Parents of LGBT children form a support group in Mumbai, India

MUMBAI, India — For the first time ever 10 parents of LGBTQ persons came together in Mumbai, India for a closed door parents’ support group workshop that aimed to share experiences and also chart out a future course of action.

Organized by Solaris Pictures, as part of its ongoing engagement with LGBT community and parents, for its upcoming feature film Evening Shadows directed by Sridhar Rangayan, the workshop was structured and moderated by social development consultants Alpana Dange and Pallav Patankar.

The main objective of the workshop was to develop strategies for a cohesive parents’ support group that would help each other, help other parents who may need information or peer-to-peer counseling, and also to be a visible group in the media and society.

“There have been parents support meets and acceptance meets in the past, organized by Gay Bombay and Yaariyan, but the parents have mostly been sharing their experiences in public. This was the first time ever they got to spend an entire day with each other, sharing and discussing in a structured formal manner. It was not only a great learning experience, but also a very definitive move towards forming an Indian PFLAG kind of group, first in Mumbai and maybe later in other cities”, said Sridhar Rangayan who has been wanting to make this happen for many years now, “Part of the funds we raised for the film Evening Shadows was kept aside to facilitate this meet”, he added.

Attended by 10 parents – mothers Chitra Palekar, Padma Iyer, Sarojini Dash, Nargis Wadia, Aruna Desai, Mangala Aher, Bharati Divgikar, Vidya Phadnis, and fathers Pradeep Divgikar and Ramesh Kathale – the day-long workshop was an eye-opener about the challenges faced by parents in coming to terms with their children’s gay, lesbian and transgender identities.

“This formal consultation is a start to many beginnings. My desire is to form an easily accessible group of parents who could assist other parents and children in the closet. Hopefully, one day, we will be able to build a shelter home for children who are forced to escape from their homes of birth. This would give all of us all a unique chance to become their foster parents”, said Padma Iyer, mother of activist Harrish Iyer.

“I think it’s an absolutely amazing initiative. We are simply hoping to create a network of families of LGBT individuals, so that we can work together and offer support to other such families and their children”, said Aruna Desai, a HR professional and mother of a gay son.

Dr. Sarojini Dash, the oldest parent in the group and someone who has been a great support to both LGBTQ children and parents for many years now, felt the parent’s meet was very useful for some parents whose children had recently come out and were anxious about their future. “They heard about those children who had done well in life, overcoming the stigmas and prejudices. Parent’s group made them realize that their fears were mere shadows without much substance”, said Dr.Dash who is also a psychiatrist.

Ramesh Kathale, father of Prachi Kathale, has been able to accept his lesbian daughter wholeheartedly, but finds it difficult to deal with relatives and neighbours who can sometimes be obtrusive and nasty. He said, “The workshop made me aware of experiences faced by other parents and has given me new courage”.

Mangala Aher, mother of transgender activist Abheena Aher felt that there should be more support forthcoming for transgender children, especially in terms of healthcare and livelihood opportunities. She has been a founder of the transgender dance troupe Dancing Queens and regularly performs with her transgender daughter and other transgender dancers.

The consultation focused on the why and how of forming a structured and functional parents’ support group. Speaking about her experience at the consultation, Chitra Palekar, one of the most vocal voices among the parents said, “We have shared our experiences informally at several events, but there was no real progress. This workshop, under the guidance of experienced facilitators, helped us gain clarity regarding the issues involved in this work.  The meet created a vision and took the first step towards forming an organization, which we all hope will cause a break-through in supporting LGBTQ children and their parents.”

“The formation of an organized Parents Group is the need of the hour. A vibrant and supportive parent group can provide the required cutting edge to galvanize more parents to join in the battle for the cherished rights of their marginalized and discriminated children. More power to this unique initiative!” said Pradeep Divgikar, father of singer Sushant Divgikar, who was also Mr.Gay India in 2015.

The meeting brought our various needs faced by parents of LGBTQ children and what are the resources needed to address them. Speaking about the process, facilitator Alpana Dange said, ‘’It was an enlightening experience to facilitate this workshop comprising moms and dads of LGBTQ children who have braved the world and have unconditionally supported their children. In this workshop, what I found most striking was their resolve to support not just their own children, but also help and support other LGBTQ children’s parents in coming to terms with their children’s sexuality and be their confidante and pillar of strength. They considered the meeting as a stepping-stone to help other parents in the city of Mumbai.’’

Echoing Dange’s sentiments, facilitator Pallav Patankar said, “Parents of LGBT people occupy an important space within the LGBT movement. The discrimination faced by LGBT people extends to the parents. Parents are allies, stakeholders and the strongest supporters in this fight for equality. In India, LGBT sons and daughters often continue living with their parents and involving parents’ participation in the movement becomes essential.”

