Distortions in a cracked mirror

A sensational murder like this does indeed put the spotlight on the social life of the victims. But personal opinions and prejudices of the reporters should not colour their stories. Yes, male prostitution — like female prostitution — could reflect a serious social problem. Yes, paedophilia needs to be rooted out. But every gay man cannot be condemned because of these seamy realities. Gay men are as good or bad professionals, as sincere or insincere friends, as doting or not-so-doting uncles, as indeed each one of us are. They live lives integrated into extended family structures like all of us do. How can their sexual preferences make us so sure that their other social relationships and professional lives are “flawed”.

The media reports on this murder reveal how intolerant we have become of anything that is not “mainstream”. Sadly the mainstream gets narrowly elitist and more traditionally patriarchal than ever as we make strides to hook up with the referents of globalisation. So massage parlours can be advertised for heterosexual comforts but not for homosexuals. Pubs and bars can mushroom and become the yardstick of “modernity” but primarily for men from the top echelons of society.

And the list of intolerances does not stop here. It spills over to cover the reports on rural society and religious minorities. So heinous murders in Uttar Pradesh villages are reported, not with a focus on general the corruption in the law and order machinery. Instead, they are reported to reinforce stereotypes about the conservative and dangerous nature of certain castes and communities. And, of course, we know too well the stereotype of the Muslim community that comes tumbling down each time a crime is committed against a woman of that community. The inevitability of the crime rather than its administrative or legal angle becomes the focus of media attention.

Those who are the subject of such daily distortions should raise their voices against these blatant misrepresentations that go in the name of maintaining the “mainstream” value system.