Voices of Pride

The LGBTQAI+ community continues to grow and thrive globally, with more and more being empowered to come out as  inclusive laws are being implemented and public perception about them grows.

While allyship and support gain momentum with increasing awareness, dissenters continue to be equally vocal. In such a scenario, let us take a look at some people from the LGBTQAI+ community who have battled misconceptions and prejudices and come out victorious in their own personal struggle for their identities, and continue to wage war against discrimination in their own unique ways.

Dutee Chand

Dutee is the first Indian to take home a gold medal in the 100-meter race at an international competition  and the first openly queer athlete in India. 

Other than covering miles on foot, Dutee tried her fate with law studies in 2013 at KIIT University. She is currently employed by the state-owned PSU The Odisha Mining Corporation Ltd. as an executive officer.

She was dropped from the 2014 Commonwealth Games at the last minute after the Athletic Federation of India claimed that hyperandrogenism made her ineligible to compete as a female athlete. There was no suggestion that Chand was involved in cheating or doping, and the decision was widely criticized by intersex advocates.

In 2015, The IAAF policy on hyperandrogenism was suspended following the case of Dutee Chand v. Athletics Federation of India (AFI) & The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), in the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The ruling found that there was a lack of evidence provided that testosterone increased female athletic performance. This effectively removed the suspension of Chand from competition, clearing her to race again.

In 2019, Dutee publicly declared that she is in a same-sex relationship. She claimed that the Indian Supreme Court's decision to decriminalize homosexuality in 2018 encouraged her to speak publicly about her sexuality. She faced severe backlash from her village after her announcement, the residents disowning her remarks and calling them "humiliating."

However, Dutee Chand and her partner, Monalisa's relationship has only been growing stronger over the last 4 years.

Hida Viloria

Hida Viloria is intersex, non-binary and genderfluid and goes by the pronouns they/ them.  They were born with congenital adrenal hyperplasia and their father chose not to subject them to corrective surgery as it could add to health risks. Viloria grew up to be an active advocate against the use of medically unnecessary cosmetic surgeries and hormone therapy on intersex infants and minors. They published a book, Born Both: An Intersex life which was nominated for a 2018 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQAI+ non-fiction.

Viloria also actively lobbied as an independent intersex activist for equal rights for intersex female athletes on television, in response to the treatment of Caster Semaya, a black South African track star.  They authored a petition to the International Olympic Committee demanding that intersex women athletes be allowed to compete as is. The petition compelled the IOC and IAAF to discontinue its use of "disorders of sex development" to describe the athletes in question, and replace it with "women with hyperandrogenism."

In 2007, they appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, speaking about society's lack of understanding of non-binary people, and the pressure they experience to identify as men or women.

In 2011, Viloria founded the Intersex Campaign for Equality, to work for equality and human rights for intersex Americans.

In 2013, Viloria became the first openly intersex person to speak at the U.N. on Human Rights Day. Viloria is recognized as a leading human rights activist for intersex people and is the Founding Director of the Intersex Campaign for Equality. They continue to advocate for the rights of intersex people, correcting misconceptions about them, particularly those revolving  around how being intersex is not about gender identity or sexual orientation.

Jonathan Bailey

Described as “the internet’s boyfriend’’ and crushed on by girls, gays and theys alike, Jonathan Bailey has quickly become the celebrity poster boy for the LGBTQAI+ movement. The actor has confessed to recognizing he was gay when he was all of 11, which made his school experience extremely traumatic. Although he came out to close family and friends when he was in his 20s, the fear of getting rejected as an actor kept him closeted until quite recently.
Bailey had always wanted to be an actor, starting out as Tiny Tim in The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of The Christmas Carol. JB, as he’s fondly known, went on to play memorable roles in British TV shows such as Broadchurch and Crashing.

Despite being an acclaimed theater actor, and having won the Olivier Award for Best supporting actor in 2019, it took Netflix’s Bridgerton to finally bring JB’s talents into the mainstream. Playing the eldest sibling who’s also the family patriarch, JB portrayed Anthony’s inner struggles and trauma brilliantly. His role as Tim Laughlin, an earnest, devout young gay man in 1950s America, in the limited series Fellow Travelers has positioned him as a firm favorite for an Emmy nomination. He has also recently been cast as Fiyero in the movie production of Wicked & Jurassic World 4 as well as in a cameo in the coming-of-age teen romantic series, Heartstopper, a role that he admits he actively canvassed for, emphasizing his commitment to LGBTQAI+ projects.

His co-star in Crashing, Phoebe Waller-Bridge has described him as “completely brilliant and unbelievably charismatic”, Variety has included him in its Power of Pride list of most influential queer artists in Hollywood in 2022, & TIME magazine featured him in its annual class of Next Generation Leaders in 2022 with the media declaring that JB’s success and his openness about his sexuality may have influenced more young LGBTQAI+ actors to come out.

