Geetika (@geetikaasawhney /@theryaypy) reimagines queerness beyond the script as a way of life and a way to experience agency for the self and care systems we are born into. 

Geetika says, 
"Living my queer-trans identity each day isn’t just in isolation to my gender identity- while it definitely plays such a defining role. When I start to think of my life as a queer person, it becomes so much about moving beyond the dichotomy of a man and a woman, normal and abnormal, either and or, and so forth. 

Fundamentally, when we speak of the word queer, it automatically translates to moving beyond the social ‘normative’. This also aptly relates to the care ecosystem, especially now when terms of inclusion such as ‘trauma- informed’ ‘anti-caste’ ‘anti-oppression’ ‘queer- affirmative’ are very prominent prefixes being used. Language is such an irony here where inclusive language- is such an important part of queering mental health care and other spaces and yet, at the same time inclusion and affirmation also moves to embodying these meanings when we say we are queer- friendly practitioners and not just end at using the right terminologies. This inherently brings in a more circular lens towards understanding what ‘good’ health looks like, which closely mimics the core principles of what we could also label as a ‘trauma- informed lens’.

Queering my life also means understanding my way of working, eating- be it eating the same quantity of parathas each day, be it eating the same paneer dish every day because it’s a texture I absolutely love, be it the weekly chicken biryani ritual from my fav place- to return home each day to this comfort- and the sameness isn’t a bother but my need for the few textures that appeal to me. And even though there are days when I am not able to be gentle towards these needs, being able to hold on to the hope and knowing there are still a thousand possibilities- queerness saves me.