Desi Queers: LGBTQ+ South Asians and Cultural Belonging in Britain

Join Dr Rohit K. Dasgupta to explore how queer South Asians have shaped LGBTQ+ movements in Britain

Desi Queers shows how South Asians in the diaspora have helped shape LGBTQ+ movements and communities in Britain, from the 1970s to today.

In the 1980s, desi queers were at the heart of direct action, within groups such as the Gay Black Group and Haringey Council’s trailblazing Lesbian and Gay Unit.

One key moment was the powerful ‘Smash the Backlash’ protest against bigotry. This wave of activism led to the rise of grassroots groups in the 1980s and 1990s, such as Shakti and Naz.

Their founders opened a path of creative resistance to the intersecting violence of racism and homophobia. These groups became safe spaces for people who were doubly marginalised — excluded by parts of the South Asian community for being queer, and by mainstream queer spaces for being people of colour.

Desi Queers celebrates both the long history of activism and the everyday lives of LGBTQ+ South Asians in Britain.