Coming Out

Breaking new ground: Maja Ma’s portrayal of queerness in a traditional Indian family
MV5BNTY5NTk4NTUtZjg4MC00MDdkLWI3YzctZjU5MGJlMzkzOTZkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTI1NDEyNTM5._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_

This reconciliation between Pallavi’s public (seemingly) heterosexual and closeted lesbian identities points to a distinctly Indian way of avoiding polarities through a new social arrangement where both identities are allowed the space to flourish.

By Juhi Sidharth and Chaitanya Ravi
March 1, 2023
Breaking new ground: Maja Ma’s portrayal of queerness in a traditional Indian family
Being Comfortable in My Skin

I felt naked in front of everyone when I first came out, and I can’t stress enough how much my male privilege has helped me out here. I don’t even know if people found it serious enough to consider it my identity instead of ‘a mere sexual preference’ or ‘a phase’ (always a classic dismissal).

By Gokul KP
April 5, 2021
Being Comfortable in My Skin
The Risks and Gains of Coming In
An illustration of a woman walking on an empty street at night, with a backpack from which a crescent moon and stars are emerging.

I had risked so much already, not just by loving another woman, but by acting on my desires. By allowing myself to feel intimacy and connection with another queer person. Despite feeling guilt and shame, this risk had become increasingly vital to take.

By Sweta
October 15, 2020
The Risks and Gains of Coming In
Technically, thanks to the techies

It is rather edifying to find information that one can relate to through a solitary rectangular box. Over time, this solitary box somehow stuck around while everything around it changed as the world moved even further into a digital era.

By Srishti Sarkar
August 3, 2020
Technically, thanks to the techies
Is Privacy Merely An Illusion To Be Rejected?
privacy an illusion? picture of hands against a green background of encrypted code

Is there anything about my sexuality that is private anymore? What happened to the unspoken rule of not discussing one’s sexual life in the open? What happened to the sleazy jokes and the complete silence around sexuality that I remember from the previous generation?

By Asmi
September 2, 2019
Is Privacy Merely An Illusion To Be Rejected?
Coming Out as a Kinkster in Public
Kinkster and BDSM: A red background, against which the dark silhouette of a figure

Will I write openly about what is or is not done, what is or is not meaningful when it comes to sexuality? Yes. Will I talk about BDSM and kink as a way of life, despite it being taboo for discussion? Yes, I will talk about BDSM and kink, and many other things as well, but I will not evangelise for them.

By Asmi
April 1, 2019
Coming Out as a Kinkster in Public
Video Page: Baby Steps
Screengrab from "Baby Steps", a gay couple sit together in front of a laptop in an intimate pose

In the short film, Baby Steps, a seemingly mundane Skype conversation between a mother and son turns into something more.

By Curated Content
September 4, 2018
Video Page: Baby Steps
Nanette: Of Universality and Difference
Black and white picture of stand-up comic Hannah Gadsby. She has short hair and wears dark glasses.

In Nanette, Hannah Gadsby’s hour-long Netflix special that transcends the very notions of stand-up comedy, forces of reclamation, protest, and rage culminate to form a darkly hilarious but heartbreaking diatribe against patriarchy, heteronormativity, violence and marginalisation.

By Anonymous
September 4, 2018
Nanette: Of Universality and Difference
The Absence of a Queer ‘Mother Tongue’

Many queer Indians who converse largely in their respective regional languages find it difficult to put a name to their queer identity in their ‘mother tongue’.

By Anonymous
May 1, 2018
The Absence of a Queer ‘Mother Tongue’
A Boy And His Closet: My Coming Out Story
A placard reading "pyar" (love) in Hindi in white lettering on a rainbow-coloured background.

This post is part of TARSHI’s #TalkSexuality campaign on Comprehensive Sexuality Education in collaboration with Youth Ki Awaaz. The author chose to remain anonymous. “So how…

By Curated Content
March 20, 2015
A Boy And His Closet: My Coming Out Story