​Understanding Attitudes of Indian Youth towards Homosexuality: A mixed method study

Abstract: In a landmark ruling in 2018, homosexuality was decriminalised in India. This was the first step not just towards equality of homosexual individuals and their rights, but also towards reducing stigma and restoring dignity. In another turn of events, India also denied rights of same-sex marriage to these individuals in the latest Supreme Court judgement of 2023. While these events happened at the apex level, the ground reality remains unexplored. Through this study, we aimed at measuring attitudes of Indian Youth towards Homosexuality based on their gender and education, and to develop a deeper understanding of the same, using Attitudes towards Homosexuality Scale for Indians (AHSI) developed by Ahuja (2017). The scale was administered on 211 individuals out of which 6 individuals, 3 high scorers and 3 low scorers, were contacted for telephonic semi-structured interviews to gain more insight on their attitudes. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics while the qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis. Results indicate a significant difference between males and females, and those studying liberal arts and science on attitudes towards homosexuality. The study also taps into the basis of the formation of such attitudes and suggests that cultural influences, social environment, educational environment and personal factors play an important role.