There is a room with pink walls — the furniture in its place. Two frames adorn the walls of the room, and a figure pushes against the door when their family constantly knocks from the outside, urging them to come out. “I want to go back home,” says Radha, a teen with short hair, wearing a blue tank and shorts, as they take their s
07 December,2025 09:21 AM IST | Mumbai | Dhwani GaikwadAnger gushes through the phone as this writer picks it up. “If he wants to use that word, he should come live like us for a day,” says Nandini Sabban, a trans woman belonging to the hijra community. The word she’s talking about is “ch**ka” — a slur casually used by socialite Orhan Awatramani, better known as Orry
16 November,2025 09:30 AM IST | Mumbai | Akshita MaheshwariA couple of months ago, Christina Evers was stopped from entering the ladies’ washroom at Kalyan station by cis women. “‘Go to the gents washroom’, they yelled at me. I shot back: ‘To get raped?’” recalls Evers. Accessing public spaces has always been a challenge for trans women in India. Cis men fetishise
16 November,2025 08:41 AM IST | Mumbai | Arpika BhosaleI have been on HRT for three years now, so when people look at me, they see a man’s face,” says Riyam Jain, a trans man whose full beard is an inspiration for the small but tight-knit community. “But when I’d step out of the pool, I could feel people’s eyes drift to my lower half, and if there was no bulge, the stares
29 September,2025 06:19 PM IST | Mumbai | Debjani PaulOn September 21, filmmaker Onir was honoured with the Gay Bombay Icon Award by Gay Bombay for bringing queer stories to the fore with his movies. The award — given out by the LGBTQIA+ organisation that was founded in 1998 — recognises individuals who have made significant contributions to advancing queer representation and rights in soc
23 September,2025 07:38 AM IST | Mumbai | Mohar BasuSocial media users are slamming popular American musician Snoop Dogg on the internet after his comment about LGBTQIA+ representation in movies went viral. He said he’s “scared to go to the movies” because of homosexual relationships' representation in children’s films. His remarks during his appearance on the It’s Givi
26 August,2025 12:59 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThis year, the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) will host the LGBTQIA+ Pride Celebratory Night on August 22, which promises to be a tribute to queer cinema and queer South Asian identity in Australia. The organisers have a film that not only reflects queer romance, but also celebrates Indian films’ long association with the theme. Dir
22 July,2025 07:52 AM IST | Mumbai | Mohar BasuShweta Tripathi’s first theatre production Cock, which tells the story of a queer man, premièred in Delhi on June 6, coinciding with the Pride Month. After hosting multiple shows in Delhi and Mumbai, she is set to take her play to different cities across India. Her idea is simple — promote queer stories, and be a true ally of the
16 July,2025 07:53 AM IST | Mumbai | Mohar BasuTravelling should be an inclusive and exciting experience for everyone. However, LGBTQIA+ individuals and couples face different degrees of unique challenges while considering and planning a trip to ensure a safe journey. Research conducted by Booking.com in 2024 revealed that for 86 per cent of LGBTQIA+ travellers in India, being part o
07 July,2025 01:41 PM IST | Mumbai | Maitrai AgarwalThe visual identity of Pride is tied to a rainbow, vivid in all its glory, as if proclaiming: We’re queer, and we’re here. The sentiment is echoed by a section of the LGBTQIA+ community who turns to fashion and a sociable personality to channel their uninhibited queerness. In pursuit of their unapologetic selves, the bold thrive among c
30 June,2025 02:50 PM IST | Mumbai | Maitrai AgarwalDuring promotions for his new film My Melbourne, an anthology, filmmaker Onir was asked if he had “done enough queer stories.” He found the question bizarre and indicative of industry bias. “I’ve made more straight films than queer ones,” he told Mid-Day. “There were three other directors sitting with me at
26 June,2025 08:25 AM IST | Mumbai | Athulya NambiarADVERTISEMENT
