A so-called harmless joke, normalises such behaviour

Growing up Anwesh Sahoo often heard people jeer at him for his sexuality an inherent and crucial aspect of his being That is when he first realised the damaging pain that words can inflict Sahoo admits that pop culture whether it is movies or songs has played a huge role in reducing gay men and transgender people to caricatures Overcoming such odds he went on to represent India in the Mr Gay World pageant in 2016 He is a proud femme man and sees no reason why people think its okay to equate femininity with indignityAnwesh SahooSahoo penned an open letter to Carry Minati in response to the video Some of Indias most popular and influential YouTubers like Bhuvan Bam supported Carry Minati They consoled him when his problematic video was taken down I refuse to believe that these creators are so naiumlve that they cant understand why what Minati said was unacceptable Although the design student watched the video in question he chose not to report it because he believes that his fight isnt against one man but the pervasive culture of toxic masculinity and homophobia He hopes that Minati and others of his ilk put in the effort to sensitise themselvesSucharita TyagiSucharita Tyagi a film critic who also makes YouTube videos says that if she can unlearn so can others I took the time to educate myself You have to be aware of the fact that there are young impressionable minds watching your videos Especially with the lockdown in place everyone is turning to the Internet to keep themselves entertained She called out Carry Minatis reprehensible video on her Instagram demanding better from content creators and asking them to realise the responsibility that comes with being one When you make a joke that punches down instead of punching up youre making fun of a community which is already marginalised and vulnerableGauri ShringarpureWhen one uses a word with a queer connotation to insult someone it also acts to demean the queer community as a whole even if that wasnt their intention Carry Minati should understand that when he cracks a socalled harmless joke it normalises such behaviour Its this microaggression that can amplify the othering of the LGBTQIA community The least he can do is apologise explains Gauri Shringarpure a queeraffirmative counsellor Shringarpure makes a valid point about Minatis popularity and the possible influence of his ignorant remarks over his now 198 million followers If ones favourite YouTuber thinks its okay to make LGBTQIA people the butt of his jokes then one might end up thinking its okay to ridicule the community That his video became the mostliked Indian video on YouTube before it was taken down speaks volumes about our lack of sensitivity towards the queer community and its strugglesMocking someones sexuality or gender expression serves to increase a queer individuals feelings of alienation even as it serves to diminish their selfconfidence and selfacceptance It takes a toll on ones mental health to constantly hear invalidating things about oneself My roommates friends would come to our room and what passed for banter between them used to really hurt me People make offensive remarks about the LGBTQIA people flippantly as if there are no queer individuals around them who can hear them says Christy a trans person and research scholar speaking about their experience of having to live in a mens hostel Clearly this is not the first time that content creators and others have targeted vulnerable groups in the guise of humour However the backlash that this video received is a step in the right direction towards a more inclusive futureShakti WaghelaChristy is of the opinion that the lack of specific legislation targeting hate speech against the queer community contributes to the impunity of homophobic people Shakti Waghela a former customer executive watched Carry Minatis video and went on to report it I am a trans woman and I think its important to call out such behaviour Carry insulted women and he insulted the queer community in a multipronged manner He clearly benefitted from the traction and the views Even more people know him now If hes going to profit from ridiculing LGBTQIA people then he should be accountable to us tooEven audiences can move courtPriyanka Khimani Entertainment and Music Rights ExpertAlmost all platforms including YouTube and TikTok have thorough and well articulated community guidelines which set out what sort of user behaviour and content will and will not be tolerated on the platform The platforms YouTube included reserve absolute and wide discretion to take action against users or accounts that violate these community guidelines and other terms of use of the platform including removal of such content or even suspension or termination of such user accountsIf the audience finds something disagreeable dont engage with it in any manner whatsoever In addition to this even the audience can report content using the same tools made available on the platform to complain about abusive content or behaviour or request a takedown of inappropriate content And lastly for a more formal legal approach even audiences and viewers could move courts or approach the police like we have witnessed several times in the past to address issues that affect members of the public and society at largeCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news