Harrish Iyer concurred, “As a child, I have grappled with my struggle in letting my parents know about my truth and understand that a network of parents helping parents and LGBT children is a need of the hour. Bombay has been privy to other parents of LGBT events since the past two decades, and this  fantastic consultation, seeded by funds created by The Evening Shadows crowd funding campaign, will propel this initiative further towards being a strong group that helps other parents and their LGBTIQ children”

Speaking at the event, Karim Ladak, from Toronto, one of the executive producers of Evening Shadows, having contributed a substantial financial stake in the film said, “So much has changed for the LGBTQ community in India in the past two decades and this initiative is absolutely fantastic. The film and this support group will be the flagbearers for the future, inspiring greater acceptance of LGBTQ persons in society.

Short URL: http://lgbtweekly.com/?p=78119

Animated LGBT Cartoon, The Lesson

Every day, lesbian, gay, bi, trans (LGBT) and intersex children – and other children seen as defying gender stereotypes – are bullied at school, at home and in their community. Bullying can take many forms –from taunting and name-calling to brutal violence.

Children who experience this kind of abuse have a higher risk of anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem, self-harm, depression and suicide. They are also more likely to skip or drop out of school.

The United Nations is calling for protection from violence and discrimination. Your actions matter!

Date: 2017-03-02 13:00:16
Duration: 00:01:48

Northern Ireland Marriage Equality launches large scale social media campaign

NORTHERN IRELAND — The YesEquality Northern Ireland Marriage Equality campaign launched a large scale social media campaign action today.
The campaign is primarily supported by Northern Ireland based The Gay Say, LGBT Rights NI and the international anti-homophobia and suicide prevention group Stop-Homophobia.com.
The campaign has amassed huge amounts of support from individuals, celebrities, activist groups, charities, campaigners and businesses located across NI and throughout the world.
The social media project is operating through the popular “crowdspeaking” service Thunderclap, which was first used by The White House under the Obama administration to campaign against gun violence in the US.
Thunderclap enables the organizers to coordinate a massive social media campaign that will simultaneously post over 2,300 messages and reach over 7.4 million people.
The message going out is as follows:
“Northern Ireland; it’s time for equality! #MarriageEqualityNI”.
By bringing attention to the MarriageEqualityNI campaign hashtag, organizers hope to highlight the issue of marriage equality to voters across Northern Ireland and to an international audience in order to further strengthen campaign efforts.
Danny Toner speaking on behalf of the The Gay Say said: “The #MarriageEqualityNI Thunderclap Project is currently set to reach over 7.4 million people and support has increased beyond our expectations, with hundreds of supporters joining every day. Social reach for the campaign is now higher than the population of Ireland, North and South.
“We are calling on as many people as possible to join this campaign and use social media for the common good. Together we can show voters how important this issue is by reaching out to the vast numbers of people online.
“There are many people in Northern Ireland from all sections of our community who support Marriage Equality and we feel that the upcoming Assembly elections offer an unmissable opportunity to stand up for LGBT rights.
“We have been asking people to use their vote wisely, vote for candidates who support equality for everyone and make a stand against homophobia.”

Short URL: http://lgbtweekly.com/?p=77855

UK health care organizations unite against conversion therapy

Major U.K. organizations have been working against Conversion Therapy for a number of years, publishing a Memorandum of Understanding against the practice (2015) and updating the document to warn against conversion therapy in relation to gender identity and sexual orientation (including asexuality).

Aware of concerns regarding the future of Conversion Therapy in the USA, and pleased that Malta has banned the practice and that Taiwan has drafted legislation to ban the practice, the organizations are publicizing the following statement in solidarity with like- minded health care organizations in the USA.

“We the undersigned UK organizations wish to state that the practice of conversion therapy has no place in the modern world. It is unethical and harmful and not supported by evidence.

Conversion Therapy is the term for therapy that assumes certain sexual orientations or gender identities are inferior to others, and seeks to change or suppress them on that basis.

Sexual orientations and gender identities are not mental health disorders, although exclusion, stigma and prejudice may precipitate mental health issues for any person subjected to these abuses. Anyone accessing therapeutic help should be able to do so without fear of judgement or the threat of being pressured to change a fundamental aspect of who they are.”

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy

The British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies

The British Psychoanalytic Council

The British Psychological Society

The College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists

GLADD – The Association of LGBT Doctors and Dentists

The National Counselling Society

National Health Service Scotland

Pink Therapy

The Royal College of General Practitioners

The Scottish Government

Stonewall

The UK Council for Psychotherapy

Janet Weisz, Chair of the Memorandum of Understanding group, and chief executive of the UK Council for Psychotherapy, said: “We have always been clear that sexual orientation and gender identities are not mental health disorders. Any therapy that claims to change these is not only unethical but it’s also potentially harmful.