Although JB belongs to a more accepting society and a privileged class as a young white male, a fact that he does openly acknowledge, he hasn’t been without his share of overt homophobia. He was recently attacked in DC in a coffee shop and threatened with his life, an incident that made him realize his privilege in being able to protect himself & thereby becoming more determined to vocally support the LGBTQAI+ movement, declaring himself committed to “visibility and representation”. 

Jiae 

"I want to live an ordinary life. I love men and women."

Jiae (Birth name Kim Ji-ae) is an independent South Korean singer-songwriter and a former member of the girl group Wassup, which disbanded in 2019. She made her solo debut on October 8, 2022, with the full-length album Love is Love. 

She confessed to thinking about dating women after feeling that her relationships with men lacked something that led her to believe that she didn't necessarily need to date only men. She came out after she had asked for queer movie recommendations and got negative comments for doing so. 

Jiae has said that she is criticized by other sexual minorities for being bi-sexual rather than lesbian. An ex-girlfriend once asked her if she could just say that she was a lesbian as she was giving men hope. Jiae also admitted that she tried to return to the entertainment industry but was discouraged by how people viewed her after coming out about her sexuality, and admitted that she became depressed and believed that people's view of sexual minorities affected her work.

When she confided in her mother about not being able to date men because she was seeing a girl, her mother readily accepted it. Her family has since embraced her sexuality, and she now goes on double dates with her siblings and their partners. 

Pragati Singh

Dr. Pragati Singh is a public health official, a doctor, an activist and identifies as asexual, specifically gray asexual. Founder of Indian Aces, the first-of-its-kind organization for asexual representation, education and outreach, Pragati was featured in the BBC’s 2019 list of top 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world. Raised in Delhi and graduating from the Maulana Azad Medical College, Pragati also launched Platonicity, a friend finding platform for asexuals, initially run as an adjunct page on Facebook, but now operating offline in Urban centers, and helping build the community. 

Having published a research paper on asexuality in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, Pragati acknowledges that there is a hierarchy of power, visibility, and representation even within the LGBTQAI+ community with intersex and asexual people having felt invisible for a long time. She continues to vociferously advocate for sexual health and rights, with the vision to create a world where a person’s sexuality or asexuality does not cause them distress.

Sushant Divgikar

"I'm gender fluid. My preferred pronouns are he, she, and they."

Sushant Divgikar, also known as Rani Ko-HE-Nur, is an Indian model, actor, singer, columnist, motivational speaker, drag queen, pageant director, and video jockey. In July 2014, they were crowned Mr Gay India 2014. They represented India at Mr Gay World 2014.

They came out about their gender identity because it gave them anxiety which they couldn't cope with. They also said that they will always be attracted to men and that they are non-binary person.

Sushant confessed feeling blessed being born into a family like theirs, where their father didn't judge them for playing with dolls, and their mother said that she was blessed to have a daughter and son in one child. They were allowed to express themselves differently from other boys. They admitted that as a kid from the 90s with no access to people from the community, their source of strength was their parents, who had no rules on gender.

Sushant holds a Masters Degree in Industrial and Organisational Psychology.

Sushant made history in 2018 when they entered the top 15 of the reality competition show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa as Rani Ko-HE-Nur, the first drag queen in India to do so and the first member of the LGBTQAI+ community to win a golden buzzer. Sushant was the only delegate from India to win three sub-prizes at Mr. Gay World 2014, in addition to receiving several special awards.

Vivek Shraya

Vivek Shraya, a Canadian artist, musician, and writer, has emerged as a vital figure in the LGBTQAI+ community, using her diverse talents to champion queer rights. Her creative endeavors delve into the intricacies of identity, gender, and sexuality, amplifying marginalized voices and advocating for acceptance.

Growing up in a conservative Indian family in Alberta, Canada, Shraya grappled with societal expectations and her own desires, initially coming out as gay in her twenties amidst feelings of shame and isolation. However, it was in her thirties that she fully embraced her trans identity, overcoming childhood silencing and finding solace through music.

As an accomplished writer, Shraya explores the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality in her novels and poetry collections, contributing significantly to LGBTQAI+ literature. Her acclaimed work "I'm Afraid of Men'' candidly reflects on the hostility faced by queer and gender-nonconforming individuals, offering insights into navigating and resisting societal norms.

Her contributions have earned her prestigious awards, including the Lambda Literary Award and the Writers' Trust of Canada's Dayne Ogilvie Prize, solidifying her legacy as a beacon of hope and inspiration in a world often hostile to diversity.

There are many many more such brave, talented people whom each one of us can take inspiration from and strive towards our own goals, whether they are coming out or being allies or simply owning our truths whatever they might be and fighting for our right to be who we are.