Understanding the non-binary equation

In most cases, but not always, our gender identity: a person’s concept of self as male, female, a blend of both or neither, coincides with our biological sex. Non-binary individuals have gender identities that are not strictly male or female.

Non-binary individuals have been recognized for millennia by cultures and societies worldwide

It was in this connection that a recent report on August 16^th, 2021 in Science News caught my attention. A 1000-year-old grave discovered during an archaeological survey in 1968 in Suontaka, in Finland, was initially thought to contain the skeleton of a mighty warrior. Archaeologists at that time believed it to be female because of items of jewelry found alongside the skeleton. However, subsequent research, including nuclear DNA testing, indicates that the individual in the grave may have been non-binary.

The European Journal of Archaeology, in its July 15 edition, concludes that even medieval societies emphasized the alpha male and robust masculinity. Some individuals who did not fit “community expectations” of male/female behaviour may have been buried in a manner that acknowledged their non-traditional social gender identities.

Archaeologists speculate that if a woman was buried with female accoutrements and in typically male attire, it appeared to signify a social system that accepted non-binary gender identity. Here we have a classic case of "unconscious bias"- the jewelry items led archaeologists to believe the person buried was female. But what is fascinating is that in societies more than a thousand years ago, there was an understanding of gender identity

Gender Identity in the Indian social system

What about social systems in ancient and medieval India? The Gay Star News, an online magazine for the LGBTQ community, has its list of “The Seven LGBT Wonders of the World.” The third wonder on their list is the UNESCO World Heritage site at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh built more than a millennium ago where some sculptures depict same-sex relationships. We also have the example of gender fluidity in the depiction of Ardhanarishvara (Lord who is half a woman) in sculptures from ancient India.

It is, therefore, quite surprising that for almost 160 years, we had Section 377 in the Indian Penal Code, which criminalised same-sex relationships. While the simplistic explanation perhaps is a colonial legacy based on Victorian morality, the Section remained part of our criminal code even 70 years after independence. The road to emancipation for the LGBTQ community has not been an easy one. In a path-breaking judgment on July 2, 2009, the Delhi High Court struck down Section 377 as it punished sex between two consenting adults and denied the LGBTQ community equal treatment under our laws. In 2013, the Supreme Court overturned the Delhi High Court's Section 377 judgement, setting the clock back for the gay community. It took another five years of persistent and determined advocacy by a "rainbow coalition", and its well-wishers before Section 377 was finally decriminalised by a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court on September 6, 2018, a day of commemoration for the LGBTQ community; we celebrate this landmark judgement today. Furthermore, in 2014 we had the historic NALSA judgement (National Legal Services Authority vs Union of India) when, for the first time, the Supreme Court recognised “third gender” or transgender persons and the concept of “gender identity”- acknowledging that third gender persons were entitled to constitutional protections and safeguards.

‘Bring Your Own Self’

At Sony Pictures Networks, we believe in the power of diversity helping SPN’s corporate culture of excellence and respect that encapsulates “Bring Your Own Self”: our Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) platform. In this, we follow the principles laid down in the NALSA judgement, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and the Women’s Empowerment Principles adopted by the United Nations, and which SPN, as an organisation, has unequivocally affirmed.

Learning to be an ally to the community is an ongoing process. We hope the steps we take will ensure that SPN is a place not just to work but thrive no matter who you are

Disclaimer: Views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the blog are solely that of the author, and not necessarily of Sony Pictures Networks India and/or its subsidiaries and affiliates.