Hello everyone! My name is Angel Mary Joseph. I am a rising senior at the University of Pittsburgh studying Film and Media studies (Critical Studies). Through my research, I am trying to create a sort of “Introduction to LGBTQ+ representation in contemporary popular Hindi media.” The media I focus on is considered pan-Indian and has a significant place in Indian pop culture so analyzing the changing forms of representation provides a litmus test to LGBTQ+ acceptance in the audience of this media.
During my time studying these media, I noticed a significant lack of bisexual characters in Bollywood, even during the “Queer Wave” in 2019-2022. Contrary to this, the popular Hindi web series of the 2020s have had many bisexual characters and a lot more conversation about the fluidity of sexuality. This was an interesting dichotomy and in my paper, I plan to uncover the reasons that these queer characters, surrounded by the context of a digital India, are a frequent element of these popular web series. I also want to examine the censorship or lack thereof imposed on these series and how they allow sexuality to presented as fluid. In the paper, I also compare these representations to similar globally popular LGBTQ+ characters in web series to analyze the similarities and contrasts.
This paper is one in a series of papers discussing basics of LGBTQ+ representation in popular contemporary Hindi media. My other papers discuss patterns of queer representation through degrees of queerness portrayed in Bollywood films. This means looking at unlabeled non-heterosexual representations, queer characters in supporting roles and films focused on a central queer character. Each type of representation adds to conversations of LGBTQ+ lives and state of rights as the community fights for rights such as “gay marriage” and anti-discrimination laws.
In the future, I hope to delve into the representation of gender queerness and feminine sexuality in popular Indian media, viewing it through the lens of LGBTQ+ representation and understanding sexuality as fluid through characters in popular media. During this summer, I hope to convert my research into a BPhil project.
After graduation, I am hoping to continue my research through a Masters or PhD program in Film and Media Studies. This fellowship helps me develop my research towards that goal, and get a feel for leading an individual research project.
Outside the academic elements of my research, I also created a student organization called BYO Bollywood to provide a space for cultural joy through desi (Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi) films and film culture (music, dance, memes, etc.) I also host a show through WPTS radio that plays desi music on Sundays, 7-9 PM.