View source for Footprints of a Queer History

{{short description|2022 nonfiction book by Maya Sharma}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox book
| name              = Footprints of a Queer History: Life Stories from Gujarat
| image             = 
| image_size        = 
| author            = Maya Sharma
| language          = English
| published         = 2022
| publisher         = [[Yoda Press]]
| subject           = [[History]], [[LGBTQ topics]]
| pub_place         = New Delhi, India
| pages             = 359
| isbn              = 978-9-382-57935-9
| oclc              = 
| dewey             = 
| congress          = 
| website           = 
| country           = 
}}
'''''Footprints of a Queer History: Life Stories from Gujarat''''' is a 2022 non-fiction book by Maya Sharma, published by [[Yoda Press]]. It shares the experiences of [[Trans man|trans men]] and [[lesbian]] women living in [[Gujarat]] and some of the politics and history affecting [[queer]] people there.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Saurabh |date=26 February 2023 |title=From memoirs to fiction, from poetry to YA, queer literature offers more reading options than ever |url=https://scroll.in/article/1044555/from-memoirs-to-fiction-from-essays-to-ya-queer-literature-offers-more-reading-options-than-ever |access-date=2026-03-18 |website=[[Scroll.in]] |language=en}}</ref> The book won the 2023 [[Rainbow Awards|Rainbow Award]] for Nonfiction.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Saurabh |date=11 December 2023 |title=Rainbow Lit Fest 2023: Winners of the inaugural Rainbow Awards for Literature and Journalism announced |url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/lifestyle/books/rainbow-lit-fest-2023-winners-of-the-inaugural-rainbow-awards-for-literature-and-journalism-announced-11886261.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211132750/https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/lifestyle/books/rainbow-lit-fest-2023-winners-of-the-inaugural-rainbow-awards-for-literature-and-journalism-announced-11886261.html |archive-date=11 December 2023 |access-date= |website=Moneycontrol |language=en}}</ref>

== Contents ==
''Footprints of a Queer History: Life Stories from Gujarat'' centers on the experiences of queer people, those who identified with shifting or marginal gender and sexual identities, and especially those who defied the bounds of the communities they lived in. It also tells the history of Vikalp and its evolution to serve more people, and discusses the policies and cultures that affected the opportunities available to queer people in Gujarat.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Saurabh |date=3 November 2022 |title=Stories Of People Like Us: Review Of ‘Footprints Of A Queer History’ |url=https://gaysifamily.com/culture/stories-of-people-like-us-review-of-footprints-of-a-queer-history/ |access-date=2026-03-19 |website=[[Gaysi]] |language=en-US}}</ref> The book additionally biographies Sharma's own life and history of activism with Vikalp.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Gandhi |first=Nanjani |date=14 December 2023 |title=Maya Sharma. Footprints of a Queer History: Life Stories from Gujarat |url=http://journals.openedition.org/samaj/8943 |journal=South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal |volume=31 |doi=10.4000/kk1j |via=OpenEdition Journals|doi-access=free }}</ref>

The book's preface provides background to how stories were gathered and Sharma's own relationship to the sources and issues used in the book. She explains that her definition of queer follows that of Arvind Narrain, saying more than describing LGBT people, it is "about loosening up the rigid structures of caste, gender and compulsory sexuality".<ref name=":3" /> Sharma also discusses how her understanding of LGBTQ issues and identities has shifted over time, alongside Vikalp's understanding and relation to the community. She explains that her language and terminology will evolve throughout the book to reflect this process of change.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Modi |first=Chintan Girish |date=16 September 2022 |title=Crossing the LGBTQIA+ bar |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/crossing-the-lgbtqia-bar-122091600861_1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921024946/https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/crossing-the-lgbtqia-bar-122091600861_1.html |archive-date=2022-09-21 |access-date=2026-03-18 |work=[[Business Standard]] |language=en}}</ref>

The early chapters discuss some queer history, culture, and politics in Gujarat.<ref name=":3" /> ''Footprints of a Queer History'' primarily shares the stories of queer people, especially trans men, in the chapters that follow. Alongside these stories, it discusses how queer people in Gujarat worked within the political and legal landscape to live their lives. One custom, ''Maitri Karar'', or friendship contract, allowed people to sign contracts to codify a relationship and living arrangement without marriage. Some queer women signed these contracts with their partners and lived together with some legal tolerance and rights.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 June 2023 |title=Maitri Karar: A Gujarati custom that allow queer relationships legitimacy |url=https://agentsofishq.com/post/maitri-karar-a-gujarati-custom-that-allow-queer-relationships-legitimacy-648af318474c4#:~:text=Agents%20of%20Ishq-,Maitri%20Karar:%20A%20Gujarati%20custom%20that%20allow%20queer%20relationships%20legitimacy,it%20to%20live%20together%20legally. |access-date=2026-03-19 |website=Agents of Ishq |language=en}}</ref> Sharma documents other legal strategies employed by queer people, as well as the advice and financial assistance provided to them by Vikalp.<ref name=":3" />

