June is globally celebrated as Pride Month globally, honoring the LGBTQIA+ community, promoting equal rights, and celebrating sexual and gender diversity. In observance of this month, TCHRD is launching a month-long campaign titled “Queer Tibetan Voices: LGBTQIA+ Tibetans on identity, community, and belonging.” The campaign will introduce members from the LGBTQIA+ through vodcast (video podcast) series on TCHRD’s social media platform.
The campaign aims to address a critical gap in our society, where issues related to gender and sexual orientation are often overlooked or suppressed due to deeply embedded conservative values.
As part of this initiative, TCHRD has been interviewing Tibetan individuals in India and across the globe to document their lived experiences. To celebrate and amplify the voices of LGBTQIA+ members within our community, TCHRD will be releasing a new interview every Thursday and Sunday on our official YouTube channel.
By centering the stories and perspectives of LGBTQIA+Tibetans, TCHRD aims to shed light on the unique challenges and realities of navigating marginalized identities within the Tibetan cultural context. Through these conversations, we hope to foster greater awareness, encourage meaningful dialogue, and create inclusive spaces where individuals can find connection, support, and genuine sense of belonging.
In an interview with Tenzin Yangdol la, a tattoo artist based in Dehradun, she shared the impact of finding community and connection through the Tibetan Equality Project.
“I discovered the Tibetan Equality Project, and through it, made amazing Queer friends. Last year, I met the founder, Tsomo la and this year I met Mingyur la. Growing up, I never had queer friends from our Tibetan community and often felt isolated. Meeting them was deeply emotional for me. Since then, I never looked back; it’s just growth and strength.”
Yangdol’s experience raises a pressing concern in our community where LGBTQIA + members often feel marginalized and neglected, constantly searching for safe spaces and communities that can genuinely support them, understand their challenges, and accept them for who they are. Safe spaces and open conversations can only thrive when our broader community recognizes that LGBTQIA+ identities are not a western concept, but a natural part of human diversity that has always existed.
Mingyur Paldron, a transgender Tibetan artist, author, and community educator in New York City, emphasized, “ Every Tibetan is part of the community. And to strengthen our community, each individual should feel strong and supportive. So, if some individuals are pushed aside, not only does it weaken them. It weakens our whole community. And our goal is to build a strong community,”
To conclude this interview series, our video collection also features a conversation with Ms. Tsering Kyi la from the Women Empowerment Desk (WED) of the Central Tibetan Administration. This dialogue aims to foster constructive exchange, share perspectives, and explore actionable ways to strengthen awareness, inclusion, and support for LGBTQIA+ individuals in our community.
“Throughout this process, from identifying participants and reaching out to them to conducting the interviews, we have encountered a range of societal and systemic challenges. People often refuse to come out and share their stories though they have been aware about their gender identity, fearing they couldn’t uplift the cultural expectations. Young Tibetans who are currently navigating their sexuality, fear they might lose their connection to their heritage and the community if they come out ” said Phurbu Dolma, TCHRD staff who worked on this campaign.
