Queer Infocus | June II 2020

Queer InFocus is a bimonthly roundup of queer news in India.      

Gay Indian comic busts biases without judgement

21st June 2020

Vasu Primlani is considered one of the few openly gay comics in India. She uses her style to address the twin challenges of being gay and a woman in India., and she also runs awareness training for several corporates in India. Primlani states she was fortunate to have parents who accepted her sexuality, uses her comedy as commentary, and hopes one day that people are judged ‘by their thoughts, actions and goodness rather than what they look like, who they hang out with, or who they choose to love”.

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Dating app celebrates queer love

30th June 2020

OkCupid launched their campaign #AllyOfLove, celebrating the queer community in India. They gathered data on how their users believe in love across the LGBTQ+ spectrum, with 90% of users agreeing that gay marriage India should be legal, and 96% saying they care about LGBTQI+ issues. They also released a video with a range of queer individuals, playing a version of the game ‘never have I ever’ with various questions related to dating.

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Tinder India’s Pride video draws praise and flak

30th June 2020

Tinder India celebrated pride month by releasing a music video, a collaboration between music artist Ritviz, Jugaad Motion pictures and the LGBTQIA+ community in India, looking at how pride can be celebrated from home. However, it has been criticised for not highlighting a queer artist, and also cating Nakshatra Bagwe, who has made transphobic and femmephobic comments in the past regarding those who attend pride marches themselves.

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Harshil Shah is the Program Officer, Gender Justice – Queer Rights at One Future Collective.