2 minute read
Vice chair
from REINCARNATION
4 M. Vishma Sai
VICE CHAIR CORAGE, SIMSA
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Barack Obama, the President of the United States of America, during his two terms from 2009-2016, declared June as the LGBT pride month. Joe Biden, the current President too, has declared June to be the LGBTQ+ Pride Month of 2021. This month is about teaching acceptance, educating pride history and above all – LOVE.
Talking about Pride month and the LGBTQIA+ community brings me so much joy. The fact that we have come such a long way so much so that people have finally started to be more accepting and inclusive in our country. I know that the journey wasn’t easy, for anyone who is or identify themselves as a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. I, being a cis-het woman have been buried under so much privilege, so much, that I fail to notice it sometimes. So much that even everyday tasks, for example, grocery shopping can be a traumatic experience for someone who does not identify as part of this heteronormative society.
As children, we were taught that gender is a solid function – Male, Female. That’s it. And if someone, does not identify themselves as the gender that they are assigned at birth, automatically fails the whole system of heteronormativity. They are automatically labeled as – Bad / Outcasts. The same society is okay with heinous crimes like rape and assault. So many times, while walking on the streets of Delhi (I live there!) I’ve seen people mocking transgender people. Parents go like, “If you don’t behave that aunty will take you” and that’s is where we go wrong. A whole generation is unaware/ uneducated about Gender Fluidity and they are imparting wrong ideas into the fragile minds of kids. Schools being ignorant, do not include sex education, gender fluidity, or the “taboo” topics in their curriculum. What they fail to realize is that this silence, this innominate scenario that we create in our heads is actually fueling the fire.
We at CORAGE, SIMSA x BLEED WITH PRIDE want to educate people and teach them how to be more inclusive not just in the medical field but on an everyday basis – thus we bring to you –REINCARNATION – Defining the new normal. This is regarding the whole pride month and includes various activities exploring your creative side whilst learning how to be better allies, use of correct pronouns, and being more aware as an individual.
