THE BEAUTY OF THE Rainbow

CRISSCROSSING THE XX/XY DIVIDE AND CHALLENGING THE CODES (AND COLOURS) OF CONVENTION, 14 CHANGE-MAKERS FROM THE LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY TILT OUR INHERENT DICHROMATIC VIEW OF GENDER, IDENTITY, AND SEXUAL AGENCY TOWARDS A PROMISING, PRISMATIC FUTURE IN INDIA.

- BY NUPUR SARVAIYA

Red calls you to stop. Green means ‘go’. White signifies purity. Black — mystery. Colours have long served as media that help us meander through our day-to-day lives. In fact, we are even cleft into colour-coded childhoods — our rooms, roles, and recognition positioned and painted to aid us in not just making simple choices, but also articulating gender and identity. These rather straightforward codes have imprinted indelible impressions on us — American magazine Ladies’ Home Journal introduced the ‘colour rule’ that earmarked pink for girls and blue for boys as far back as 1918, and the norm somehow still works right down to the current day.

The truth is that our world isn’t so black and white. And changing up that palette are change-makers who aren't afraid to colour outside the lines. For this formidable generation of influencers, trailblazers and disruptors from the LGBTQIA+ community, there is no monochrome — their lives are rainbow-hued, transformational, and, above all, empowering. Together, they redefine the spectrum of what it is to be human. And, while none of them ascribe to a single shade, we've gravitated towards one hue that best represents their deeply personal, professional, and political ambitions. This is their colour story.

Violet for IMAGINATION & CREATIVITY

SIDDARTHA TYTLER FASHION DESIGNER