Jag Nagra, illustration for HuffPost in honor of Pride Month (2019)When I started reflecting on
Jag Nagra, illustration for HuffPost in honor of Pride Month (2019)When I started reflecting on living #ProudOutLoud, I knew I wanted to portray the importance of safe spaces. So many times, members of the LGBTQ community fear coming out to their families. For myself, being a queer Indian, I didn’t know there were other gay Indians in the world when I was growing up. I literally thought I was the only one. There were no queer South Asian role models in the media, and no one ever talked about it. I had a hard time understanding it, and if I couldn’t explain it to myself, I wondered how I would explain it to my parents.That’s where safe spaces came into play. I came across a group in Vancouver for LGBTQ South Asians called Sher Vancouver, and for the first time in my life, I found people who looked like me that were like me. That’s when I was finally able to start a conversation with my family. That group really laid the foundation for me. Navigating through the world can be a scary thing. But knowing there are places that create a sense of community are so important for people who are struggling to come out. Even just seeing a small pride flag in the window of a store can be comforting.To me, pride means living unapologetically. My wife and I have a young daughter and we want to raise her not to be ashamed of who she is or where she came from. We want to set that example for her. I used to struggle with being gay, but now, honestly, I feel like I’m part of a very awesome, very fabulous club where I was lucky enough to have been given this very exclusive membership. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love living authentically. I love being able to walk with my little family down the street without hiding who we are. It feels really great to be here. -- source link
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