ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the case example of Zoha, a queer and trans identified South Asian American, to highlight possible difficulties faced by LGBTQIA+ South Asian individuals in the US It describes LGBTQIA+ communities, including specific definitions and unique South Asian American LGBTQIA+ communities. The chapter presents the history and impact of British, white, and western on South Asian American communities, followed by a reclaiming of South Asian culture on the path to LGBTQIA+ liberation. A foundational understanding of South Asian American LGBTQIA+ communities starts with knowing that gender, sex, and sexuality are distinct, but interrelated constructs. Like indigenous groups in the US, indigenous groups that have resided in South Asia since ancient times possess a distinct culture whose existence has been threatened and minoritized since the occupation of non-indigenous peoples in South Asia.
