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Indian gays unite --- the cyber
way Yes, the yet obscure Indian gays have gone high-tech to come out in
open and unite for their cause. Ignoring the anti-homosexuality law under
Section 377 of IPC, they are utilising the newfound freedom in the virtual
world to shape their community and culture.
Leaving behind the straightjackets, they are searching, discussing,
polling, playing and straying - all at a click of mouse. They are talking
live in specific chat rooms, looking for soul-mates, falling in love,
having cyber-sex and crossing cities to be with each other.
"Being a non-threatening medium, Internet is most suited to reach out
to those still in hiding. It is playfully pushing the gay-lib movement in
even smaller towns of India which has an estimated four crore gay
population," says Shaleen Rakesh, programme co-ordinator of 'Men Who Have
Sex With Men' support group of Naz foundation.
But from where do they get on to this ecstatic cyber roller coaster.
Well, there are many portals to serve the purpose.
"The best and most supportive sites, which inculcate a sense of
belonging among Indian gays, come out of Delhi and Mumbai, each of which
has five lakh gays. But the rest of the country is fast catching up,"
Shaleen said.
"Gay and lesbian chat rooms at Yahoo's India chat section and several
other mainstream sites are becoming popular meeting points of Indian
origin gays, even though they also attract droves of straight males
seeking voyeuristic kicks," he added.
"India's first gay web site http://members.tripod.com/gaydelhi has
really helped form a sense of community and played a vital role in
building up the gay culture in Delhi," said a gay counselor B Rana of
Delhi.
The gaydelhi site provides information about gay events, parties and
issues, offers dating and lifestyle tips and even the job and
accommodation avenues for the gays besides more than 75 related links.
A list of gay employers looking for gay employees and a photo gallery
to rate the pictures of the gays provide an interesting insight to the
evolving gay culture in India.
Similarly the sites like http://www.DatingDesis.com have enlivened the
gays further with scores of them advertising for partners, often in
explicit details about their expectations. Transgender Indians and Boy2Boy
clubs on www.123india.com are also popular among them.
"Yes, the Internet has decidedly taken the country's gay male culture
by storm. And where will it go from here. No prizes for guessing," says
Rana.
But the Mumbai gay activists seem to know the answer to Rana's query.
"WWW is lifeline for Mumbai activists and it will be a part of life for
gays all over India soon," says Shaleen, who has worked as a gay volunteer
in the metropolis for three years.
The best sites originating from Mumbai are www.gayMumbai.com and
www.Mumbai-dost.com. A help-line for lesbian and gay women of Mumbai
called Aanchal Help Line also has a web page at
http://www.main.org/trikonetejas/aanchal/atop.html .
Besides, the Indian gay network has crossed international borders too.
. "While the web site www.trikone.org is pivotal for Indian gays, bisexual
and lesbians based abroad www.gayguide.net/asia/india caters to the needs
of travellers who are looking for suggestions and tips," Shaleen said.
An interesting overseas site for gay people is www.gay.com chat. And it
is for free. The rooms have monitors, so anyone behaving offensively is
booted. They have separate chat areas for men and women, although they are
not mutually exclusive.
However, the gay flirting on the net is not always a pleasurable
experience for many.
"Actual experiences include disliking each other on their first
real-life meeting despite an intimate relationship on-line. Many of them
feel cheated when they meet in real life and find out that their cyber
pals are far older than what they looked in their photographs on the web.
Probably the mailed snaps were taken years ago," Shaleen said.
"One hapless individual remained depressed for months when his cyber
soul-mate did not turn up at the designated meeting point," he said. "But
I know many of them who have found their partners at the click of mouse".
A net freak gay Mukul (name changed), who is a regular visitor to
'Milan' centre in South Delhi, was all praise for the medium. "In my case
it was the love at first site when we met in a Yahoo chat room. I liked
his cyber name. It took two months for our virtual relationship to grow
passionate. And a month later when we met in real world, it was a love at
first sight again".
But amidst this fun and frolic, there are some serious gay web spaces
too.
The Hamsafar Trust site proclaims - "We are India's gay organisation
helping self-identified gay men and men-having-sex-with-men to come to
terms with their sexuality... we suggest ways to have safe sex".
But serious or non-serious, can the virtual activism lead to their
acceptance in real world too. Only time will tell. |
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