By Apphia K.
Completely overwhelmed by the invitation to speak at the Queer Azadi Event in Mumbai, India this year, I was honored by the fact that I would be one of the first bisexual activists to give the bi community a voice. In contrast to my first experience representing the bi community at the Bangalore Queer Film Festival earlier this year, this was to be a public forum and there would be media present.
A little louder than the voice in my head that told me that I’d be the only bisexual there were my supportive friends and the knowledge that I would be speaking from the heart. L. Ramki, India’s only other out bisexual activist, flew up from Chennai to show his support and have my back while friends who drove down to Mumbai with me stood at the side of the stage cheering me on.
What ensued was a total head-rush, and me silently thankful that I had written what I’d wanted to say on paper and remembered to bring it with me. I spoke about bi-invisibility, the fear of biphobia, the liberation of love, creating a tolerant and all-inclusive community, and the importance of us all speaking up together as one community demanding equality. Midway through my speech, in between cheers and applause, a transwoman from the crowd stood up and asked me to speak in Hindi. That’s when I began to falter just a little bit. Luckily, a translator jumped to my aid and brought me safely to the end of the speech.
Did my action make a difference? I hope so. In the days leading up to the event and in the ones that followed I have only just realized the vastness of the task ahead of me. Making the decision to give my community a voice was easy; the follow-through is what will push me out of my comfort zone. This ongoing work is what will bring that change we wish to see, and education lies at the crux of this change.
Young, restless and just the right amount of crazy; a bit old fashioned and unconventional at the same time, Apphia is a contributor to the Getting Bi anthology, the co-founder of Birds of a Feather, Pune’s first visible LGBT support group and editor of Jiah: The Magazine for Women with Heart, the first magazine for Queer Indian Women.