isolated from the mainstream, as men are distancing themselves from it because of the stigma of effeminacy or third gender attached to the notion of 'gay.' 〔(The social construction of male 'homosexuality' in India ), by S Asthana and R. Oostvogels, published in 'Social Science & Medicine', vol 52(2001), Quote: "Thus, whilst there was more social acceptance of alternative sexual natures in the 1970s and more space emerged for sexual minorities to live their lives without repression, gay men also became more sexually isolated. Due to the tendency to associate male homosexuality with effeminacy, men who wished to preserve their masculine heterosexual self-image withdrew from homosexual circuits. Thus there was a decline in the proportion of men who had sex with men who were also involved in heterosexual relationships."〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「LGBT topics and Hinduism」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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