1. Parmesh Shahani wrote a book on LGBT+ culture in India called Gay Bombay
Source: SBS Viceland
He says: "What's happening on the LGBT scene today is an interplay both between our history, our mythology and of our presence in a very globalised LGBT environment. Um, but I think being queer here is really about community."
2. Section 377 is a 19th-century British imposed law that criminalises intercourse "against the order of nature," which has been interpreted to persecute homosexuals
Source: SBS Viceland
3. Despite this law, Grindr is still big in India, and Bombay hosts gay parties on the weekend. ImageOne man at a party tells Ian Daniels: "You do find homophobic people, but if we actually compared the scenario in India, Bombay's quite a cool place because you have safer space, party every Saturday".
4. India's known for the tradition of arranged marriages, and even now, they make up 88% of marriages in India
Source: SBS Viceland
5. Ashok Row Kavi was the first man in India to say that he was gay, in 1982
Source: SBS Viceland
"Within the community, they're very divided," he says, noting that gay men "don't like women in gay bars."
He notes that while violence against gay and bisexual men happens in public spaces, violence against women happens behind closed doors.
6. Gaysi is an organisation fighting for community and visibility for lesbian and bisexual women.
Source: SBS Viceland
One of the women says that to be queer in India is "two layers of stuff". She says: "I can speak for all three of us in the sense that I think we come from a more privileged background, so we have access... and we're allowed these safe spaces," but says that it's "still difficult".
"You feel intimidated anyway in a public space," she says, of the importance of creating safe spaces for queer women.
She also notes that "women in India aren't allowed to have a sexuality, whether you're straight or not".
She continues: "Your job, as a woman, is to have a womb, get married, produce a baby, and that's it. The idea that you might even want to have sex is alien."
7. India's latest pop sensation is the Six Pack Band, who have gained attention partially because their members are neither male nor female, but a third gender
Source: SBS Viceland
Hijra's are considered one of the oldest recorded third-gender communities in the world, dating back to Hindu scriptures.
Although deeply marginalised, hijras are accepted as part of India's national identity and are legally recognised as a third gender. Despite this legal acknowledgment, there isn't the same cultural acceptance for those who are transgender.
