Karishma’s Oral History

Description

Karishma is a genderqueer, Disabled South Asian person who was 23 at the time of recording. They discuss what it was like growing up as the eldest sibling dealing with emotionally abusive parents and struggling against gender roles. They were very involved in fandom culture on tumblr where they discovered lesbians. Artistic expression to Karishma, as an artist, is a source of expression and freedom to think through their gender, sexuality, and past traumas. Karishma often thinks about how race and disability inform their interactions with other Lesbians. Specifically, their Disability complicates dating because of arthritis and Lesbian stereotypes of long dates and even longer sex. They discuss meeting lesbians in art spaces while talking about the importance of lesbian community and what Lesbianism means for them.