Belonging Essay Texts

Belonging is being a member or part of a certain group or form. Belonging can be found in connections made with people, places, groups, communities and the larger world.   In the newspaper article “Where gays hide their pride” were we are shown how India’s gay community does not belong to their society and how they are discriminated. Another text which addresses belonging is the song "Fade to Black" from the heavy metal band Metallica from their second album, Ride the Lightning (1984). This song talks about the pain and suffering of one person’s none belonging to life and death being their only escape. As well as this I will be discussing the writing techniques used in these texts to represent belonging.
“Where gays hide their pride” is an article which looks at the issues homosexuals and transvestites face in everyday life. They do not belong within their culture. They are discriminated within the Hindu religion and seen as outcasts. As well as this, they are discriminated within their villages and are forced to move to the larger cities in search of work and protection from physical abuse. They were also discriminated by the government up until eight months ago, when homosexuality was decriminalized. This has given homosexuals and transgender people more opportunities. According to homosexual activists in India “police harassment of gay people has declined significantly”. This is a sign that people in the cities are becoming more accepting of homosexuals and transgender. The dicriminilaztion of homosexuality has given these people more of a sense of belonging in society. In the past homosexuals had to conform in order to fit in. This involved hiding their homosexuality and not being able to belong. However, homosexual activist groups allow homosexuals in India to feel a sense of belonging within their homosexual community. A language technique in the newspaper article which helps represent belonging is emotive language. The article is written this way to make the...