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Chennai has LGBT cultures that are diverse with respect to socio-economic class, gender, and degree of visibility and politicisation. They have historically existed in the margins, and surfaced primarily in contexts such as transgender activism and HIV prevention initiatives for men having sex with men (MSM) and transwomen (TG). Community development may be traced back to Sunil Menon's mapping of sexual networks among MSM and TG in the early 1990s and subsequent formation of Sahodaran, the oldest group of its kind in the city and state to provide spaces for community support and sexual health, primarily for working-class MSM who visit public cruising spots. Prior to this, the only known community spaces that existed for gender/sexuality dissidents were the traditional jamaat system for transwomen and gender-queer people assigned male at birth (needed ), and cruising spots. In the mid 1990s, Sisters, a lesbian group was formed and made its presence known primarily through word of mouth and ads placed in ''Trikone'' Magazine, published by the LGBT South Asian community in the San Francisco Bay Area, USA. The group folded because of persistent harassment from cismen. A gay men's group Chennai Mithran was formed in 1999 and functioned briefly out of the Sahodaran premises: it closed because many of its members - mostly middle-class closeted gay men - were uncomfortable being associated with a space known for hosting working class and visibly gender-queer people. The early-mid part of the new millennium saw a proliferation of activity on internet-based forums such as Yahoo's Chennai Global Chat Room #9, and listservs, many location-specific (gaychennai, gaymylapore, gaytambaram) or campus-specific (Anna University, IIT-Madras). The move from a largely hook-up culture to seeking out and creating support- and social spaces outside the HIV/AIDS context resulted in groups such as Movenpick (subsequently Orinam), Chennai Dost, RIOV and others in the early part of the millennium (see timeline below). ==List of Organizations== There are currently over 15 groups in Chennai that work on LGBTQI issues.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://orinam.net/Chennaipride/organizations/ )〕 Most of them are community-run initiatives, and some are NGOs. These include: * 4G Cluster (support group for gay men) * (Center for Counselling ) (specialized LGBTQI-affirmative individual and group therapy in English and Tamil for individuals and parents/family members) * Chennai Dost ()(LGB group with social and support spaces for gay and bi men)〔 * Kattiyakari (theatre group that addresses transgender, women's and sexuality issues) * Nir (queer feminist educational and activist collective) * Nirangal (crisis intervention and education/advocacy on sexual and gender minorities) * (Orinam ) (LGBTQI and ally informal collective offering online-offline resources, support, advocacy and arts programming) * RIOV (social group for lesbian and bisexual women) * (SAATHII ) (training to healthcare providers on LGBT issues, strengthening community groups, advocacy) * (Sahodaran ) (MSM HIV prevention and community support) * Social Welfare Association for Men (MSM HIV prevention and community support) * (South India AIDS Action Programme ) (MSM, TG support and HIV prevention) * Shakthi Resource Centre (spaces for dialogue on gender and sexuality rights) * TAI (HIV prevention among TG, MSM and female sex workers) * (TamilNadu LGBTIQ Movement ) (support group for LGBTIQ Community People) * Tamil Nadu Aravanigal Association (TG advocacy and support) * Thozhi (TG HIV prevention and community support) * Vanavil Foundation (TG advocacy and support) * V-CAN (coalition of sexual minorities and sex workers) Most of these groups are part of the informal Chennai Rainbow Coalition, formed in 2009, to jointly work towards visibility and advocacy. The group was expanded in 2014 to constitute the Tamil Nadu Rainbow Coalition, with membership from groups around the state. Other progressive groups such as (Nirmukta (Chennai Free Thinkers) ), (Prajnya ), the (Save Tamils movement ), and the (Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Association ) are also strong supporters of gender/sexuality rights, as are local offices of international cultural/education centres such as Goethe Institut, Alliance Francaise, InKo (Indo Korean Centre), and the British Council. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「LGBT culture in Chennai」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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