S. L. FULLER
Editor in Chief
Toronto-based author Vivek Shraya called Alberta the “Texas of Canada.” To a room full of Fredonia students and faculty, this comparison proved vivid enough. Alberta is the province in which Shraya grew up as a queer Hindu, which adds another whole dimension to his already atypical life.
Shraya said that his birth was something largely based on misogynistic principles, with his mother praying for a son.
“And yet, here I am,” said Shraya. “I turned out the way I did.”
A dress-wearing, makeup-loving, genderqueer artist.
As part of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program’s Fall Gathering and Pride Alliance’s closing ceremonies for Queer History Month, Shraya was invited to read from his two books, as well as host an extensive question and answer session for anyone interested in attending on Oct. 29.
“God Loves Hair,” Shraya’s first book, is a collection of short stories based largely on his own experiences. “She of the Mountain,” is his second book, but first novel. Even those who hadn’t read Shraya’s works were captivated by his brash and unapologetically descriptive vernacular, with illustrations to match.
Hinduism is an ever-present theme in Shraya’s work, with much of his material inspired by his religion. The idea of the queer community and religion intersecting is largely unheard of, but Shraya said he turned to Hinduism to find his role models when he was growing up.
“Another thing that I wanted to do with ‘God Loves Hair’ is challenge this idea that faith and queerness can’t coexist,” said Shraya. “I think that religious texts have persecuted many LGBT people and so we do tend to have complicated feelings towards religion. But for me, Hinduism was one of my only safe spaces growing up.”
Shraya explained that Hindu gods are often portrayed with long hair and rosy cheeks. They sing and dance and are usually surrounded by female friends. These are all things that Shraya said he was made fun of for as a kid. But in Hinduism, that kind of behavior is accepted — a very different notion than most are used to regarding religion.
“I thought [Shraya] was doing something really different and in a lot of different ways … bringing in intersections of race and ethnicity and religion,” said Visiting Assistant English Professor and Women’s and Gender Studies Program Coordinator Jeffry Iovannone. “I knew I had to assign his work in [my] class.”
This semester Iovannone is teaching Queer Studies in Literature. This led him to ask Shraya to visit Fredonia.
“I think it’s such a meaningful experience for the students,” continued Iovannone, “that they get to read the author’s work and then meet the author.”
It took a few minutes for students to start raising their hands during the question and answer period. But because of the nature of the topics in Shraya’s book, and his open personality in general, once the questions started, a flow began. No subjects were off-limits and an open conversation — about everything from music, which is Shraya’s first love, to racism in the pornography industry — flourished.
“For me,” said Shraya to the audience, “so much of making work is about getting to share it with you, having your responses and getting to hear the things that you’re excited about, [like] what’s connecting, what’s not connecting … I love coming to different places [to present].”
Also working as a human rights advisor and safe space coordinator, which is comparable to Fredonia’s Safe Zone, at Toronto’s George Brown College, Shraya generates his positive social justice messages in places beyond his writing.
Senior women’s and gender studies and public relations double major Amanda Pruden noted how important Shraya’s messages were for Fredonia specifically.
“I know a lot of people who — religion really didn’t help them and had the opposite effect,” said Pruden. “It was just really nice to see [Shraya’s] experience as a genderqueer person trying to grow up [as] a bisexual, genderqueer Indian person. It’s just an amazing thing to learn about — completely different from a lot of what Fredonia knows.”
Pruden went on to say how she hopes that Shraya returns to Fredonia in the future, a sentiment echoed by Shraya himself. With a book of poetry and a children’s book both set to be released in the fall of next year, Shraya hopes to have the opportunity to come back to Fredonia and engage with the campus once again.
