Toward a Mishrit Sensibility: Transgressing Community Cultural Wealth for Queer Desi/South Asians

• In Event: What Does It Really Mean to Be "Asian"?

Abstract

Community cultural wealth scholarship has largely centered on black, latinx, and white queer communities, but not a queer person of color social location. This paper fills the void by focusing on queer Desi/South Asians and reporting on discoveries from an arts-informed qualitative research project examining their experiences in Toronto. Using critical race theory along with Anzaldúa’s (2009; 2015) “nepantlera,” I extend community cultural wealth by proposing a Mishrit (Hindi meaning mixedness) sensibility as one way that queer Desi/South Asians understand and negotiate their multiple marginalization while acknowledging their de/colonizing positionality. I conclude by offering implications for how educators might be able to better support and sustain queer students of colour within education settings.

Author

• Dirk J. Rodricks, University of Toronto