Chit Chat 004 : Nonbinary Living and Sikhi with prabhdeep kehal
““If you are trying to change minds and hearts you’re never going to get anywhere. Sometimes it’s just a matter of changing the relations or the social relations of society so that people can have whatever thoughts they have in their mind. But it’s what are they able to do via society what are they able to do via the legal system what are they able to do via the labor market in order to enact those thoughts and ideas which may actually harm someone else’s existence.””
In this interview, we are talking gender and sexuality as it stands in the current climate. I’m talking about the pronouns they/them, he/him, she/her and the inclusion of any such pronoun when making acquaintances – hi, my name is Chandani and I go by she/her. I wonder about the LGBTQ notions of femininity and how they coexist with my own ideas about femininity and womanhood. I often think about how the world will look so different for my two small children and in the way of gender and sexuality, a more accepting and free world.
I speak with prabhdeep kehal, whose pronouns are they and them and is willing to share their perspective as a nonbinary and their experience today within the world they live. prabhdeep is a writer and doctoral candidate in sociology at Brown University. They study histories and legacies of colonialism within US higher education, and specifically how faculty unintentionally and intentionally may engage in these ideas and histories. Within Sikh communities, prabhdeep works with organizations and individuals to increase and expand existing efforts around gender and sexual liberation, particularly as these issues intersect with anti-Blackness, casteism, and class in the US.
My full thoughts and reflections on our interview can be found here in the monday musings.
Chit Chat Highlights
