From Khush List to Gay Bombay: Virtual Webs of Real People

Just today (May 24, 2017 ((I know I published this late))) Taiwan became the first Asian country to legalize gay marriage.

Sandip Roy discusses how the South Asian LGBT+ community utilizes the internet and social media to connect and create a space where they can talk about their LGBT+ issues, share resources, and stay up to date with the rest of the world's LGBT+ communities. All throughout Asia, being gay or any other LGBT+ is frowned upon, shamed and hated. I recently also saw a video and article about two gay men being publicly beaten in Aceh, Indonesia after getting caught in bed together by their neighbors. Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country and the particular area that the two men were in was a very conservative province where Sharia law is strictly enforced. I cannot imagine living or growing up in a place like that. In the Philippines, there are so many LGBT+ people! They don't hide and they are not ashamed of who they are, but there are those few families where the fathers are strict and any hint of femininity is beaten away. In my family back in the Philippines, I have so many gay and lesbian cousins. In Filipino entertainment they are everywhere. A lot of our celebrities in show business and entertainment are openly gay and accepted. The irony about the Philippines though, is that we are a predominantly Catholic country but not all parts of the Philippines is that conservative. The Church very recently - under Pope Francis - has become more open and supportive of the LGBT+ community.
One of the things that I found interesting was how the Indian people perceived being gay as a Western influence. Like, if it wasn't for Western culture, being gay wouldn't be a problem?? It's...absurd to me. I can understand that the hype or the awareness of it or the culture that has formed around the LGBT+ culture may be attributed to or a product of Western styles of activism and popular culture but still...strange concept, but eye opening.
The issues of class and gender also played important roles in the discussion of LGBT+ rise in South Asia. The effects of the virtual web revolution and cyber community is limited to those who have free access to internet, much more a computer or other internet-capable device. This mode of communication targets those who can afford to buy the technology necessary to make connections. This creates a class disparity because what happens to those who don't readily have access to the internet or connected devices? How can we bridge the class gap so that everyone can reap the benefits of the world wide web?
And of course there will always be gender issues - it's almost inevitable. Male LGBT+ members tend to be the more prominent and well-represented members. I will never not ask why this happens. Again, how can we counter this trend?