The ''Gaysi'' (Gay Desi) family is an online space and

E-zine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer magaz ...

for

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

Desi DESI may refer to * Desorption electrospray ionization * Drug Efficacy Study Implementation * Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument See also * Desi (disambiguation) Desi or Deshi is a self-referential term used by South Asian people. Desi may al ...

s based in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

History

A website for gay Desis across the world, it began in November 2008 by MJ and Broom when they realized that

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

had a scarcity of quality online queer content. “The aim was to make you feel like you’re not the only one. The

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

process for any individual is never easy. After all, it is family and society one has to come out to,” says MJ. The idea behind Gaysi Family was to provide a platform for queers. Today, the website features opinions, personal stories, fiction, erotica, news about LGBT developments in India and across the world, book and film reviews. Some of the popular topics include ‘Coming Out’, ‘Aam Gaysi interviews’, ‘

Homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

’ and

IPC 377 Section 377 of the British colonial penal code criminalized all sexual acts "against the order of nature". The law was used to prosecute people engaging in oral and anal sex along with homosexual activity. The penal code remains in many forme ...

Publication and content

Gaysi Family provides a platform for the LGBT community from the South Asian Subcontinent to express their views, share their coming out stories, poems, erotic fiction, book reviews, movie reviews or event notices. Additionally, they also interview popular queers and straight allies. A new section called the "Writer's Bloc" was launched, which hopes to translate diverse queer literature from Indian regional languages into English and vice versa. In 2013, Gaysi Family launched its queer journal called The Gaysi Zine, a magazine dedicated to curating content about what it means to be gay and desi —gender or labels notwithstanding. The magazine was launched on 28 November at the lawns of

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

, Max Mueller Bhavan,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. The panel included Parvati Sharma, who is the author of "The Dead Camel and Other Stories of Love", Arunava Sinha, who is the translator of classic, modern and contemporary Bengali fiction and nonfiction in English. Pramada Menon, who is the co-founder of CREA, and now consultant on gender and sexuality, Priya, the Editor of The Gaysi Zine and Co-Director of The Gaysi Family, and Antara Datta, a lecturer of English Literature at Delhi University. They also sponsored a video titled "Happy in Gaysi Land" featuring famous gay activist

Harish Iyer Harish Iyer, also known as "Aham", ''hiyer'' and "Harrish Iyer" (born 16 April 1979) is an Indian equal rights activist. Iyer engages in advocacy for a number of causes, including promoting the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transge ...

. The video showcases Indian queers dancing happily to the tune of "

Happy Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. Sinc ...

" by

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

, after the events of Indian's ban on same-sex relations. Shot over a 48-hour period, the video features Indian LGBT residents dancing all over Mumbai in an effort to engage in "a different form of activism."

References

{{Reflist Desi culture Online magazines published in India LGBT-related magazines published in India LGBT-related websites Magazines established in 2013