Awesome Documentary Alert: DESIGIRLS!

It can be said that homophobia is a universal experience, but plays out differently based on culture, ethnicity, history, class and race among other factors. As a South Asian women who is openly feminist, I have experienced first hand some of the very specific views of my very loosely defined “community,” (which would be middle class South Asian most of which immigrated in the early 1970’s) on gender and sexuality, which to be frank, leave a lot to be desired.
Historically, within the South Asian cultural context, gender and sexuality have often been represented as more fluid. But something about the transnational circulation of the idea of “coming out” seems to be understood to be in opposition to the South Asian identity and sense of community. This is not to depict South Asians as uniquely more homophobic than other cultural groups or on the other hand to deny that homophobia related violence is endemic in the South Asian community. But homophobia cannot be understood without taking into consideration the long trajectory of violent historical events such as colonization, displacement, migration and assimilation that resulted in the creation of a very powerful sense of community. This sense of community has served to unite South Asians internationally, but has also functioned to silence those that lie in the periphery.

Recognizing this very complicated history of GLBTQ identity in the South Asian community, independent film-maker Ishita Srivastav has put a film out about the lesbian South Asian identity in New York. I have pasted the trailer above, but you can watch the whole thing on youtube (Part 1, Part 2) and if you are in NY there is a film screening tomorrow. Details after the jump.

When: May 7th, 2010. 7pm- 8pm
Where: Room 674 (6th floor), 721 Broadway, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. Join us for the screening and discussion with the filmmaker!
Synopsis of the film: What role does the South Asian LGBT community in New York City play in the life of ‘A’ who might never be able to open up to her family about her lesbian identity? In contrast what does Priyanka, open about her sexuality and living with her partner and Ashu, a disc jockey who runs Sholay Productions (a social events group for queer South Asians) gain from being a part of this community? Desigirls follows ‘A’ and Priyanka as they negotiate their diverse and often fraught experiences as gay Indian women in New York. The documentary explores what their varying experiences tell us about the role of minority community groups in a diverse and often fractured immigrant society.