5 queer people of colour who made a mark in 2018

White gay men and women are often portrayed in pop culture, but somehow queer people of colour hardly get any representation.

With the LGBTQ+ community growing stronger every day, here are five queer people of colour who refused to be silenced, and made their presence known loud and clear.

Alok Vaid-Menon

Alok Vaid-Menon is an Indian-American gender non-conforming performance artist, writer and educator. They are globally renowned for their bold fashion statements and poetry challenging the gender binary.

At 27, Alok is also the youngest recipient of the Live Works Performance Act Award. They released their poetry chapbook FEMME IN PUBLIC in 2017, have performed in over 40 countries, and featured by various media and news outlets. 

Also read: Non-binary transfeminine poet Alok Vaid-Menon celebrates the colour of pride 

Through social media, Alok Vaid-Menon talks about their struggles as a queer person, and encourage others to speak out about the same. They focus on making queer people of colour more visible and better represented and standing up against transphobia. 

They were a finalist in the LGBTQ+ category of the Shorty Awards 2018 and were the Logo30 of LogoTV.

Ritu Dalmia

Ritu Dalmia, 43, is one of the five petitioners who challenged Section 377, the archaic law that criminalised same-sex sexual activity in India. Her 2016 petition was instrumental in having it struck down in September 2018. She is also a celebrity chef and restaurateur and co-owns a popular Italian restaurant Diva in Delhi. 

Also read: Meet the 5 petitioners who challenged Section 377

Pidgeon Pagonis

Pidgeon Pagonis, 32, is a Chicago-based intersex activist, writer, filmmaker, and educator. Their works have been featured in many scholarly journals, and have raised intersex awareness in various media outlets like BuzzFeed.

In 2015, Pidgeon launched #intersexstories on Twitter, for intersex people all over the world to come forward with their experiences. In 2016, they co-founded the group Intersex People of Colour for Justice (IPOCJ), among a host of other initiatives and achievements. In 2017, their documentary The Son I Never Had, won a jury award at NCGLFF. Later that year, they co-led the #LurieEndSurgery protest outside Lurie Children's Hospital, which stood against non-consensual surgery on intersex children.

Throughout 2018, Pidgeon has continued to stand against non-consensual intersex surgery online and offline. They are currently working on a new documentary set to premiere in 2019, and also on a photo series featuring intersex people of colour.

Chella Man

Chella Man is a 20-year-old Deaf*, genderqueer artist and activist. He studies art, design and computer science in New York City, and is also the first Deaf, trans model to sign with the modelling agency IMG. 

Also read: Breaking the Binary - A guide to understanding gender and sexuality 

From sharing the challenges of being Deaf to documenting the changes he experiences while transitioning**, Chella Man tells his story as it is on Instagram. He teaches sign language and has a YouTube channel with his girlfriend – MaryV Benoit.

In March 2018, Chella Man spoke about his journey as a trans person at a Tedx event, through his talk titled ‘Becoming Him’.

Holland (Go Tae Seob) 

At just 22, Go Tae Seob, popularly known as Holland, is one of South Korea’s first and only openly gay musicians. Making his debut this January with the song ‘Neverland’, which portrays his fantasy of being able to love freely, Holland is loved by the LGBTQ+ community across the globe.

Although same-sex sexual activity is legal in South Korea, members of the LGBTQ+ community still face hatred and discrimination from the majority of the population, including anti-LGBTQ+ protests during Pride events. For Holland to come out and express himself through his music in a country that is so intolerant of its queer community is quite a bold step.

What motivated Holland to come out publicly through music, he says, is that while there are many queer artists in the west, there is a lack of Asian representation. He wants to become a similar figure and pillar of support for young Asians struggling with their identities.

*Deaf - Deaf, spelt with a capital D tells people that one is proud of being deaf and that they are involved with the Deaf community and culture

**transitioning - refers to the mental and physical changes a transgender individual goes through. For Chella Man, it denotes testosterone injections and top (chest) surgery.