Studying the Representation of ‘Desi’ Queers in Select Graphic Texts from the 21st Century

Sreya Bhattacharya

Vol-10,Issue-6,November - December 2025

Author: Sreya Bhattacharya

Keywords: Comics, ‘Desi’, Mythology, Queer.

Abstract: Focusing on the limited amount of Indian and Indian origin/desi representation in comics and graphic novels, especially its emergence and popularization in the last two decades, this dissertation seeks to explore the portrayal of LGBTQIA+ people in India and Indian originated community in graphic literature and also contextualises these graphic texts in the light of the anti LGBTQIA+ legal and social environments in India and Indian originated communities, and further situates them within a larger arc of representation of queer story in the Indian and Indian originated community. The primary texts under examination are printed graphic novels and Indian comics anthologies in India like Kari (2008), Apsara Engine (2021), Jukebox (2021), Keeping in mind the timeline and contemporary ages and society's treatment of the queer people especially in India, it mainly focuses on why there is a lack of representation of queer people, especially ‘Desi’ queer people in comics and graphic novels, the accuracy of the representation, their treatment & acceptance in the society as shown in these graphic novels, & how the narrative for the desi queer people changes over the years post 2000s? Also interestingly, why do so many authors often take the help of mythology and alternate realities to portray the stories of queer people in their graphic novels instead of portraying them in reality? Alongside these grounds, this dissertation will also take on how these queer graphic novels challenge the cis-heteropatriarchal norms of the society.

Article Info: Received: 05 Oct 2025; Received in revised form: 03 Nov 2025; Accepted: 09 Nov 2025; Available online: 13 Nov 2025

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.106.10