In the rest of the book, Sharma shares personal stories. These include those of Shashi, a trans woman who experiences obstacles in the Hijra community, Amitaben, a sex worker, Mataji, a follower of Goddess Dasha Maa who experiences gender fluidity, trans people like Ankit and Virat, and another person who wrote a letter to Vikalp in 2002 describing gender identity and relationship changes.<ref name=":3" /> She includes the stories of her own interviews, interactions, and thoughts concerning her subjects.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Maya |date=12 July 2022 |title=A new book captures personal stories of queerness within humdrum everyday life |url=https://scroll.in/article/1028002/a-new-book-captures-personal-stories-of-queerness-within-humdrum-everyday-life |access-date=2026-03-19 |website=[[Scroll.in]] |language=en}}</ref> Many of the stories document how queer people pursued authentic choices in living and relationships but dealt with violence, rejection and societal intolerance as well.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Saurabh |date=12 January 2023 |title=Year(B)Ender: Queerness In Literature In 2022 |url=https://gaysifamily.com/culture/yearbender-queerness-in-literature-in-2022/ |access-date=2026-03-19 |website=[[Gaysi]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Sharma also discusses her own opinions on many of the topics written about, including sex work, violence, and preferred pronouns.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite thesis |last=Arunima |first=Theraja |title=Kaleidoscopic (Re)belongings: An Analysis of Desire in Personal Narratives by Queer Indian Womxn |date=March 2023 |access-date=March 18, 2026 |degree=PhD |publisher=University of York |url=https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/34324/1/Theraja_204046793_CorrectedThesisClean.pdf}}</ref><sup>:163</sup>

== Development ==
Maya Sharma published her first work, ''Loving Women: Being Lesbian in Unprivileged India'', in 2006. It was the first book to provide a detailed study of the lives of working-class queer women and trans people in India.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /><sup>:20-21</sup> Sharma identifies as a lesbian, feminist, and non-academic activist. She has worked for years with Vikalp, a group founded to support Gujarat women dealing with domestic violence, which expanded to help with discrimination issues across identities. A subgroup called Sabrang supported trans people, especially transmasculine people and their partners.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":3" />

Sharma explained that she gathered the stories included in ''Footprints of a Queer History'' during her work with Vikalp, both in documenting her work and in recording stories for personal pleasure. She also collected stories via other activists and connections via Vikalp and Sabrang.<ref name=":3" /> Sharma believes that more queer history needs to be documented, saying that younger generations should learn how to write letters for the sake of later archives.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dutta |first=Debojit |last2=Ansari |first2=Halima |date=11 July 2023 |title=IDR Interviews {{!}} Maya Sharma |url=https://idronline.org/features/social-justice/interview-with-maya-sharma-a-lesbian-and-feminist-activist/ |access-date=2026-03-19 |website=India Development Review |language=en-US}}</ref>

Nanjani Gandhi credited [[Yoda Press]] for its publication of the book. Gandhi named it as one of the few companies interested in publishing works like this one, due to being one of very few [[Small press|alternative presses]] in India.<ref name=":3" />

== Reception ==
''Footprints of a Queer History'' won the inaugural [[Rainbow Awards|Rainbow Award]] for Nonfiction in 2023.<ref name=":2" /> 

''[[Gaysi]]''<nowiki/>'s Saurabh Sharma reviewed it as a delightful book that centers the voices of its storytellers and reveals the structures and policies that regulate bodies and desire.<ref name=":1" /> Chintan Girish Modi, reviewing for ''[[Business Standard]],'' questions the ethical decisions Sharma made while interviewing her book's subjects, but recommended the book for people who wanted to learn more about underreported parts of the Indian LGBTQIA+ movement.<ref name=":4" /> ''Footprints of a Queer History'' was also positively reviewed by Nanjani Gandhi in the ''South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal'' as a record of overlooked experiences that would be useful to scholars and policymakers.<ref name=":3" />

== References ==
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== External links ==

* [https://scroll.in/article/1028002/a-new-book-captures-personal-stories-of-queerness-within-humdrum-everyday-life Excerpt from Scroll.in]
[[Category:English-language non-fiction books]]
[[Category:2022 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:LGBTQ literature in India]]
[[Category:2022 LGBTQ-related literary works]]
[[Category:Books about trans men]]