Less than Gay: It's a Society Haunted by
Heterosexual Blackmail
VIKRAM DOCTOR
Times of India, Aug 24, 2004
When an unsuspecting gay casually admits to finding certain straight young man
attractive, the consequences can be surprising, if not dangerous. The
heterosexual could outnumber, if not overpower his gay 'companion'. They could
eat his food, drink his liquor, take his money, enjoy oral sex from him and
perhaps even beat him up or, in extreme cases, kill him, as happened with
Pushkin Chandra in Delhi. But once the story hits the media - channelled to them
by obliging police contacts - a spin is introduced: It wasn't their fault, those
homosexuals forced them into committing a crime.
Come again? These are straight men, enjoying all the strength and authority that
society accords to this tribe. They are not women or children whose weaker
position makes them more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Under most
circumstances, they would readily side into a dominating, aggressive role. So,
how do they suddenly become hapless victims of homosexuals?
It is amazing how in attacks on homosexuals things quickly get reversed in the
reporting so that victims are presented as villains.
We saw this happen in the Matthew Shephard case in the US when a slightly built
young gay man was abducted, beaten up, crucified on barbed wire and left to die
by two considerably larger and stronger men - who then in court tried to plead
that it wasn't their fault since Shephard had tried to flirt with them, which so
panicked them that they were driven into this. Whatever happened to just saying
no?
Creditably, in that case the court threw out this 'gay panic' defence, but it
looks like a variation on it is alive and well in Delhi. One wonders why the
killers of Pushkin are still bothering to hide - the Delhi police, working
through their tame media contacts,
has given them their defence. They simply need to claim they were lured into the
gay sex networks that we're told entrap young men
like this and forced into doing what they did.
How exactly such 'networks' lure young men who in every other circumstance might
conceivably have the strength and will to refuse
is something that is conveniently glossed over. Homosexuals are believed to
possess magic powers of seduction (Karan Razdan's vile
Girlfriend made similar claims for lesbians), a stereotype which allows public
opinion to gloss over the possibility that young men
might not be all that unwilling. The stereotype also permits people to overlook
the simpler aspects of gay crime, like the fact that it
could be a routine murder-for-money case. In that event, no one would be
exercised over why the villains did it.
Let us be clear, the seduction of straight men for gay sex certainly does
happen. There are fashion designers and film directors out
there who, in between denying that they're gay to the media, have no qualms in
putting male models and actors on the casting couch. There are other young men,
perhaps closer to the Pushkin case, who won't mind being given a good time by a
gay guy in exchange for a few minutes when they close their eyes and think of
women (or perhaps they don't close their eyes; after all, realities can be
complex!).
The men, of course, cannot be easily compelled - except for hijras and
effeminate young men who become commercial sex workers because it is pretty much
the only career open to them. As for 'networks', they aren't needed because
there is no shortage of such young men very willing to look for a good time -
and, sadly, there's no dearth of men who from lust or loneliness are willing to
provide it.
The Delhi murders should be seen against a backdrop of an increasing number of
cases where criminals have targeted gay men. A
blackmailing ring in Mumbai uses a decoy who flirts with gay men over the
Internet, always selecting the lonely, deeply closeted
ones. He lures a location where they find a 'policeman' waiting for them, who
then abuses and threatens them until, terrified by both
the physical violence and the threat of being exposed, they hand over their
valuables. One man lost Rs 30,000 in just one rendezvous. Another gay man was
blackmailed for months, eventually paying over a lakh. In Bangalore, a young gay
man was recently lured into a meeting, only to find himself being abducted and
held hostage for 36 hours. He was forced to reveal his credit/debit card PIN
numbers so the kidnappers could withdraw all his money.
If the police and the media are looking for 'entrapment' these are the cases
they should be focusing on, rather than take the easy way out by blaming the
victim and letting the villains off the hook. Criminals would know by now that
gay stalking and murder makes for the perfect crime. Not only would they find it
easy to lure lonely gay men, they also know that most of these victims will be
too
scared to complain. Among other reasons, gays would fear what the police will
accuse them of. Criminals can have their cake and eat it too: If the victim,
like Pushkin, is killed and they are caught, the media steps in to furnish the
alibi: It wasn't our fault, it was the
homosexuals who made us kill them.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/824864.cms
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