MAYA ROSE FERNANDES
While there is still a very long journey ahead, over the years, Goa has gradually been seeing the emergence of some safer spaces for LGBTQIA+ communities, organisations and events that provide support, advocacy and safety for queer individuals.
If you have been living under a rock and don’t know what LGBTQIA+ stands for, it’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and more.
Perhaps, it’s Goa’s perceived cosmopolitan nature with its influx of non-domestic tourists and expatriates which contributes to a more tolerant environment compared to most of India.
Maybe it’s a residual hangover from Goa’s hippie-ish, free lovin’ reputation of the ‘60s and ‘70s.
Or maybe, it’s the legacy of Portuguese colonialism which encouraged inter-cultural mixing, integration and acceptance in ways that British colonialism did not.
But, I often hear people from these communities say that they feel freer and more like themselves in Goa, which is why they move here.
Let’s be clear. Traditional attitudes and conservative beliefs are still rife throughout the state, presenting challenges for queer individuals in terms of acceptance and visibility.
But, I always find it encouraging when I come across spaces where people are talking about what it means to be queer in today’s world.
For example, in 2023, I heard for the first time about ‘Queering Goa’, an academic, social-engagement and creative project led by a group of scholars and students from the Goa Institute of Management, under its Give Goa initiative.
The project aimed to ‘give-back’ to the Goan community through theoretical and practical contributions in gender and sexuality studies.
Their discourses and exchanges went way beyond the LGBTQIA+ community, discussing feelings and hidden desires that people have within themselves and are afraid to share with the rest of society for fear of being labelled as outliers and non-conformists.
Next, at the Serendipity Arts Festival 2023, I was pleased to get the chance to attend ‘Postcards From Goa’ an interactive production that wandered around the spaces beyond the Old GMC into the streets, the riverside promenade, the bus-stop on the corner and even the Panjim market.
Perhaps, it’s Goa’s perceived cosmopolitan nature with its influx of non-domestic tourists and expatriates which contributes to a more tolerant environment compared to most of India.
The performance integrated ‘queer narratives with specially curated locales, offering participants adtransformative journey that unites history, location and personal experience in an exploration of identity and place.’
The experience was honest, revelatory and heart-breaking as the performers moved through a few chosen evolutionary highlights of the LGBTQIA+ community in Goa.
Then, there’s the performance I attended the day before yesterday at the Goa Open Arts festival (currently running until February 28, 2024 at the Old GMC in Panjim).
I attended a solo play by Debi K called ‘Hussie: chapter three, ‘Dear Didu,’ which explores gender, queerness and shame. It’s part of a series that ‘unravels Debi’s journey to identifying as nonbinary and adopting they/them pronouns in their 40s.’
They used scripted monologue and devised movement to interrogate the role of cis women who uphold caste and patriarchal hierarchies in their life.
I was in awe of the courage Debi showed in showcasing their own personal experiences of being typecast by society; first as a woman, then as a lesbian, and revealing, through their vulnerable performance, some of the entrenched violence of that typecasting.
Debi openly questioned their own assertions about cis women and their patriarchal attitudes.
Debi referred to their uncanny interactions with family, communities and friendships through their evolutionary journey, and paid respect to all those searching to find a suitable language and home, among other things, for their identity; one that moves them away from the limited perceptions and imaginations of mainstream society.
All this in the hopes that we can redefine the boundaries of what mainstream even means in an ever-evolving world.
I know that I’m constantly being challenged by these spaces, even as they open up, but continually hope that others gravitate towards them as well – whether in search of a deeper understanding, an exploration or just solace through belonging.