Do you remember Gauri Sawant who starred in a Vicks advertisement that depicted the story of a transgender mother and her adopted daughter? She is an activist who has made a contribution to protecting the rights of the transgender community. However, it was not easy for her to achieve this success and she still has to go through a lot of struggles to avoid discrimination. Unfortunately, she is not the only one but many others who belong to the LGBT community often face stereotypes that make their life much harder.

These people belonging to the LGBT community have to face a lot of hardships but they have stood strong and have broken the stereotypes and emerged as a winner.

• Rituparno Ghosh

He is a 12 National Film Awards winner and also won a number of International awards. Rituparno, a well-known Bengali film director, and writer was one of the well-known personalities from LGBT community. He never shied away from embracing his sexuality, however, he was severely criticized for being open about his sexual orientation but he never cared. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2013.

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• Laxmi Narayan Tripathi

She is the first transgender activist who represented the Asia Pacific in the United Nations in 2008. While addressing at the assembly focused on the point that people should be more human and accept those who are different from them.

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He is a well-known fashion designer in Bollywood and across the globe. His collections are highly appreciated by the celebrities and have a prestigious position in the world of designers. He openly reveals about being a gay and that doesn’t embarrass him. Though many might say, it points out the stereotype associated with the fashion industry, but nonetheless, it brings hope for others in a country like India where being gay is no less than a sin.

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• Bobby Darling

She is another one who is quite famous for her sexuality and all issues related to being a gay. She has shown a lot of courage while embracing her sexuality. She faced a lot of hardships and oppositions from her family at a very young age. Ridiculed and mocked at, Bobby refused to back down and finally underwent sex transformation therapy to present her true self in front of the whole world.

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Hats off to these people for presenting themselves proudly in front of the world for what they are. It’s 2018 and the world is changing rapidly. It is time we change our thinking about those belonging to these communities and look up to them as an inspiration and not shame.

Published by Mamatha on 11 Jul 2018