As members of the medical community join the Pride March in Mumbai to show support for the LGBT cause, they are also questioning the shocking ideas in their textbooks
A Âu00c2u0088previous Gay Pride march. File pic
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Even as a handful of medical students will march today in Mumbai's Gay Pride Parade under the banner 'Future doctors for equality', a medical textbook passage painting Lesbians Gays Bisexuals Transgenders (LGBTs) in a negative light has shocked all. The offensive para in the book suggests that lesbianism is a 'perversion' and that only women who are 'mental degenerates or nymphomaniacs' indulge in it.
A textbook for second year MBBS students called 'The Essentials of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology' has created a stir, courtesy a paragraph on lesbianism on page 430 in the chapter 'Sexual Offences'. This is the 33rd edition of the book, with its first edition printed in 1973. Its updated reprint was as recently as 2014, confirmed a spokesperson from Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Limited from New Delhi.
The offensive paragraph
Quoting the paragraph in question verbatim, it says, 'Tribadism: Female homosexuality is known as tribadism or lesbianism. According to Greek mythology, women of the Isle of Lesbos practised this perversion. Sexual gratification of a woman is obtained by another woman by simple lip kissing, generalized body contact, deep kissing, manual manipulation of breasts and genitalia, genital apposition, friction of external genital organs, sucking of breasts or external genitalia, etc. In some cases enlarged clitoris is used as organ of passion or some artificial penis or phallus may be used.
Dr Dhruv Ambegaokar says it was upsetting in his class to discuss this subject
The external genitals may show scratch marks, abrasions or teeth marks. Many lesbians are masculine in type, possibly because of endocrine disturbances and are indifferent towards individuals of the opposite sex. The practice is usually indulged in by women who are mental degenerates or those who suffer from nymphomania (excessive sexual desire). It is the result of interactions of biological, psychological, developmental and sociologic factors. It may lead to interference with young girls. Lesbians who are morbidly jealous of one another, when rejected may commit homicide, suicide or both. Tribadism is not an offence in India.'
Buck passed
Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) vice-chancellor and Medical Council of India (MCI) member Dr Dilip Mhaiskar refused to comment and advised this reporter to seek a comment from Dr KD Chavan, controller of examinations (MUHS).
Also read: Queer Azaadi March to be held on Saturday to make a statement of different kind
Dr Chavan said, "Lesbianism is a known perversion. It is included in the topic on sexual jurisprudence. The purpose of its inclusion may be to enlighten the students about medical and legal facts. The syllabus is prescribed by the MCI. In case there is any argument on this, the same may be put before the Board of Studies of University for review and opinion." He added that it is not just this book, but there are other books on forensics too that had such lines. These books, he said, were not just in India but overseas too.
Shocked and angry
Psychiatrist Dr Anjali Chabbria said she read the paragraph in disbelief at first, then shock and then anger. "This is absolutely ridiculous. Which world are we living in? And which century? This is nonsense. What is the origin of all this? It scares me to think what knowledge we are imparting to our future doctors. This has shocked me to the core."
The second year MBBSâÂÂu00c2u0080ÂÂu00c2u0088textbook 'The Essentials of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology'
"Doctors are the first responders in society, be it to a crisis or troubled minds. I can imagine a doctor who has absorbed this, responding to a girl who confides in him or her about her attraction to another girl, or a mother trying to talk to the doctor about her daughter's feelings of attraction to a woman. This has angered me so much… textbooks need to be reviewed and updated. This cannot and should not be taken lightly," she added.
Pallav Patankar of the non-profit organisation Humsafar, working for the LGBT community, said, "The MCI needs to take cognisance of this. The syllabus has to be in touch with reality, it has to be in sync with the current discourse on homosexuality."
Acceptance needed
The textbooks exist in a climate where academics are now talking about acceptance, a more inclusive classroom. Last year, the movie 'Aligarh' directed by Hansal Mehta had a world premiere. It dared to touch burning coals of homosexuality in an academic setting.
Cover and backpage of the book
Mumbai's Dr Dhruv Ambegaokar (25), former Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College student, who came out of the closet, said he used to literally squirm when such topics were taught in class, as it was painful to see students laughing during such lectures. His friends were with him then and they were a huge moral support, he said, adding, "Our textbooks still have such content. We need to show that there is nothing wrong with homosexuality.
"The other topics clubbed in the chapter include rape, incest and necrophilia. I get that it's mainly the law that causes topics to be clubbed like this. But it's important to discuss anal sex (for non-consensual instances), especially to make an impressionable 19-year-old more aware."
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