Asia-Pacific
India
The New Gay Capital
Demographic and social changes in India have turned New Delhi into a haven for homosexuals, reports Prabha Chandran in New Delhi's centrist Hindustan Times. While the city is home to 9 percent of India's general population, it has 32 percent of the country's gays, according to research done by a marketing agency.
Chandran cites a variety of reasons for the development. Delhi draws a lot of migrants, who tend to be sexually adventurous; the fashion-designing and advertising industries, which are strongly gay, have greatly expanded in the city; and the Internet revolution has made it easier for homosexuals to meet.
Gays have also gained increasing acceptance from Delhi's heterosexual community. One ad executive remarks, "There's been a paradigm shift from discretion to gay exhibitionism." He says the change reflects a reaction to traditionalism and a desire to emulate the West.
