Hetero-normativity and Rape: Mapping the Construction of Gender and Sexuality in the Rape Legislations in India

Sneha Annavarapu

Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India

Abstract:

Drawing from discourse on gender, sex and sexuality, this paper analyses the presence of certain unproblematised assumptions of gender in law on rape today that have a tendency to marginalize and suppress the voice of the 'third sex'. I have tried to evaluate the rape legislation in India and ask the question - is there room for the queer? The aim is not just to problematise the hetero-normative assumptions behind rape legislation and practice as it stands today but also to explore the possibility of a more inclusive legal policy on rape and its possible repercussions. Using a socio-legal framework of analysis, this paper shows how and why rape legislation in India is still exclusionary and imbued with sexual bias. The existence of a law that deems homosexuality a criminal offence creates more ripples in the water than is often anticipated. Until the assumptions of gender and sexuality are not problematised and addressed in rape legislation in India, the dream of inclusive and fair rape legislation is a long shot.

Keyword:

Rape, Gender, Sexuality, Queer, Agency, Rights, Indian Penal Code.