In the 1990s and early 2000s, many mainstream gay and lesbian organizations pursued a strategy of "respectability" — arguing that gay people were "just like" straight people except for who they love. This strategy often jettisoned the more radical, gender-bending elements of queer culture. Trans people, whose very existence challenges the binary concept of gender, were seen as a liability. The push for same-sex marriage, while a monumental victory for gay men and lesbians, often sidelined the trans community’s more urgent needs: healthcare access, employment protection, and freedom from police violence.
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: How a person outwardly presents their gender through behavior, clothing, hairstyles, and voice. Sexual Orientation
: India has a long-standing history of culturally distinct transgender communities such as the Hijra, Aravani, and Jogappa . Historically, these groups held influential roles in royal courts or religious ceremonies, though they faced severe marginalisation during and after the British colonial era.
For decades, “gay liberation” was the umbrella term, but it was transgender activists who ensured the “T” remained attached, arguing that the fight for sexual orientation (who you love) and gender identity (who you are) are linked by a common enemy: rigid, coercive gender norms.