If you have visited this site for the first time, it means you have just stepped into a little space on the web called Gaybombay. Namaskar! Welcome!

Gaybombay is a self-evolving informal group, a product of like-minded gay people from Mumbai (mainly, but not totally) coming together in good faith to create a safe space for men who are romantically and sexually attracted to men. All of us at Gaybombay have experienced the joys and sorrows of being 'different'. We wanted to make things a little easier for those who have come after us. So we created this space where gays can:

• Exchange views using the gb mailing list
• Participate in (and even help organize) offline gb events
• Meet and interact in broad daylight at gb Meets

Our aim is to make you (and eventually your family and friends) comfortable with your sexuality, and make life a bit easier.

Being gay is never easy. First there is the feeling that makes you happy. Then the realization that not everyone around shares this feeling. In fact, many consider it to be abnormal, vile, even sinful. There is the struggle to accept the feeling as perfectly normal. Then comes the frustration when you cannot share it with your family and friends. You fear humiliation, condemnation and ultimately, rejection. You desperately need to talk, share, and feel that you are not alone.

We understand these feelings. Hence we created this 'safe space'. Safe space does not mean you are free to do what you wish. It is space where:

• You discover there is more to being gay than casual sex and solicitation.
• You don't wear a chastity belt, but you are definitely discouraged from wearing a thong or a tutu
• The intellectual and emotional aspects of gay life get preference over things carnal
• You find the strength to secure all the wonderful things life has in store for you

We do not encourage postings aimed at soliciting sex because we believe there are many other sites where this can be done.

If you would like to know how we came into being, read on….Gaybombay began purely as a cyber venture in 1998. Then moved on to a few offline activities like fortnightly meets, movie-nights, and parties. Initially we used personal funds for these activities. Later, we sought to make some ventures self-sustaining by asking beneficiaries to pay. Those who wished to help absorbed the initial losses. Later, the profits were used to pay back those who had made available the initial capital (most were written off in a spirit of camaraderie). The profit is now being used to fund non-revenue generating online and offline activities.

In the pre-Gaybombay days, we realized there were many young men who were gay but felt out of place in the gay cultures they stumbled upon. Some groups focused addressed only sexual needs through solicitation and discussion of sexual conquests. Others saw being gay as an immensely enjoyable 'side-activity' to an otherwise heterosexual existence. Still others equated being gay with cross-dressing, and being effeminate. And then there were those for whom being gay meant activism, politics and the law. Many young men not belonging to any of these schools of thought, went into their shell feeling frustrated, alone and miserable. We chose to address these young men by creating a group that was different. Since the venture was mainly web-based, most of those who participated in the activities belonged to a certain segment of society - this was not intentional. To address the non-web-based community, a personal interaction venture, "The Sunday Meets' was initiated. And now over three years we have successfully created a 'safe space'.

There is nothing 'official' about the group. There never was, and there still isn't a membership form, registration fee, annual general meetings, minutes of meetings and voting or veto. Everyone is free to participate. In fact, participation is encouraged, as the group has to evolve in order to survive.

The group organizes GB events to facilitate offline interaction between members. What is a GB event? Events that respect GB values of safe space, of not promoting sex and solicitation, of not being too political, of respecting the wishes of those who participate in, contribute to and spearhead decision making processes [the informal core-group]. It is also an activity where profits, if any, are used to support non-revenue generating GB-ventures.

We welcome you to be part of the Gaybombay family.

-- compiled by Gay Bombay Members
Uploaded on 08-Feb-2002