It’s Pride Month in the US, which means that our Instagram pages will soon be inundated with rainbow flags and companies selling merch in the name of supporting the LGBTQ+ community. In this deluge, there often stands out an image which connects to many on a personal level. One such image from Pride Month, is of Jiwandeep Kohli, a Sikh neuroscientist from San Diego.
Kohli, who identifies as bisexual, posted an image of himself wearing a rainbow-hued pagri and wrote: “I’m proud to be a bisexual bearded baking brain scientist. I feel fortunate to be able to express all these aspects of my identity, and will continue to work toward ensuring the same freedom for others.”
Within hours, this picture got 20,000 likes and was shared widely on both Twitter and Instagram. What is so special about this picture, you ask?
The image of Jiwandeep is a rare representation of a Sikh queer man on social media. Most images of Sikh men in the mainstream media are quintessentially hyper masculine and therefore by default, straight. In American mainstream, turbaned men have been villainised as the “others”, often facing racist attacks by those who think a turban and beard is synonymous with “terrorist”.
The only way to end popular prejudices is by mainstream representation. In his viral image, Jiwandeep Kohli introduces himself to the world as a scholar, a man who bakes at his leisure, and a man who is comfortable in his identity as a queer Sikh. This representation is important for acceptance in both the American mainstream as well as the Indian diaspora.
It is no secret that our society is a hetronormative patriarchy where queer people face prejudices and violence of all kinds. Heck, it was not till 2018 that India decriminalised homosexuality. Around the world, members of the LGBTQ+ community are ostracised by their faiths when they decide to come out. Often the fear of alienation is what keeps queer people inside the closet for life. So, an out and proud Sikh man is as far from the “normal” as one can imagine and that status quo will not change unless we see more and more images like that of Jiwandeep Kohli’s.
Article Credit: IDiva