#it is a complicated issue for me and i haven't even begun to sort it out for myself

[badedramay]

So this is going to seem really out of left field, but I’m a Pakistani American and have only visited the motherland a couple of times in my life. I watch dramas a lot as it’s a way for my mother and me to bond and for me to maintain more cultural roots.

I have often wondered what the current youth of pakistan think of LGBT rights and people in general (told you this would be random). With my parents having spent the last 20+ years in America, they have come around to be more accepting of these individuals, but truly curious about what younger people in 2023 in pakistan think about this.

It seems like there are a few key designers and makeup artists who are as close to out and proud that you can be in pakistan and our celebs appear to love them and I do not see these people being publicly called out by Pakistanis for this…to be clear, I don’t think they should be called out at all; just startling it’s not a bigger deal in pakistan, unless things are changing?

oh boy.

first off, I don't think you should take how celebrity choose to live their lives or the views they endorse as being in any shape or form being a majority reflection of how the rest of the country behaves. it has been clear for a very very VERY long time that the entertainment industry functions in its own sphere and still for majority of the country its not a respectable place to be. social media barely reflects the true sentiments of the nation that is too busy struggling with the prices of oil and flour to sit around and comment on issues about the sexuality of makeup artists.

second, and this might sound harsh, but in an Islamic country you can never ever expect to live a respectable life as an "out and proud" LGBTQ+ individual. why? because there is NO concept of being LGBTQ+ in the religion. the movement is cultural, not religious. USA is a far more culturally progressive country than Pakistan with completely different cultural issues than what Pakistan faces. but even there when you go in the more religious circles, the acceptance for such individuals is not in big numbers. Pakistani society cannot be separated from the religion. and the religion which is at the heart of its constitution DOES NOT CATEGORICALLY accept LGBTQ+ people. there is no grey area here. if you're a Muslim, you cannot under any circumstance support LGBTQ+. there's a whole chapter in the Book of Religion that specifically forbids the believers from doing so. can any Muslim dare go against the verses that Almighty has sent as revelation? I don't think so.

I brought up culture here because for me, personally, the internet CULTURE has made me tolerant and accepting of the existence of LGBTQ+ people and their stories. to the point where I am not at all comfortable or supportive of the idea of prosecuting them on sight. i don't believe any religion will give one human the permission to prosecute another individual like that, least of all Islam. I believe the way of handling these situations is a bit more nuanced than that but I haven't done any research on it or asked any such questions about this matter from reliable scholars from the school of thought I follow. why? because this is a matter that really doesn't affect me directly or anyone from my social circle for me to care about it. it exists on the internet for me. and i can shut off that internet with one simple tap of the screen.

HOWEVER. I am no qualms in accepting that if someone close to me came out of the closet, my reaction to them would not be 100% immediate acceptance. and i am not sorry about that.

things are not changing and things won't even change. idk if you saw it but there was a HUGE backlash for the singer Ali Sethi when just the rumor of him being allegedly married to a man was spread. the messages for support for him were not at all equal to the number of messages condemning the men. it's enough indication of where the Pakistani society currently stands regarding the issue.

the "youth" that you are talking about either mostly exists on the internet or makes up a very small percentage of the society. and more often than not, their individual backgrounds will not have a strong influence of religion in it. the public callouts that you are talking about aren't there because these individuals live in obscurity from the general public eye. only people in their intimate circles might know about the sexuality. for the people the default sexuality is straight and some people in the industry might push it to its limit but no one is going to cross that line to fully accept they are not straight. the status quo helps them, it doesn't hinder them.