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Alyy Patel

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Sonali (Alyy) Patel
Patel at Pride Toronto's 2019 Parade
Born
Sonali Patel

1996 (age 27–28)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Other namesAlyy Patel
EducationUniversity of Toronto (BA);
University of Ottawa (MA);
University of British Columbia (PhD)
Occupations
  • Canadian LGBTQ+ Activist
  • Sociologist
  • Author
  • Public Speaker
Known forSouth Asian-Canadian LGBTQ+ Activism,
Pioneering Research on Queer South Asian Women in Canada [1]
Notable workBrown Girls Can't Be Gay: Racism Experienced by Queer South Asian Women in the Toronto LGBTQ Community (2019);
Don't Tell My Parents: Queer Diasporic Truths (2022)
Websitealyypatel.com

Sonali Patel, also known as Alyy Patel, is a Canadian LGBTQ+ activist. She is best known for her research, advocacy, and public speaking engagements concerning the issues and experiences of Queer South Asian Women in Canada.[2] Patel has made monumental strides for Queer South Asian diaspora in the Canadian LGBTQ+ movement.[3] Patel is among the first to academically theorize and advocate for the culturally unique discrimination against Queer South Asian Women in North American LGBTQ+ Communities. Patel is a pioneer of research on Queer South Asian Women in Canada.[4] Patel first coined the acronym 'QSAW' to abbreviate 'Queer South Asian Women' as a group or collective identity.[5]

Patel rose in prominence upon the publication of her article "Brown Girls Can't Be Gay:" Racism Experienced by Queer South Asian Women in the Toronto LGBTQ Community" (conducted in 2018, published in 2019).[3] In 2019, Patel founded a grassroots organization, the Queer South Asian Women's Network (QSAW), which works to mobilize, visibilize, and connect gender-marginalized LGBTQ+ South Asians in Canada.[6] In 2020 and 2024, Patel made Toronto LGBTQ+ history as the first speaker of South Asian descent at Pride Toronto's Dyke March.[7] In 2023, Patel was recognized as one of Top 7 South Asians in Canada for her trailblazing efforts in systemic changemaking.[8] Patel is the author of Don't Tell My Parents: Queer Diasporic Truths.

Early and personal life

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Patel grew up in Halton Region, Ontario. She is born to parents of Indo-African Gujarati descent. She has been involved in community volunteering initiatives focused on social justice from a young age.

Patel speaks extensively about surviving intimate partner violence in lesbian relationships, dedicating her first book to this topic.[9] She also speaks and writes about balancing both LGBTQ+ and South Asian identities through her activism, public speaking engagements, and academic research.[3][9][10]

Career

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Research on Queer South Asian Women

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In 2018-19, Patel pioneered Canadian research on Queer South Asian Women's issues.[11] Patel's research initially examined the culturally unique forms of racial discrimination against queer South Asian women in North American LGBTQ+ communities. This was followed by research on the institutional mechanisms that reinforce the exclusion and invisibilization of queer South Asian women in LGBTQ+ communities.[12] Patel's later, award-winning research focuses on second-generation queer South Asian women's experiences in the sexual minority closet.[13][14] She publishes her research under her legal name, Sonali Patel. She is a sociologist by academic training.[15]

LGBTQ+ Activism

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Patel is a trailblazing LGBTQ+ activist, who has made monumental strides for Queer South Asian Women in North America. In 2019, Patel solely founded the Queer South Asian Women's Network to mobilize the needs of gender-marginalized LGBTQ+ South Asians in Canada.[16] Through this organization, Patel brought together a community of queer South Asian women across the diaspora, making Patel a prominent figure in the formation of a distinct community for queer South Asian women.[17]

From 2022-24, Patel hosted the largest annual community picnic and nightclub party for LGBTQ+ South Asian women in Toronto.[17] She has also organized similar events in Vancouver, Ottawa, and Montreal, bringing together queer South Asian women locally. From 2021-24, Patel organized the largest virtual speed friending events for Queer South Asian women, trans, and nonbinary people.[16]

In addition to community organizing, Patel advocates for LGBTQ+ South Asian women's inclusion through podcasts, speeches, consulting organizations, and her social media platforms. Other notable initiatives for LGBTQ+ South Asians include co-founding the Queer Gujarati Parivaar for the LGBTQ+ Gujarati diaspora in 2021.[9]

Patel's LGBTQ+ activism is not limited to LGBTQ+ South Asians. In 2015, Patel coordinated the first LGBTQ+ Pride in Halton Region with the Positive Space Network. Between 2014-2018, Patel advocated for queer inclusion and coordinated several LGBTQ+ initiatives as a student activist at the University of Toronto, including (but not limited to): lobbying for gender-neutral washrooms, co-chairing the End the Ban campaign, etc.[18]

Influence

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As an LGBTQ+ South Asian trailblazer, Patel has been invited to speak at over 50 events, organizations, and schools, such as the International Film Festival of South Asia, Pride Toronto, Wattpad, Ontario Government, University of Toronto, and more. In 2023, Patel appeared on Amazon Prime Video's Pride Campaign in downtown Toronto's Yonge–Dundas Square.[19]

In 2020 (and again in 2024), Patel was the first South Asian speaker at Pride Toronto's Dyke March, highlighting the inequalities faced by Brown lesbians.[20] In 2022, Patel was the first queer South Asian speaker at the Ontario Government's Pride Flag Raising Ceremony.[21]

Patel's research, activism, and creative work are highly influential in rethinking intersectional inclusion in the context of LGBTQ+ identities (i.e., changing dominant conceptions of what a lesbian looks like).[11][12][13]

Author

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In 2022, Patel published her first poetry book Don't Tell My Parents: Queer Diasporic Truths. She went on her Canada-wide book tour in 2024.

