Indian, American. Immigrant, Culture. Sexism, Racism. Wife, Mother, Physician.

These labels, these titles have been, and continue to be such a prominent part of my life. They define me.

I started dating and felt consciously discriminated against for the first time. Coming out of a long term relationship, moving to a bigger city and really putting myself out there, made me realize that I look different and I do not like it.

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community and as a person of color, there are times where I find it difficult to see myself being represented. I’ve realized that the lack of Asian LGBTQ+ representation has impacted the way that I feel about myself as a young woman.

I can’t speak or understand Hindi, much like many American children of Indian immigrants. I garble my way through popular Bollywood songs and I watch my movies with subtitles, but that doesn’t stop me from appreciating Indian cinema.