Creating a queerscape for Chennai

We walked into this popular haunt on College Road expecting quite a bit. This, after all, was probably one of the first attempts in Chennai to give the LGBQTQIA+ community a platform to showcase their talents and interests in fashion. The room was abuzz by the time we got there and while the faces were familiar — these were some of the city’s most famous party starters — the reason why they were congregated here was a brand new one.

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“The LGBTQIA+ scene in the city is abysmal, especially when it comes to nightlife and entertainment. There is nothing that happens to promote the community. In other cities, there are drag performances, stand-up comedy shows, fashion shows, community meet-ups, parties…but Chennai seems to lack such a vibrant queer culture. I’ve always wondered why Chennai was so different, what were we doing wrong?” begins Karun Raman, a fashion choreographer and influencer, who is supporting the cause.

Dressed in a beautiful gown with a large star as a headpiece, Karun is also here to support the cause. “Sophia and Prasath are my friends and when they came to me with this idea of having a talent platform, I wanted to help them in creating an environment where people from the community can have a means to a livelihood of dignity. I really think people’s mindset about us needs to change, and that is what we are trying to achieve, one step at a time,” he adds.

The event begins and a few performances later, Karun’s included, the reason why we’re here unfolds. A bunch of amateur models take centre stage and the crowd loves every pirouette, every sashay and cheers these first-timers on. It’s a mood of unadulterated celebration that just gets better as the focus of the evening unravels. Amid these models are a bunch of transgender and queer individuals too. From across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, these models would have never stood a chance at a non-queer event — not because they wouldn’t qualify or were not up to the mark, but simply because they’re queer.

With age and gender no bar, apart from assisting with education, generating employment opportunities for trans people, plus sized and vitiligo models, this ‘community for the community’ platform, Poze, will also be hosting stand-up comedians, drag performers every week, along with sessions where people can share everything — from problems they face in their everyday lives to celebrating LGBTQIA+ culture.

“We look forward to welcoming allies and supporters who can aid us in connecting with people and companies to give our community a chance for a better life. A lot of designers I know hesitate from being part of any of our events or parties because they are scared to be noticed or seen at a dingy place. So, it’s time we create a better place where everyone can just be themselves and with pride,” Karun opines as the event crescendos around us.

With quite a large turnout, the event also saw the participation of several other celebrities from the community. Hosted by VJ, columnist and influencer Paloma Rao, we also noticed transgender beauty queen Namitha Marimuthu take the stage to share a few words along with activist and TV host, Sasha Reddy, who cheered enthusiastically from the audience.

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“I met Sophia a year or so ago, on audio platform Clubhouse and we bonded over many things, including the need to do something for the LGBTQIA+ community. We actually have a common friend, who identifies as gender-fluid and has always been discriminated against because of that,” says founder Prasath Sivasankaran, an IT professional. “The discrimination became really obvious because they identify as neither man nor woman and was forced to choose either gender just to participate in a pageant once. That’s when we realised it was time we did something about it and Poze came out of that decision,” concludes co-founder Sophia Victor, who is also an IT professional.

The event on Sunday opened with a drag performance by Karun, who made his return to the stage after quite the hiatus, followed by a fashion show that saw 12 transgender models, a few non-binary models, plus-sized models and vitiligo models from Chennai and Bengaluru.