Alizeh shines. Alizeh strikes you as strong, glamorous, diva-like. Like someone who does not want to be ignored – to the contrary, Alizeh wants to polarize. As a young man with red lips, stubbly beard and slung into a tight sari, they like to wear high heels. On Instagram, Alizeh is known as “Girl with a beard”. On the dusty streets of Mumbai, Alizeh addresses trans women who work as prostitutes – the “Hijras” are organized in communities in India. Alizeh slips them money while one cigarette after another smoulders between their fingers. At home, the lipstick is gone, the high heels have been taken off. Where tradition is above one’s own identity, Alizeh is “somewhere in between”, and they feel again, what it means to be queer in India.
Alizeh shines. Alizeh strikes you as strong, glamorous, diva-like. Like someone who does not want to be ignored – to the contrary, Alizeh wants to polarize. As a young man with red lips, stubbly beard and slung into a tight sari, they like to wear high heels. On Instagram, Alizeh is known as “Girl with a beard”. On the dusty streets of Mumbai, Alizeh addresses trans women who work as prostitutes – the “Hijras” are organized in communities in India. Alizeh slips them money while one cigarette after another smoulders between their fingers. At home, the lipstick is gone, the high heels have been taken off. Where tradition is above one’s own identity, Alizeh is “somewhere in between”, and they feel again, what it means to be queer in India.