• Madurai Messenger
• Printed version
• 2007
• April may
• Editorial

 

Beyond Stereotypes

by Nandini Murali

Secrecy. Silence. Isolation. Shame. That's been our response perfected down centuries of human civilisation for people or things we don't understand. Or don't make the effort to do so. We, human beings, must be the most complacent and judgemental creatures on earth. We have certain fixed notions about how people and things "ought to be." Anyone and anything that does not fit such popular stereotypes is dubbed "abnormal" or "deviant" and by extension, dangerous.

Such stigma and discrimination "branded" people with mental illness, people with disabilities, people with Hansen's disease (leprosy), and now homosexuals, and transgenders. In the early 1980s, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) classified homosexuality as "deviant" and abnormal. But since then APA no longer regards the condition as indicator of psychopathology. This just shows that notions of "normality" and "abnormality" are relative and can change with time and culture. Therefore it's time we dusted our inner minds off the cobwebs of ignorance and prejudice that causes us to discriminate and exclude others who don't "fit in" with our cherished notions of "right" and "wrong."

Our cover story focuses on transgenders: people whose sexual identity does not match their genetic or physical sex. For centuries, they have been the butt end of jokes in life and films, and subject to ridicule and harassment. But a few people are showing us the way. One such person is Mrs. K. Vijaya, Secretary of VMM (Virutcham Magalir Munnetra Kalzangiam), a Virudhunagar based development organisation that works for the disadvantaged and marginalised. Our reporters have captured the lives of the transgenders with sensitivity and insight. It's time we move beyond stereotypes and work towards an inclusive society for all. With dignity and respect.