Last year on July 2, the Delhi High Court ruled in favour of scrapping Section 377 of the IPC. Celebrations for the LGBT community continue with the launch of an online bookstore
Last year on July 2, the Delhi High Court ruled in favour of scrapping Section 377 of the IPC. Celebrations for the LGBT community continue with the launch of an online bookstore
When was the last time you had to assert your sexuality to someone? Proclaim that you were 'straight' and give explanations for all the connotations attached to it. Can't remember?
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But for those with a 'whiff of the queer', something as seemingly simple as asserting their sexuality can turn into a nightmare. 
Some protest their criminalised status on the streets (or at Azad Maidan), some prefer to stay put in the closet while others find catharsis in the written word. In order to reach out to those belonging to the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender/ Transsexual) community, two queer women have sought solace in the cyberspace through an online bookstore called Queer-Ink.
With over a 100 titles neatly categorised into fiction, non-fiction, children, family and magazines, the books take you through stories of tolerance, love, rejection, confusion, relationships, AIDS, betrayal and crime. Though a majority of the books are meant for an English audience, you will also find a dozen titles in regional languages like Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu.
On Queer-Ink, you will find a successful gay lawyer rejected by his conservative Christian hometown sitting next to a lovesick nurseryman and a 'funny boy' who dresses like a girl, an illustrated examination of erotica coming out of ancient India along with an astonishing work on the reasons women have sex (one of them being a cure for headaches!).
A beautiful story on popular talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and her mom, along with back issues of Bombay Dost, India's first registered LGBT magazine, also find place in this library.
We love the fact that prices of the largely-discounted books start as low as Rs 40 and that they can be shipped to almost all countries around the world. Shobhna Kumar and her partner, who researched through many catalogues and reviews of books from around the world, have added a section on non-mainstream books for children too.
Want a book that's not listed on the site? Write to the founders and they will try sourcing it for you. If you are rather wary about using your credit card on the web, saunter into the Azaad Bazaar store at Bandra (opposite Mini Punjab) where you can pick up your order.
If you are a writer with a queer pen, you can also put up your works on the website to gain an audience. The Queer calendar on the website will keep you updated on events happening across the country, while for those who are still curious but confused, look up the elaborate Queer Lingo
section.
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