EP 19 – Ruin the dinner party

Shomudro Das is Bengali/Pākehā and lives in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa (Auckland, New Zealand).

Shomudro is formally known as Sarita. You’ll hear Sarita during the episode once or twice because they were going by that name during our interview. 

We chat about:

• Our rebellious parents

• Missionaries rebranding as aid workers

• Parents who don’t accept your queerness

• International boarding school life

• The assumption that a good education is a western education

• Honey Birdette working conditions are terrible

• Somatic sexology

• The intersection of social work and sex education in Aotearoa

• Picking which Bangladeshi outfits to wear as a non-binary person

• We are not just biracial

• Shomudro’s one person show Perfect Shade about colourism in South Asia

• Leveraging light skinned privilege to do the mahi (work) around colourism

• Body Haus a queer strip club night to empower queer people of all shapes, sizes and genders

• ‘Marginalised’ is something a white saviour would say before they try and help you

• POC & non-binary are placeholders

Mixed media: BodyHaus co-founded with Kyah Dove and Brown Boy Magik: https://www.instagram.com/bodyhausnz/

Associate Professor Katie Fitzpatrick’s work: Sexuality Education: A Guide for Principals, Boards of Trustees and Teachers (2015)

The Institute of Somatic Sexology in Queensland

Guest: Shomudro Das

Edited by: Maria Birch-Morunga