“Therefore, this practice has no place in the modern psychotherapy profession. The public must know that they can access therapeutic help without fear of judgment.

“It is great to see so many parts of the psychological and medical profession both in the UK and abroad uniting on this key issue.”

Helen Morgan, chair of the British Psychoanalytic Council, said: “Forcing a particular view or prejudice upon a patient has no place in therapy and all competent therapists will implicitly understand and appreciate this.

“Psychotherapy aims to liberate people so they can live fuller, more meaningful and more satisfying lives – and patients meeting a psychotherapist should be able to assume that this is always the case in therapy.

“I am pleased to support moves against conversion therapy and I would urge professional colleagues – wherever they may be – to do the same.”

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “The Royal College of General Practitioners is proud to support this statement. As medical professionals, we are highly trained to treat our patients regardless of their sexual orientation – not because of it.

“Being gay or trans is not a disease, it is not a mental illness and it doesn’t need a cure. Any proclamations to the contrary risk causing harm to our gay and trans patients’ physical and mental health and wellbeing, as well as perpetuating discrimination in society.”

Peter Kinderman, president of the British Psychological Society, said: “The British Psychological Society is very proud to endorse, support, and stand by this statement. I am proud to live in a country that is able to celebrate the full range of loving human relationships and to offer each one of us equality under the law. Many of us have experienced a great deal of persecution and discrimination as a result of our sexual orientation, and our role must be to combat such prejudice, not to add to it. When people are distressed, for whatever reason, we have a duty to reach out and help. But that must not entail regarding our sexual orientation as any form of pathology. I am very happy to be a party to this statement, and I hope it goes some way to contribution to a more caring and equitable society.”

Dr. Andrew Reeves, chair of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, said: “BACP strongly believes that anyone seeking therapeutic help, regardless of their gender and sexual diversity, should have access to unbiased and informed therapists who provide ethically skilled therapy. We agree that there is no place in our society for conversion therapy, which is unethical, harmful and not supported by evidence.”

Short URL: http://lgbtweekly.com/?p=76893

Transgender Kids, Trans Boys & Trans Girls

From the moment we’re born, our gender identity is no secret. We’re either a boy or a girl. As we grow up, most of us naturally fit into our gender roles. Girls wear dresses and play with dolls. For boys, it’s trousers and toy cars. But for some children, what’s between their legs doesn’t match what’s between their ears – they insist they were born into the wrong body. They are diagnosed with gender identity disorder, or gender dysphoria, and their parents insist this is not a phase. In this shocking yet touching movie, we’ll follow the lives of four transgender children.

Video Date: 2017-05-08 23:00:00
Video Duration: 00:42:54

Diary Of A Teenage Transgender

18-year-old Rhianna Cooper is a teenage girl from Hull. However, in one way Ria is very different. Ria is actually a boy called Bradley who, with the blessing of his mother, stepfather and three sisters, has been living his life. documentary follows Bradley’s incredible journey as he struggles to accept Ria, the system to try and get a sex change operation.

Video Date: 2017-03-06 00:00:02
Video Duration: 00:47:14

Hornet Gay Dating APP Review

Check out this overview / review of “The Sassy Scoop” by Josh Rimer on OUTtv and youtube.com/JoshRimer! Josh most recommends you check out.

Connects with more than 18 million gays worldwide! Hornet makes it easy for gays to connect with others. Become a member of this free gay app! Available on iOS, Android, and the Web.

Video Date: 2017-04-17 16:49:02
Video Duration: 00:03:56

Transgender Gender Transition Documentary

In this intimate and personal portrait, we follow Paul, a single, straight bus driver of 37, as he undergoes a gender transition to begin living as a woman called Julia. At first glance, Paul comes across as a regular, affable and blockey man with a passion for racing and farming, but inside it is a different story. Despite Paul’s living and looking like a man, Paul has always felt like a woman.

Filmed over a two-year period, this reveling and intimate documentary explores the deconstruction and reconstruction of a person with unflinching humor and surprise, turning upside down all the stereotypes about what makes a man and what makes a woman. Julia gives us an engaging account of a sex change.

Ultimately, this film is not the perfect way to live.

Date: 2017-11-12 00:00:02
Duration: 00:49:30

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender in Pakistan

Pakistan is one of the world’s least tolerant countries when it comes to homosexuality. Being gay is illegal in the Islamic republic and carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Gay men are often accused of bringing shame to their families and commonly face violence – sometimes even murder.

Gay-focused apps like Grindr, Scruff, and ManJam.

VICE News went to Pakistan to unravel the country’s underground gay scene and examine the ways that technology is being used to achieve sexual freedom.

Date: 2017-08-07 16:30:00
Duration: 00:16:21