LABIA

LABIA
Formation1995; 29 years ago (1995)[1]
Location
  • Mumbai
Formerly called
Stree Sangam

LABIA is an organization for queer and transgender people in Mumbai, India.[1] It was founded in 1995 as Stree Sangam (transl. Womens Association), and is often cited as a significant organization in the history of LGBTQ organizing in India.[1][2][3]

According to The Hindu,

"When they started out, the name Stree Sangam was chosen because it seemed generic and sanitised, and wouldn’t call attention to itself on mailers that were the mode of communication then.…Circa 2002, this dichotomy was laid to rest, when the group christened themselves LABIA (Lesbians and Bisexuals in Action), and were unequivocal about welcoming trans people. The explicit reference to female genitalia was deliberate and combative, as the group increasingly saw themselves as public campaigners, than just enablers of screenings and soirées for closeted lesbians."[1]

Jaya Sharma and Dipika Nath describe LABIA as among the wave of "explicitly political activist groups…whose political activism combines with their role as resource organizations."[4] An important tenet of LABIA's politics has been inter-sectionality — the idea that all systems of oppression are interlinked in many overlapping ways, which struggles for parity on any turf must take into account.[5]

LABIA's activities have involved networking with individual queer women and queer groups in India and in other countries, campaigning for the rights of peoples and communities of marginalized genders and sexualities and organizing feminist and people's movements jointly with the struggles of other marginalized groups. LABIA intends to further this activism and sees Scripts (see below) as a vibrant space for multiple conversations of queer/feminist/activist/creative voices.[6]

  1. ^ a b c d Phukan, Vikram (18 December 2015). "LABIA celebrates 20th birthday". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  2. ^ Shahani, Parmesh (15 April 2008). Gay Bombay: Globalization, Love and (Be)longing in Contemporary India. SAGE Publications India. p. 106. ISBN 9788132100140.
  3. ^ Murthy, Laxmi; Dasgupta, Rajashri (15 October 2014). Our Pictures, Our Words: A Visual Journey Through the Women's Movement. Zubaan. p. 115. ISBN 9789381017494.
  4. ^ Misra, Geetanjali; Chandiramani, Radhika (5 November 2005). Sexuality, Gender and Rights: Exploring Theory and Practice in South and Southeast Asia. SAGE. p. 85. ISBN 9780761934035.
  5. ^ Phukan, Vikram (18 December 2015). "LABIA celebrates 20th birthday". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  6. ^ Action (LABIA), Lesbians and Bisexuals in (15 June 2019). "Call for contributions to SCRIPTS, the queer zine". South Asia Citizens Web. Retrieved 15 June 2019.