stitching together stories of belonging

stitching together stories of belonging is a narrative based zine focused on amplifying the voices of south asian queer creatives in aotearoa new zealand. it hopes to capture a sense of our existence. providing us with an opportunity to connect with one another through collective story-telling. it is estimated that the south asian queer community in aotearoa consists of anywhere “between 13,800 to 17,000 individuals” (bal & divakalala, 2022, p. 16). despite this, there is a lack of both academic and mainstream discourse surrounding the minimal representation of queer south asian creatives. with “74% of [queer south asians] report[ing] that ... ethnic lgbt+ voices are not represented in aotearoa new zealand” (bal & divakalala, 2022, p. 58). the creative sector has normalised narratives of exceptional abilities and entrepreneurial initiative. these narratives fail to address the ingrained inequalities that block doors for creatives who do not look the part, which is a white-cis-hetero-able-bodied male. in recent years we have seen increased demands for diversity within all job sectors. a multitude of groups and organisations have been created to help support and increase diversity in the workplace. most initiatives are aimed at broad groups, such as women, and specific industries, such as trades or engineering (engineering new zealand, 2023, women in stem, 2023, women in trades nz, 2023). however, these often fail to have an intersectional approach critical for meaningful engagement with diversity. creative industries are often excluded from these discussions due to their assumed meritocratic nature. my specific focus on south asian queer communities comes from my concerns upon reflecting on my identity and place within the creative field. south asian people are often excluded from the everyday discourse surrounding issues facing asian people. bipoc (brown and indigenous people of colour) queer people are even less likely to be thought about when discussing diversity equity and inclusion. stitching together stories of belonging hopes to capture the sense of our existence. providing us with an opportunity to connect with one another through collective story-telling.