4.13.2008

Sometimes Size Does Matter...

This week, Queeristan wanted to know how you feel about the size of your queer desi community. The majority of voters (40%) were dissatisfied with the extent of their LGBT desi groups, however about 20% found theirs to be sufficiently large.

As the visibility of gay South Asians increase, the number of support groups for us continue to swell. Cities like New York, Chicago, DC, London, and Bombay have mobilized organizations focused on serving the needs of queer desis. However, those not in such metropolitan centers are often starved of this sort of support network; in many cases the Internet plays a role in filling that void.

However, what is surprising is that a good chunk (32%) of those who voted are unaware of any queer desi community. Why do you think that is so? Do we all even need a such a specific group, should we just communicate with the larger queer and South Asian communities respectively? This is a small part of the ongoing discussion at Queeristan revolving around the concepts of belonging and displacement - what are you thoughts?

4 comments:

NeroX2 said...

correction- chicago is actualy lacking a queer desi organization! sometimes even large cities don't have queer desi communities...

going crrrrazy!! said...

I know one or two people who are gay or les but there is definitely a lack of gay community. I mean there are active social groups but what's a girl to do when she just wants to go out and party?

libhom said...

I'm not South Asian, but I have noticed that it is really difficult for lgbt groups in NYC to publicize themselves. The local queer press doesn't have the listings that are common in other cities.

Queer Desi said...

What kind of listings are these that you speak of?