Break The Closet
Organising an event for the queer community to break the ‘closet’ they are forced to live in
In 2014, the LGBTQIA+ community in India had no freedom to safely express their sexual orientation or gender fluidity. As a student at Miami Ad School, my copywriter partner and I were given a brief to work on this problem. We collaborated with a local nonprofit ‘Yaariyan’ to understand the biggest challenges their community was facing.
Research
In India, until 2018 ‘homosexuality’ was a criminal offence. My copywriter partner and I approached a local nonprofit, Yaariyan and spoke to their volunteers to better understand the major challenges they faced. Our conversations revealed that the inability to ‘come out’ in a safe space was the toughest to deal with .
Ideation
We came up with an idea to organise an event where the homosexual and transgender community could come together with their friends and family and break an actual closet. The aim was to get people to open up about their sexual orientation or gender identity in a safe environment, free of judgement or repercussions.
Implementation
In 2014 #BreakTheCloset was planned to coincide with the National Coming Out Day held in Ocotber. More than 100 people attended the event. Our biggest triumph was when young men and women used this opportunity to share their stories and break out of the closet in front of their friends and families.
