It's a big day for India's sexual minority. In a major victory for 25 lakh homosexuals in the country, the Delhi High Court today pronounced its verdict on the controversial penal provision on homosexuality legalising consensual same-sex in the country. After 150 years, section 377 of the IPC that criminalised same sex has been amended.

No wonder, Celina Jaitley who has been fighting for the gay rights is jumping with joy. In her latest blog she writes:

It's really amusing to see how people jump to conclusions the moment we utter the sentence, "Oh... he/she is gay!"

If it's a gay man most people think ... "oh, he's a cross-dressing queen"...or... "the guy must walk like a woman and love to wear blue eyeliner" ...and sometimes people will immediately conclude that "...he is a threat to all masculinity". And if it's a gay woman, then the first conclusion people jump to is the word "Dyke".

Well, I would really like to clear these perceptions because every gay person is different. These are the things you need to know about gay people:

A) All gay men don't dress/walk/talk or want to be like women

B) All gay women don't want to dress up like a man with a crew cut and walk around scratching their balls.

C) Some gay people are just trapped emotionally in the wrong body and hence they display/emulate the traits of the opposite sex... which is also a part of some gays' personalities (transgenders/transsexuals).

D) Transgender is an umbrella term used to describe people whose gender identity (sense of themselves as male or female) or gender expression differs from that usually associated with their birth sex. Many transgenders live part-time or full-time as members of the other gender.

E) Transsexuals are transgender people who live or wish to live full-time as members of the gender opposite to their birth sex. Biological females who wish to live and be recognized as men are called female-to-male (FTM) transsexuals or transsexual men.

Biological males who wish to live and be recognized as women are called male-to-female (MTF) transsexuals or transsexual women. Transsexuals usually seek medical interventions, such as hormones and surgery, to make their bodies as congruent as possible with their preferred gender.

The process of transitioning from one gender to the other is called sex reassignment or gender reassignment.

F) Cross-dressers or transvestites comprise the most numerous transgender group. Cross-dressers wear the clothing of the other sex.

They vary in how completely they dress (from one article of clothing to fully cross-dressing) as well as in their motives for doing so. Some cross-dress to express cross-gender feelings or identities; others cross-dress for fun, for emotional comfort, or for sexual arousal.

The great majority of cross-dressers are biological males, most of whom are sexually attracted to women.

G) Drag queens and drag kings are, respectively, biological males and females who present themselves part-time as members of the other sex primarily to perform or entertain.

Their performances may include singing, lip-syncing, or dancing. Drag performers may or may not identify as transgender. Many drag queens and kings identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

So this is so much that you didn't know about the various aspects of being gay. From personal experience I can say, one look and you can tell a person is gay; on the other hand, one lifetime and you may never know he/she is gay.

So ... to cut a long story short, whatever traits they display — that does not diminish their capability as a human being or as a professional.

Today I present to you my research on one such case which should shut the mouths of all homophobics whose masculinity is threatened by gay men.

The ruler of one of the strongest empires of the world and one of the mightiest, most revered warriors and generals of the biggest military might of ancient times is the biggest example that "manliness of a man" or for that matter any quality of a man or woman is in no way linked to one's sexual preference.

Ladies, gentlemen and queens — I present Alexander the Great, who commanded his first battles while only 16 went on to conquer the entire known world, leading his troops from the mountains of northern Greece all the way to the mountains of northern India.

He subdued every opponent in his path, from the Greek city states to the kingdoms of North Africa, Asia Minor and Persia. His relentlessness in battle, often tempered by his magnanimity to the vanquished, was legendary.

But so was his devotion to his friends and companions, and the love which he shared almost exclusively with his male peers starting in tender childhood.

Not only did Alexander have love affairs with boys, but above them all was his love for a man his own age, his childhood friend Hephaestion. This relationship resembled modern gay love and became legendary for its passion. The love story of Alexander the Great and Hephaestion is practically the equivalent of Romeo and Juliette for modern day gay couples.

The love between them never waned. Alexander saw their love as emulating that heroic love between Achilles and Patroclus, another ancient couple that modern gay couples can look to as an example of devotion. Crossing into Asia on their way to Persia, the two halted their campaign in Illium by the ruins of Troy.

There Alexander sacrificed and offered garlands at the shrine of Achilles, while Hephaestion did the same at the shrine of Patroclus. Following the ancient custom, Alexander ran naked around the hero's tomb, proclaiming his admiration for Achilles, "fortunate in life to have so faithful a friend, and in death to have so famous a poet".

Friends, basically sexuality is a part of you. Whether God made you straight/gay doesn't matter ... what matters is what you have achieved and done ... people should remember you with pride, inspiration and love even centuries after you are gone. That is more important.

Courtesy: itimes.com