Colonialism may largely be a thing of the past, but its legacies still linger. For example, as we've mentioned before, India's law books still recognize the British-originated Section 377, as do the governments in Malaysia, Singapore and other long-independent former colonies.

Written in the 1861 by colonialist Lord Macaulay, the law effectively outlaws same-sex sexin', yet remains a legislative rarity. As Doug Sanders reports over at Fridae, the Brits overturned the law back in 1982, when Jeffrey Dudgeon successfully argued that he had been subject to intimidation and "agitation" by blackmailers looking to expose him. The case remains the same in India, where Section 377 remains a legislative - but not a social - rarity. As politicians and a few gay activists rally against the archaic stipulation, countless queers in these nations still face intimidation, thus forcing them into the shadows. Sanders explains, however, that sunlight's only a shout away.

For Section 377 to be justly implemented, authorities would first have to prove gay relations - a mission that can be, but is rarely, achieved through raids and sissie stings: frivolous missions the for which the fuzz simply don't have time, energy or interest. The innate impotence of the Section 377's enforcement's both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. Section 377 - written just as heteronormative ideals began to gain their cultural and political power - hoped to silence so-called sexual deviation: to keep it in the proverbial closet. The culture of silence breeds a culture of fear. This culture of fear can be broken, however, by breaking the silence:

Fighting 377 and its twins is primarily a campaign for visibility. 377’s main function is to shut us up about sex.

The existence of the criminal law is part of a system that keeps sexual variation out of public discourse. Society presents itself as heterosexual and heterosexuals as having a peculiar homogeneity.

...The fear of society is that if you loosen up on homos you will have to deal with much more - bisexuals, polygamists, sadists, machocists, transvestites, transsexuals, ladyboys, butches, intersexuals, youth sexuality…

And it’s true. Pandora’s box will not just introduce well-spoken gay men or lesbians into the parlour to discuss the latest novels and plays. Society will actually, over time, have to come to terms with sexual variation in its various forms.

Though not the case in all former British colonies, there has been a rise in queer visibility in Indian media. It's this visibility that may help lift the veil once and for all. Indian homo-journo Sanjoy Roy tells India Times:

Certainly more homosexuals are coming out of the closet in India than ever before. Even twenty years ago the only references to alternate sexuality in Indian media would be either to hijras or Western ones like Rock Hudson. Now you have lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender groups in India, anthologies like Because I Have A Voice and Facing the Mirror, virtual groups turned real like GayBombay. You have rainbow pride walks in Calcutta and film festivals in Mumbai, and many intellectuals, hetero or not, signing onto a petition to abolish Sec 377. But most importantly you have a lot more people who are willing to be visible as lesbian, gay, bi, trans people out in the media as opposed to the time when everyone's faces had to be in shadows and blacked out.

And once everyone shows their face, these former colonies will finally be free.

the mystery of 377 [Fridae]

Alternate sexuality: Out of the closet? [India Times]