Episode 6 of Under the Brown Rainbow welcomes Mohan Kumar – a queer immigrant navigating coming out, breaking stereotypes, and building safer community spaces in Sydney. His pronouns are he/him.
In this conversation with host Kashif Harrison, Mohan shares his coming out journey – from years of believing he'd be ostracised, to choosing emigration as a path to live authentically, to finally telling his mum during a trip back to India. He talks about the relief of his sister's "You're my brother, end of story"; the layered process of his mum's "So what?" followed by months of patient conversations; and why coming out, in his experience, isn't a single event but a years-long unfolding.
We also talk about navigating life as a brown queer immigrant in Australia at a time when those identities feel increasingly under scrutiny; why he started running badminton, bouldering, and walking groups for queer South Asians (because not everyone wants the party scene); and the stereotype he most wants to break — that all our stories are sad. Plus a glimpse at his upcoming project, Coming Out, Coming Home: an audio series telling stories of culturally and linguistically diverse families who accepted their queer children.
Under the Brown Rainbow is hosted by Kashif Harrison and produced by Kunal Mirchandani. Presented by Trikone Australia.
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