Publication

Abstract : Queer is an all inclusive term for gender and sexual minorities who aren’t “straight" in their sexual orientation. This includes lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, transsexuals, cisgenders etc. Literally, the word means “strange" or "peculiar", and therefore came to be used rather derogatorily against those who practiced same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Around the world, homosexuality is now receiving legitimacy; stigma and discrimination are giving way to equality and inclusion. Nevertheless, the Indian scenario seems to be still in dark even after the decriminalization of Section 377 of the IPC. People are sensitized through media in the form of advertisements, documentaries, novels, books, journals and so on, about the burgeoning' third gender’. Yet, Homophobia is prevalent among the majority in India with all of its conventional stereotypes and misconceptions. Almost natural human existence is termed as unnatural, abnormal, disease stricken yet curable and subjected to conversion therapies. Most adolescents naturally identify themselves as heterosexual, however there is a minority of teenagers among us who are never taken seriously in the matters of sexual importance. Aim of the study is to lay bare the subtle intricacies of the working of a sophisticated adolescent lesbian mind, through the much acclaimed novel Babyji by AbhaDawesar. Published in 2005and set in 1980s Delhi, it narrates the coming of age, sexual feats and fantasies of a 16 year’s old baffled schoolgirl. The paper titled “Coming Out” of the Baby Dyke in Babyji by AbhaDawesar: An attempt to understand Adolescent Lesbianism is an attempt to understand the sexual orientation of the protagonist Anamika Sharma who in her teens is figuring out herself. She is faced with several psychological, philosophical and existential questions in the course of the novel that leads her towards a revelation about her sexual and emotional preferences in a heteronormative, heterosexual world that surrounds her. The study is essentially narrowed down to focus on Adolescent Lesbianism. Theories of sexual orientation in the form of models byVivienn Cass, Richard R Troiden and Eli Coleman, theory of psychosexual development by Dr Sigmund Freud and theory of existentialism as put forth by Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, would shape the framework for the analysis and interpretation of the character and the novel as a whole. Queerness which is inseparable from the very essence and existence of life of LGBTQ population is spoken about through the study.