Hi there! What can I, as a straight woman, do to support people like you rather than just liking and commenting on photos and videos on social media? I would love to volunteer because straight people need to support you all as much as we support each other.

Namaskar, my dear ‘straight’ supporter. How very nice of you to bring up this point. It means so much that people like you actually want to do something in real time rather than on social media. 

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It is indeed sad that a lot of issues around us get drowned or diluted by how trivial sometimes social media might make it seem. In some cases though, social media might be JUST the tool we need to make people aware of issues. In other cases, where real-time action has to be taken, social media can dilute the intensity of the situation. 

You can volunteer at LGBTQ organisations and support their various activities and events to advocate equal rights.  On social media, you can also gather financial support for various LGBTQ-related causes. 

Many of our trans-sisters are in dire need of financial help for gender reaffirmation surgeries. Many organisations work for trans empowerment. 

In Mumbai, there is the Humsafar Trust and my dear friend Gauri Sawant has her own organisations that helps empower trans individuals.

Other notable organisations that you could offer your support to are the ones spearheaded by Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi and then there is Tweet Indian Organisation, run by trans activist Abheena Aher. There is also a pan India trans pageant, called Ms Transqueen India run by Reena Rai, which you can volunteer for. All of these people are very active on social media and respond quickly.

Apart from all this, you need to just keep sending us love, and spreading the message of unconditional acceptance.

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Write to him at sexualitydna@gmail.com