‘Can You Really Be a Queer Muslim?’: Intersectionality and the Complexity of Identity
Gaysian: What it’s Like Being Queer in the Asian Community
In many Asian languages, including Vietnamese and Tagalog, there are no words to describe homosexuality or transgender people. Pride parades are almost unheard of and can quickly turn into examples of police brutality…
The Bi-Conundrum: Queer Identity in a Heterosexual Relationship
I’ve always found women beautiful. But, growing up in the Middle East, I never assumed it had anything to do with my sexuality. I never even met a queer person until I was sixteen. I did not understand what it meant to be queer. When I eventually made this discovery, I started questioning everything I thought I knew about myself…
Male, Female, Lesbian? The Quest to Find a Label That Fits When Womanhood Is a Spectrum
Lesbian noun: A woman who is sexually attracted to other women. (Oxford Dictionary) By definition, a lesbian is a woman. Therefore I, a lesbian, am a woman – I must be. The problem is, I didn’t want to be...
I Am No Longer Subjugating My Queerness: My Struggle Against Internalised Homophobia, Class Anxieties, and Compulsory Heterosexuality
I often experience my internalised homophobia as a kind of funhouse. As I walk through and try to find a way out (or rather, a way to come out), trick mirrors and shifting floors suspend me in a state of endless motion; I lose my path, unable to stare issues directly in the face, constantly ricocheting between and turning from them.