CARVING SPACES FOR IDENTITY

AS we celebrate Madras month, the question of how far has the it come in accommodating its queer population remains.

- DIYA MARIA GEORGE

At the Queering Madras event, organised by Madras Musings at Residency Towers, T Nagar, four panelists came together to discuss the strides and struggles of the LGBTQIA+ community in Chennai.

The discussion was moderated by entrepreneur and art collector Jaiveer Johal. L Ramakrishnan, an advocate for queer and trans rights, provided a historical perspective, taking the audience back to the mid-1980s when queer visibility in Chennai was nearly non existent. He read out an essay titled 'Queer Madras' from that era, which described the city's queer culture as subtle yet pervasive.