Shaun Debnath: "I want to be a reference for queer Indian people in Catalonia"

BarcelonaShaun Debnath (Barcelona, 2004) was born and raised in Raval. He is a content creator and defines himself as "Catalan, Indian, and gay: triple threat". We meet in the gardens of the Historic Building of the University of Barcelona, where, between study hours for his computer engineering exams (a detail he mentions in a low voice so as not to reinforce stereotypes), he grants us some time to talk about his experience on social media.

What inspired you to create content?

— I started last year on TikTok following some racist comments on a post where I appeared in queer attire. They told me: “What would happen if you wore this clothing in your country?”I realized that my reality as a Catalan and Bengali Indian was not being seen. Then I started talking about issues that affect me, such as my homosexuality intertwined with my Indian identity. And about the racism we receive, which is not talked about much.

What do you expect to achieve by talking about your experience? 

— I want to be a reference for Indian people queer in Catalonia. Well, I don't consider myself a benchmark, but I do understand that I serve as an example of a person queer an Indian who lives in Barcelona. I hope someone can identify with the problems I explain and see that they are not alone.

Do you feel it is like this? 

— Many South Asian queer people have written to me thanking me for giving voice to these issues. It has also helped me bond with a group of Indian queers I have met. I was very surprised to meet them. It's a pleasure. They've been here my whole life and it's been like saying: “After 21 years I finally meet you, I finally know of your existence”. I didn't know guys like me before. 

And how do you handle negative comments?

— The hate from the Catalan or Spanish audience I expect, because they are not used to seeing a gay Indian on social media. But this hate is not what matters to me, what hurts me is what comes from the Indian community.

Why?

— Within the Indian community, they tend to have a more conservative mentality according to which one must follow the tradition of being a man who promotes the roles of the patriarchy, religious, who works, who studies engineering… and superheterosexual. It is something I have had to battle with my family and even with my schoolmates.

 Do they know at home that you are a content creator? 

— My mother knows and she is the one with whom I have shared the different things I have done. But there is a part of the family with which I understand it will be more difficult… We will have to break ground. The part of my father's family knows nothing because as soon as my content reaches the family they say “why is he doing this? It's not good for him… Let him keep studying; let him be quiet and keep studying”. I live it well now, but I suffer for those people in my situation who do not have a space to vent. 

Your content has a strong political discourse… 

— I try to give a speech with a clear and anti-racist message. Racism towards the Indian community has never been taken seriously; on social media, we have always been treated humorously and with easy jokes. We go from the caricature of Apu from The Simpsons to the stereotypical image of the supermarket shopkeeper. When I was little, my family had a supermarket, but they had to give it up because it was unsustainable. Coming from this background, I perfectly understand the situation of many shopkeepers who have not had easy access to the labor market. In the end, they rely on the network of the Pakistani, Indian, or Bengali community. They start working because they encounter bureaucratic barriers that do not allow them to access the market where they would really like to.

You are also a great defender of the Raval.

— I wear the Raval label with great pride. Every time I say I'm from Raval, they respond: "Oh, how dangerous." It makes me very tired. They have the neighborhood stigmatized by the four crimes in the news and not by its multicultural richness. But, of course, so much diversity surprises white people who are not used to it, and they end up seeing multiculturalism as a synonym for poverty.

Some people say there isn't enough Catalan in El Raval. 

— This discourse that says that Catalan is not spoken is a very easy discourse and wins many "Likes", but it is not true. It is said that there is a lack of Catalan in the shops, but it is also true that many of the migrant people who have arrived in the Raval have not had the margin of time that I have had to learn it at school. But they make the effort. In schools, in tutorials with the teachers…

What else is left to do?

— Catalan workshops and classes are already being held, and it is very necessary that they continue to be held from a more inclusive perspective. But not so much thinking about the'expat; I see a kind of promotion of "Catalan for tourists", where someone who knows how to say a few things receives comments like: "Oh, how nice, you're one more Catalan woman." No, that doesn't work that way.