Many of us who live our lives as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or intersex find ourselves to be minorities in a society that privileges man-woman relationships and marriages, and harbours strong notions of what constitutes appropriate masculine and feminine bodies and behaviours.
Hence there is a strong need for both peer and professional support to reinforce the truths that
- Our identities and desires are natural to us and require no justification
- We are not evil, deviant or ill
- We are not to be hated, pitied or ‘cured’
- We are not second-class citizens
- We have every right to live and love on our own terms
- We have every right to be respected as members of society.
- We are not trying to rebel against or reject our families just because we reject their pressure to be what we are not
Some of the issues that we LGBTIQA+ people face include confusion while discovering our sexualities, gender identities or intersex conditions, ostracism from family and society, marriage pressures on those of us who are not inclined to marry partners of the other sex, low-self esteem, depression and suicidal tendencies. If you can relate to any of these problems, we strongly encourage you to find out about peer groups, which could be online or offline groups. Check out our Groups and Lists page for information on groups or individuals in your area who might be willing to speak with you. You can also contact Orinam directly through our contact page.
Please do NOT consider ending your life under any circumstances – there are many like you who have braved similar circumstances and have emerged stronger and more capable than before. If needed, call a suicide hotline in your area. If your crisis is related to your health issues, check out our Orinam’s health-care provider directory or Varta’s locator of queer-friendly health and legal service providers.
If you are a parent or close friend of an individual whom you know to be attracted to members of the same sex, and/or appears to be transgender, please take some time to read the Parents and Family pages of this website. Also check out the community pages of the US-based organization PFLAG.
We do not yet have an organisation specifically for supporting parents: however, individual parents or family members who have come to accept their children as L/G/B/T may be willing to speak with you. Parents meets are held in cities such as Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore. Please contact us if you have any queries in this regard.