Acceptance vs Abhorrence: A Comparative Study of Traditional and Same-Sex Marriages in Ruth Vanita’s Love’s Rite: Same-Sex Marriage in India and the West

Abstract

Literature, lately, has started giving representation to the members of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Community and their sexual desires. However, there have been many an eyebrows raised on the depiction of the sexual desires of this particular group. There have been a number of texts which portray the characters involved in same-sex love or relationships. The community has started to get an identity because of these texts but still, it’s far from getting open social and family acceptance even after getting legal sanctions. The traditional marriages are still the ones which get acceptance and  respect in the society whereas the same-sex marriages get abhorrence.  The present paper aims at exploring the difference in perception of the society towards traditional marriages and same-sex marriages with special reference to Ruth Vanita’s book Love’s Rite: Same Sex Marriage in India and the West. The paper shall also discuss the evolution of the concept of marriage with time that would permit marital unions between people of same sex without causing any social stigma.