“Of course, I can't separate my queerness from my brownness - if anything, my queerness amplifies my brownness, and vice versa - but I spent so much of my early twenties trying to erase my differences, often without awareness of what I was doing.” IfsTryingI CanCoursesDifferencesAwarenessTwentiesVicesEraseVice VersaAmplify Author:Vivek Shraya
“When I wouldn't leave home without my blue contacts or when I was bleaching my hair, I didn't have the language to articulate that I was trying to assimilate to whiteness. If anything, I was trying to "look normal."” IfsTryingLooksHomeLanguageHairNormalBlueContactWhitenessBleaching Author:Vivek Shraya
“If anything, I have witnessed the ways my art travels, or is rendered more accessible, when sanctioned by or connected to white artists.” IfsWayArtArtistWhiteConnected Author:Vivek Shraya
“I am more likely to get paid for my art if it's presented alongside a white artist, so the questions around value and agency arise: What choices should I make, or do I have to make, if I want to be compensated for my work? Why isn't my art valued on its own?” IfsWantShouldArtArtistValuesChoicesWhitePaidAriseAgencyShould I Author:Vivek Shraya
“I recently did a reading at an elementary school in Ottawa, and one of the children asked me if I was a girl. I said yes. Another child commented that I had a deep voice. I responded: "Can girls have deep voices?" There was a pause and then the group responded, "Yes!"” IfsChildrenSaidSchoolGirlReadingVoiceGroupsPausesElementary SchoolOttawa Author:Vivek Shraya