PRISM 🫧

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Hi, how was your week?

Get ready for a newsletter full of colors, pride, and, most importantly—LOVE!

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WEEKLY FAVORITES 💌

In this series, AHN shares our top picks from the past week—whether it's music, a movie, or a random find. We hope they bring you a little joy and maybe even spark some new experiences!

🎞️ The Handmaiden (2016)

Language: Korean, Japanese
Genre: Thriller

If you’re down to go back in time to the early 1900s, when Korea was still under Japanese rule, as a pickpocket, listen to a man’s instruction on how to take over an inheritance from a Japanese noble lady, but then end up having some gay awakening along the way? If yes, this movie was made for you. Plus, the fact that queer Asian women rarely get any representation in the media. Despite surrounding controversies of male gaze and misogyny, this movie serves as a step forward for queer Asian women onscreen.

🎨 Chitra Ganesh

Work: Visual artist
Theme: Hindu mythology, femininity, sexuality

This Indian, Brooklyn-based female artist is making waves in the American landscape of art. Inspired by her heritage and India’s diverse history of cultures, spirituality, and stories of sexualities and femininities, she has made art that reflects the intersection of those three—further proving that Indian heritage is inseparable from femininity and sexuality.

India, before British colonialism, expressed an open perspective of queer identity, where hijras—considered a third gender in Indian society, with mostly male-born individuals dressing in traditional feminine ways—were highly revered.

WORD OF THE WEEK 🗞️

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MINIGAME: 2 TRUTHS AND 1 LIE 🎍

Welcome to this small minigame! The rules are simple. We share three Asian cultural facts—two true and one false. You will choose the lie. 

Continue reading to check the answer. 😁

Erased but Unbroken: Hijras Under British Rule 🪷

Under British colonization in India, the hijra community was severely oppressed and ostracized. They were considered a threat to public morality and colonial power, treated as criminals under tight surveillance, restricted from wearing feminine-looking clothing, public performances, along with police brutality. The British also segregated children from the community in the name of moral protection. 

However, through the dust, they survived. Despite strict law enforcement, they still kept their traditions and cultures undercover. Now, the hijras are still present in South Asia, recognized as third gender by India’s Supreme Court in 2014, holding significant meaning in many important rituals. Their story is a wonderful example of resilience against oppression, a rise against the dirt.

From Silence to Pride: A Gay Malaysian Refugee's Journey to Freedom

Warren Hallett, born in a Muslim family in Batu Pahat, Malaysia, grew up believing his sexuality was sinful and spent years hiding his true self. After fleeing an abusive childhood and facing homelessness, sex work, and two suicide attempts, he sought refuge in the UK.

In 2000, he became the first person granted asylum there for being LGBTQ and has since built a new life, marrying a man and working as a policy adviser to the British Home Office. Now, he gives back by volunteering for LGBTQ charities, believing that “living authentically” can be life-saving.

WEEKLY SNAPSHOTS 🧠

MYSTERY SOLVED 🔍

✅ True — Ancient Chinese emperors had male lovers and wrote poetry about them. One even cut his sleeve so he wouldn’t wake his boyfriend — talk about royal romance! ✂️

❌ Lie — Samurai only dated women and would duel anyone who suggested otherwise… except nah, they were out here writing love letters to their “bros” between battles. 💌

✅ True — The Kama Sutra didn’t skip the spice — it openly included same-sex relationships way before colonial laws showed up and ruined the vibe. 📚

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