City to host South India’s 1st meet-up of LGBTQIA community

A counselling session for people with questions about their sexuality, workshops to shed awareness as well as a speed-dating event for those interested in ‘non-sexual’ relationships will also be held. 

Organised by Indian Aces, an award-winning collective of asexual folk from or in India, active both online and offline, the festival that has been earlier held in cities like Delhi and Mumbai, is already creating a buzz among Chennaiites – with asexuality as a concept being widely misunderstood across the country. Pragati Singh, a healthcare professional, who is the founder of Indian Aces, said, “The forum is a place for people in the asexual spectrum in India, 

and we also have members from the likes of Pakistan and Bangladesh.” 

“Asexuality applies to people who don’t feel any sexual attraction for either gender, and the idea is to spread awareness and also answers questions on the topic. We have developed a module for people with an asexual orientation – which is highly useful to also mental health professionals, social/gender activities and so to help others,” Singh said. 

With Indian Aces being active for around four years now, Singh has helped countless people understand their sexuality better, and hopes that the LGBTQIA+ community in Chennai benefits from the event. “The event is open to not just asexual members, but anyone from the community who is looking to connect emotionally and in a non-sexual manner with partners. For instance, a gay man could want to meet a straight woman – that’s the kind of relationships that are formed at such events,” she said.