Hey, you!
Remember us?
We’re two queer journalists curating and writing about all things LGBTQIA+, from India and beyond.
First things first - Happy Pride Month!
We know this is the one month corporations will bombard us with allegedly queer-friendly deals while doing nothing to change their policies and help us gain housing, medical help and employment, and lots of performative allies will materialise out of the work. But Pride started as resistance and revolution, and that’s where the roots of this month still lie. It’s our time to celebrate our elders, who paved the way for us, and ourselves and who we are - and fight for the future queers who are counting on us.
Now for the elephant in the room. We know we went MIA for an unacceptably long duration of time - over six months, in fact, and we’re so very sorry. Both of us were dealing with many personal issues, as happens when we live in closed (and closeted) quarters at home - we’re sure all you desi queers get it.
Add the stress of the pandemic - one of your scribes, along with their mum, contracted Covid-19 during this devastating second wave in India - and you’ve got the perfect storm for maximum impact on the mental health of your scribes.
We’re happy to say that both of us are feeling a little more stable now, and so we’re back - with one tiny change. The newsletter from now on will come out once a fortnight, or once every two weeks for the Americans reading this (we know there are a few!). We hope that by doing this, the responsibility of writing the letter will be much more manageable for the two of us, and we’ll be able to exercise more control over which stories we pick and choose to include in it, going forward.
In the meantime, we’ve been donating to lots of fundraisers to help the queer community and anyone else that we can in these horrible times. We hope you can too if you’re able to - and we’ll see you soon with lots of news, shows, music and books.
Mental Health Resources:
Sahaya Help Line: 080-223 0959
Operates: Only on Tuesdays and Fridays, 7 pm - 9 pm
Sappho Helpline: +91-9831518320
Operates: 10 am – 9 pm
Space: (toll-free tele-counselling helpline) 1800111015
Operates: 10 am - 6 pm every day.
A list of other places to call if you need help, clarity, or just someone to talk to.
A list of therapists who work for under Rs 1,000 (not independently verified by us).
A non-exhaustive list of queer+ve therapists in India bought out by Gaysi Family.
Amrutam is an Ayurvedic wellness community that also has a list of LGBTQIA+ therapists.
Donate to the community
Here’s a fundraiser for trans people who have suffered in the aftermath of Covid-19. Donate here!
Here’s a fundraiser for a community kitchen for trans-women suffering from covid-19. Donate here!
Queer Quote of the Week:
“We know who we are. People cling to these firm ideas [about gender] because it makes people feel safe. But if we could just celebrate all the wonderful complexities of people, the world would be such a better place.”
— Elliot Page, actor and trans man, in his interview for Time Magazine.
Thank you for reading, and see you for our next letter!
Send in tips and stay in touch: queeringabout@gmail.com.