Between July 10, 2020 and September 19, 2021, @queerpunjab created and managed an Instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/queerpunjab/). Describing the profile/himself in the bio, he writes, “Queer Punjab he/him A safe platform for Lgbt/Queer Punjabis to share our stories & struggles 🏳️🌈”.
Through testimonials and 2 live video interviews, he had 1,148 followers and followed 110 accounts. The stories submitted to him typically shared what it felt like to be LGBT/Queer and Punjabi. The stories range in confidentiality (from individuals sharing their full identity to being entirely anonymous), in topic (e.g., joy, harm, sexual violence, communal uplift, general posts of uplift and history), length (1-4 posts in slidedeck), identity within Punjab (e.g., faith, location, age), and geography (e.g., based in Punjab now, born in Punjab). In their posts, Queer Punjab also wrote captions, which were all almost exclusively “Queer Punjab Story X @handle If you would like to contribute your story please dm this page. ਜੇ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਅਪਣੀ ਕਹਾਣੀ ਸ਼ੇ ਅਰ ਕਰਨੀ ਚਾਹੁੰਦੇ ਹੋ ਤਾਂ dm ਕਰੋ ਜੀ। We must record our struggles & emotions #QueerPunjab #LGBTPunjab”.
As of March 2025, the page is not posting any new content. While we do not have each individual’s name, we do have their Instagram account handles on occasion, which are usually included in the post. We do not reproduce the Instagram account handles separately since these may have changed since 2021. While Queer Punjab did collect at least 38 stories across 48 Instagram posts, three of these stories were “hidden” or “removed” from the profile (stories 9, 16, and 22). We were also unable to obtain the two live video recordings from the account (reels). In total, we share 113 posts in this collection: 35 stories, 11 general posts, and 1 profile picture.
