Sher Vancouver Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

To end our podcast journey, we invite a trained Indian Classical Vocalist who has been singing and performing Kirtan since the age of 9 years. His talent was recognized in the Sikh Community in April 2010 where his music and chanting started being celebrated by the community all over the world. He is a certified Kundalini Yoga teacher and aspiring to bring awareness around LGBTQI in the South Asian community by creating QUEERKIRTAN to heal together with the wounded. Tune in to hear how Gurnimit Singh has transformed his life using Kirtan as his healing medicine.

We speak with Khushi, also known as Bad Shah, Canada's first Bollywood drag king. Khushi shares her journey as an international student from Mumbai to Victoria, BC, and how she found drag as an outlet to cope with the move. Her drag persona, Bad Shah, has become an icon among the South Asian LGBTQ+ community, making history by bringing representation and breaking barriers. Tune in to learn what it takes to be a solo Bollywood drag king amidst the popular queens. 

 We speak with Bianca Maieli who is a DJ/Producer born and raised in Los Angeles. She has both South Indian and Caribbean Colombian roots and uses her multiple identities to create her unique music sounds. She has worked with notable clients such as Nike, Spotify, Adidas & Samsung. Bianca Maieli represents a global dance sound, and has been making waves internationally. She is one of the co-founders of No-Nazar, a creative collective of South Asians DJs in LA, whose aim is to bring various cultures onto the dance floor. We speak with her about the joys and struggles of being a full-time DJ, No Nazar's story, and her wedding video that went viral on the internet gathering over 3 million views on YouTube. 

We speak with Agata Matyszczuk who works for Coast Mountain Bus Company as a transit operator and was the LGBTQ+ rep with her union UNIFOR. She was also elected to the BC Regional LGBTQ+ committee representing all BC locals. With this work, she helped organize the Pride float in Vancouver Pride and marched in many prides across BC through her union. Agata was also part of the first LGBTQ+ group to march in the Vasaikhi parade with UNIFOR. Join us to learn about Agata's advocacy work, love story, and for a special surprise towards the end to celebrate pride!

Sher Lotus is a peer support group for queer & trans women, non-binary, and two-spirited people. Agata & Jag Nagra founded this group (previously known as Sher Feline) in 2018. Join us for our monthly Sher Lotus events to meet these two lovely humans!

We sit with two trailblazers who are paving the way for queer Asian excellence in Vancouver. Van Dang is a gender-fluid, queer, Asian revolutionist who founded Ricecake in 2018 when they saw a lack of safe spaces for queer Asians. Bella, part DJ, part Event Producer, and part of the non-binary revolution, joined forces with Van as the house DJ. Together, with their combined expertise they bring you Vancouver's only Asian party. Ricecake is Vancouver’s year-round, non-stop celebration of Queer and Asian Pride. From Drag Dim Sum, to Songkran, to Phulkari, these cultural events are the safe spaces that queer folks didn't know they needed. Tune in to learn more about Ricecake and how our queer Asian siblings are building their own safe havens.

We speak with Finn Liu, a high school transgender Chinese student who is on a mission to spread awareness and inclusion for trans-identifying individuals within the Asian community. Currently in the 11th grade, Finn is heavily involved in and out of school and in extra-curriculars defying a typical high school student's schedule. Finn's resiliency and driven attitude is what got him selected to speak at TEDx Surrey 2023 as the youngest speaker. Tune in to learn how we can break down barriers and work towards better trans inclusion in our community. 

We speak with Surrey-based queer filmmaker and floral designer, Ritesh Matlani. Born and raised in Dubai, Ritesh shares with us his journey into filmmaking in Canada and his immigration struggles as an international student. Ritesh's films center around immigration, queerness, and BIPOC voices. Join us to learn about Ritesh's path into living an authentic life.

We speak with Sameer Ismail, president of Vancouver Friends For Life Society, a holistic wellness centre that provides many services to help people who face the challenges of HIV/AIDS, and other serious illnesses. Our intention is to educate and inform, because knowledge conquers fear. Join us to learn important factual information about HIV, and let's help end HIV stigma and discrimination within our community. 

Here are some of the HIV resources mentioned in this episode
1. https://getakit.ca/
2. https://www.readytoknow.ca/
3. https://www.cbrc.net/
4. https://www.catie.ca/catieca
5. http://www.bccdc.ca/
6.  http://www.bcwomens.ca/our-services/specialized-services/oak-tree-clinic
7. https://jrc.providencehealthcare.org/
8. https://spectrum-health.net/

We speak with Annie Ohana, a proud public-school educator and Indigenous Department Head at LA Matheson Secondary. She is an Anti Oppression Curriculum Specialist and a devoted community activist. Annie founded and directs Mustang Justice, an Anti Oppression and Justice oriented youth service Leadership group, which is now in its 10th year. If you feel you want to agitate and organize our current societal state, this episode is for you!

In this episode we discuss many terms. Here are the definitions for your reference

• GSA - Gay, Straight Alliance or Gender Sexuality Alliance. Found mainly in Secondary schools and Post-Secondary Institutions
• Groomer - a denigrating term that claims that 2SLGBTQIA+ people are pedophiles/ molesters
• Pansexual - being attracted to all people regardless of gender identity or sex
• SOGI - Sexual Orientation Gender Inclusion. SOGI is part of the BC curriculum

We speak with Saattvic, an equal rights activist and currently one of the petitioners before the Delhi High Court seeking the legalization of same-sex marriage in India.  We discuss Bollywood, love, coming out, and learn from an economist's point of view the importance of LGBTQIA+ folks to remain in their home country.