One of the things I love most about theatre
Is the ephemeral disintegration of orthodox socio-cultural identities,
Which typically comes along with losing your self for another,
Gendered expectations of Walk like a man, talk like a man, sit like a man,
Spread your legs, assert your dominance;
No, not you! You’re a woman. You, huddle up.
Occupy less space. Be less loud.
By Asfiyah Aug 31 2020 |
Over the years, a number of advertising agencies and multi-billion dollar corporations have carefully targeted women and queer individuals and used them as scapegoats to please deliberately-chosen audiences, whom they knew, would benefit from the marginalization of the aforementioned social groups – primarily men and cis-het individuals.
By Asfiyah Jul 10 2020 |
This is a tale about 2 blue-eyed boys in Nazi Germany,
The year was 1938 – a good year for Germany, historically speaking, of course,
United with Austria, a long-lost brother,
Germany continued to bend and stretch and thwart the clauses of the Treaty that had stolen its pride and confined it to the cold, ruthless white hands of the West.
By Asfiyah May 27 2020 |
We’ve come a long way, but our struggle isn’t over yet. We have miles to go before we find peace. Miles to go before we find justice – buried under rotting piles of debris, faeces and skeletons.
By Asfiyah May 17 2020 |
It isn’t enough to merely consume art which offers representation to oppressed communities – but as artists and writers, it is also our duty to create art which unites, which builds empathy, which upholds communities.
By Asfiyah May 14 2020 |
While most cis-het individuals encounter their fair share of STDs during the course of their lifetime, it’s not surprising that LGBTQ youth are far more likely to succumb to an assortment of diseases and health conditions, than their cis-het counterparts.
By Asfiyah Apr 17 2020 |
Not surprisingly, the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom’s survey found that 35% of BDSM practitioners identify as bisexual. This could be due to the fact that sexual deviation and fetishes, as well as the LGBTQ+ community, fall under the same social umbrella of sexual liberation –a deviation from social norms.
By Asfiyah Mar 9 2020 |
I boarded the Queer Express in June 2016- it was the first time I considered the idea that the reason I felt nervous around pretty girls, and always felt a guilty excitement at the thought of reading lesbian fan-fiction- was because I experience attraction to women.
By Asfiyah Jan 16 2020 |
To my astonishment, and fiendish delight, I witnessed a sight unbeknown to me. A man wearing a… saree? A spurt of giggles escaped my mouth as I prodded my mother, and pointed conspicuously towards the window.
By Asfiyah Jan 7 2020 |
Here’s a guide to coming out – as compiled from an amalgamation of my personal experience, the experiences of people I know, and some elementary research.
By Asfiyah Dec 26 2019 |
You like being around people – you like the way their hair curls when it grows too long, and the crinkles that make themselves at home around the corners of their eyes when they smile wide enough.
By Asfiyah Dec 14 2019 |
Here are 8 things we can all do on Human Rights Day this year – and hopefully, continue to practise for the rest of the year.
By Asfiyah Dec 11 2019 |
It’s essential to account for the fact that a vast majority of queer individuals in India are born into humble middle-class backgrounds, thereby, restricting their ability to invest large amounts of money into gender neutral clothing or queer-specific products.
By Asfiyah Dec 2 2019 |
This is the story of three little pigs,
One built a house of hay, and the other of twigs,
And the mightiest, most pompous of the three,
Built a house of bricks under a Banyan tree.
By Asfiyah Nov 18 2019 |
Convinced that she was comatose, the two girls stared at each other for a second or hundred – the squeaky titters ceased.
By Asfiyah Nov 11 2019 |
Gigantic, and covered in striped rainbow tiers,
The house was called, “Safe Space for Our Fellow Queers”
A wondrous haven, a serendipitous find,
Here, Gretel could love freely and Hansel could bind.
By Asfiyah Nov 6 2019 |
Inspired by official prompts from #Inktober, which included suggestive words like #Sling, #Wild, #Ride, #Catch, #Ripe, etc. – Ghosh decided to give his illustrations a kinky twist.
By Asfiyah Nov 4 2019 |
Understand that the only time you can experience and express your authentic gender identity, is during college functions or your behen ki shaadi, when clothes and cosmetics suddenly adopt a universal tenor.
By Asfiyah Oct 30 2019 |
In honour of their 100th episode, which aired on September 24th, 2019 – the producers of Dyking Out managed to snag an episode with comedian and bisexual “dykon” (dyke icon), Margaret Cho.
By Asfiyah Oct 23 2019 |
A recently concluded presentation, 'Four Play' is an interactive performance art piece, curated and performed by Patruni Chidananda Sastry, a dancer and performance artist – along with theatre artist, Sajiv Palasa.
By Asfiyah Oct 22 2019 |
