Shan De Silva (all pronouns) is a gender fluid/non binary model in Sri Lanka for the past 7 years working for local and international brands.

Let's talk fashion! What got you into fashion? What was it like being the first gender non-conforming model walking Colombo Fashion Week? What were the reactions? Do you see any changes in the fashion world since? Shan gives answers to all these questions and goes on taking it from the fashion world to the queer world in Sri Lanka. They talk about the first pride in Sri Lanka and gives an insight into the community in its beauty, power and challenges. In doing so Shan talks about the intersection of gender and class as well as queerness in the "Aragalaya"

Breaking boundaries is a "Queering the Perspective" passion and certainly Shan fits very well into this taking on the fashion world by storm and refusing a "NO" from the gender binary. For more background information on the importance of fashion in queer identities as well as the intersections with colonization check this blogpost on our website

This podcast is partially funded by Heinrich Böll Stiftung Phnom Penh, Cambodia & Heinrich Böll Stiftung New Delhi, India in collaboration with SafeSpaceBtB

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feel free to reach out if you have any feedback, questions, suggestions for future topics/guests via Instagram or e-mail: belissima@riseup.net

I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here