'Behind the measure of all things': Exploring the Case of a Psychometric Test to Measure Sexual Orientation in India

This paper examines the curious case of a psychometric scale to measure sexual orientation published in India post the decriminalization of homosexuality in 2018. Investigating the hermeneutical choices made by the developer of the scale in various stages of its construction, I argue that the scale's treatment of sexual orientation as a measurable construct necessitates a politics of willfully sustained ignorance (Pohlhaus 2012). By carefully deploying the ignorance of queer lives and realities, the scale generates mistrust for self-disclosure, sanitizes sexual orientation of its socially deviant elements, and creates a straitjacket of sexual identities to override the agential power of the test-taking subject. Based on an evaluation of the unjust research practices embedded in the scale's development, I suggest that there is a need to re-evaluate the ethical responsibilities of the scientist in generating knowledge about vulnerably situated groups.