A few weeks ago, a friend and I were talking about my Facebook profile picture... I had put up a wedding picture since it was Wedding Picture week on FB. I ended up going to my picasa site where I have all the pictures, and he was awed by all the work that must have gone into dressing me up like that. I mentioned the lady who had helped me with it, how efficient she was and all.
He then shared something about his own wedding. He is Brazilian and his wife is American. The wedding was in Brazil, so they went there about 3 months before the date to make arrangements. So the lady who was going to do his wife's hair...and then he laughed, saying, well, he was a big gay guy, really. Dressed up as a lady, didn't fool anyone though... and he continued with his story. The lady had come alone, without assistants, and didn't have enough time to do the bride's hair. Everyone who did manage to get it done, were delighted with what she had done for them.
He had many other interesting things he said about his wedding, but I could not get this one out of my mind.
Can we ever imagine this happening in India? Transvestites being accepted, getting respectable jobs, and being appreciated for their work, instead of ridiculed or feared for who they are?
I admit, even I turn away when I see them on traffic signals in India. I think its out of fear. Probably because I didn't understand anything about them, didn't know much about them. I live in the San Francisco Bay area. SF has a huge gay population, and I don't treat them the way I do in India.
I for one, am a changed person after this conversation with my friend. I promise, I will at least give a friendly smile when I encounter a transvestite in India.
As for when will the mentality of others change, when we will see acceptance? I don't think it will happen in my lifetime. So what if the courts have accepted them, the people have not! Sad, ain't it?