Growing up Queer and Trans : Elders Edition
Date: May 16th
Day: Friday
Time: 7:00 PM onwards
Where: Zoom (Link shared upon registration)
Click here to register for the event
As we gear up to celebrate pride and progress, we must also pause to remember those who walked before us! Pride exists because their journeys have laid the very foundations on which we now build our movements, communities, and joy.
Join us for a special evening on “Growing up Queer and Trans : Elders Edition”, a conversation with LGBTQ+ elder on what it meant to come of age in a time when acceptance, community, safety or even the vocabulary to navigate their experiences were harder to come by.
What to expect?
- Personal stories of growing up queer or trans in India – moments of struggle, survival, and solidarity.
- Reflections on resilience, self-acceptance, and finding or creating community.
- Public and private milestones that shaped their journeys.
- Insights into how ideas around gender, sexuality, love, and acceptance have evolved.
- Lessons learned, and messages of hope, healing, and strength for the younger generation and those still finding their path.
About the panelists
A. Revathi is a transgender activist and theatre artist and the author of Our Lives Our Words: Telling Aravani Lifestories, The Truth About Me, and A Life in Trans Activism. Through her platform, she advocates for LGBTQ+ rights and amplifies transgender experiences. Formerly the Director of Sangama, a human rights organization for sexual minorities, she has been honored by the Government of Tamil Nadu’s Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department for her outstanding work for the upliftment of transgender persons.
Maya Sharma is a veteran LBT and women’s rights activist with over 40 years of experience documenting marginalized queer lives, notably in her books Loving Women and Footprints of a Queer History. She’s been a key figure in advocating for working-class lesbian and rural women. She is the co-founder of Vikalp Women’s Group, Baroda, working to improve women’s access to health, education, and livelihoods.
Bittu K. Rajaraman is a genderqueer trans man, a STEM figure and professor of biology & psychology, advocating for queer/trans liberation through the dismantling of caste, class, ableism, and gender. They are known for their neurocognition and insect communication research, bringing an intersectional perspective to academia.
About the moderator
Shubham Choudhary is the Founder and CEO of Safe Access. As a Health Equity Fellow, they are strongly committed to health equity and social justice. Their work focuses on creating inclusive communities across education, livelihood, and gender issues. Shubham is recognized as a Gandhi Fellow, an Echoing Green Fellow, a Senior Atlantic Fellow, and a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree. A queer feminist, they are dedicated to advancing intersectional social change.
Honoring our elders is a crucial act of preserving our own history, told through the lived experiences of those who shaped it. Come listen, learn, and witness the generation that dared to live, love, dream and resist !
Know someone who’s lived through it all and has stories to tell? Nominate them in the same registration form here
Follow us on Instagram @SafeAccess for updates on guest list!