Awards and honours

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Works

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  • Patel, S. (2019). “Brown girls can’t be gay”: Racism experienced by queer South Asian women in the Toronto LGBTQ community. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 23(3), 410-423, DOI: 10.1080/10894160.2019.1585174
  • Patel, S. (2021). Not All Lesbians are White: The Struggles of a Queer South Asian Woman in Essays on Queer Joy (Ed. Samantha Mann).
  • Patel, S. (2022). Don't Tell My Parents: Queer Diasporic Truths
  • Patel, S. (2024). Theorizing A Denial Reaction to Coming Out: Revising Goffman's Stigma through a Sexual Identity Process Model

References

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  1. ^ Patel, Sonali (2019). "Brown girls can't be gay: Racism experienced by queer South Asian women in the Toronto LGBTQ community". Journal of Lesbian Studies. 23 (3): 410–423. doi:10.1080/10894160.2019.1585174. PMID 30907270. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  2. ^ Patel, Sonali. "Meet Alyy Patel". Alyy Patel. Wix.
  3. ^ a b c Mann, Samantha (31 July 2020). "Meet Alyy Patel, Founder of Queer South Asian Womxn's Network (QSAW)". Bust Magazine. Archived from the original on 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  4. ^ Patel, Sonali (29 June 2022). "The invisibility of queer South Asian-Canadians". Rabble.
  5. ^ Patel, Sonali (2019). ""Brown girls can't be gay": Racism experienced by queer South Asian women in the Toronto LGBTQ community". Journal of Lesbian Studies. 23 (3): 410–423. doi:10.1080/10894160.2019.1585174. PMID 30907270. Archived from the original on 2022-09-29. Retrieved 2022-09-29 – via Taylor & Francis Online.
  6. ^ "Queer South Asian Women's Network". QSAWnetwork.com. Queer South Asian Women's Network. Archived from the original on 2024-07-16. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  7. ^ Patel, Sonali. "LGBTQ+ South Asian Trailblazer: Alyy Patel". Alyy Patel. Wix.
  8. ^ a b "South Asian Heritage Month Campaigns". Council for Agencies Serving South Asians. CASSA. 8 February 2023. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Patel, Sonali (2022). Don't Tell My Parents: Queer Diasporic Truths. Vancouver, BC: FriesenPress. ISBN 978-1-03-914497-2.
  10. ^ Mann, Samantha, ed. (2022). I Feel the Love: An Anthology of Queer Joy. Read Furiously. ISBN 9781737175872.
  11. ^ a b Patel, Sonali (2019). ""Brown Girls Can't Be Gay": Racism Experienced by Queer South Asian Women in the Toronto LGBTQ Community". Journal of Lesbian Studies. 3 (23): 410–423. doi:10.1080/10894160.2019.1585174. PMID 30907270.
  12. ^ a b Patel, Sonali (2021). The Politics of Not Giving A Sh*t: Understanding the Invisibilization of Queer South Asian Women in Pride Toronto. University of Ottawa Research Repository (Thesis). Archived from the original on 2022-02-06. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  13. ^ a b Patel, Sonali (2024). "Theorizing A Denial Reaction to Coming Out: Revising Goffman's Stigma through a Sexual Identity Process Model". Sociology Compass. 18 (7). doi:10.1111/soc4.13246.
  14. ^ a b CSA. "Best Student Paper Awards". Canadian Sociology Association. Archived from the original on 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  15. ^ UBC, Sociology. "Graduate Students: Sonali Alyy Patel". University of British Columbia Sociology. UBC Sociology Department. Archived from the original on 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  16. ^ a b Harriman, Kirby (2023). "Futures of Queer Space in Toronto". Ontario College of Arts and Design MRP. Archived from the original on 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  17. ^ a b "About QSAW Network". QSAWnetwork.com. Queer South Asian Women's Network. Archived from the original on 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  18. ^ Potylitsina, Veronika (17 February 2017). "ALYY PATEL: EQUITY HEROINE". Her Campus. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  19. ^ CISION. "Amazon Canada celebrates Pride Month With #ProudToBe and the Prime Video #NotJustForShow Campaigns, in Partnership With Pride Toronto and Other Local 2SLGBTQ+ Groups". CISION. Archived from the original on 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  20. ^ Patel, Alyy (2 July 2024). "Dyke March Speech Toronto". YouTube. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Queer South Asian Perspectives on Pride | Alyy Patel Speaks at Ontario's Pride Flag Raising Ceremony". YouTube. Queer South Asian Women's Network. 23 June 2022. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  22. ^ DiverCity (27 January 2021). "Announcing the winners of this year's LGBTQ2S+ January Marie Lapuz Youth Leadership Awards!". DiverCity. Archived from the original on 12 February 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
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