Alyy Patel
Sonali (Alyy) Patel | |
|---|---|
Patel at Pride Toronto's 2019 Parade | |
| Born | Sonali Patel 1996 (age 29–30) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Other names | Alyy Patel |
| Education | University of Toronto (BA); University of Ottawa (MA); University of British Columbia (PhD) |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | South Asian-Canadian LGBTQ+ activism |
| Website | alyypatel |
Sonali Patel, also known as Alyy Patel, is a Canadian LGBTQ+ activist, who focuses on experiences of Queer South Asian women in Canada.[1][2][3]
Early and personal life
Patel grew up in Halton Region, Ontario. She is of Indo-African Gujarati descent.[3]
Career
Research on queer South Asian women
Patel's research initially examined the forms of racial discrimination against queer South Asian women in North American LGBTQ+ communities.[4][5] This was followed by research on the institutional mechanisms that reinforce the exclusion of queer South Asian women in LGBTQ+ communities.[6] Patel's later research focuses on second-generation queer South Asian women's experiences in the sexual minority closet.[7][8] She publishes her research under her legal name, Sonali Patel. She is a sociologist by academic training.[9]
LGBTQ+ activism
Patel was a part of the Youth Action Committee that organized Halton Pride 2016.[10] In 2017, Patel was co-president of Woodsworth College's Sexual & Gender Diversity Office, Woodsworth Inclusive (WiNC).[11]
In 2019, Patel founded the Queer South Asian Women's Network in Canada.[12]
Influence
As an LGBTQ+ South Asian activist, Patel appeared in 2023 on Amazon Prime Video's Pride Campaign in downtown Toronto's Sankofa Square.[13]
In 2020 and 2024, Patel was a speaker at Pride Toronto's Dyke March. In 2022, Patel was a speaker at the Ontario Government's Pride Flag Raising Ceremony.[14]
Select works
- Patel, S. (2019). "Brown girls can’t be gay": Racism experienced by queer South Asian women in the Toronto LGBTQ community.
- Patel, S. (2021). "Not All Lesbians are White: The Struggles of a Queer South Asian Woman" in Essays on Queer Joy (Ed. Samantha Mann).
- Patel, S. (2022). Don't Tell My Parents: Queer Diasporic Truths
- Patel, S. (2024). Theorizing A Denial Reaction to Coming Out: Revising Goffman's Stigma through a Sexual Identity Process Model
References
- ^ Mann, Samantha (31 July 2020). "Meet Alyy Patel, Founder of Queer South Asian Womxn's Network (QSAW)". Bust Magazine. Archived from the original on 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
- ^ Patel, Sonali (2019). ""Brown girls can't be gay": Racism experienced by queer South Asian women in the Toronto LGBTQ community". Journal of Lesbian Studies. 23 (3): 410–423. doi:10.1080/10894160.2019.1585174. PMID 30907270. Archived from the original on 2022-09-29. Retrieved 2022-09-29 – via Taylor & Francis Online.
- ^ a b Chatterje, Nandika (2025-12-27). "Why queer spaces often fail South Asian women". Gay Times. Retrieved 2026-02-18.
- ^ Patel, Sonali (2019). ""Brown Girls Can't Be Gay": Racism Experienced by Queer South Asian Women in the Toronto LGBTQ Community". Journal of Lesbian Studies. 3 (23): 410–423. doi:10.1080/10894160.2019.1585174. PMID 30907270.
- ^ Mann, Samantha, ed. (2022). I Feel the Love: An Anthology of Queer Joy. Read Furiously. ISBN 9781737175872.
- ^ Patel, Sonali (2021). The Politics of Not Giving A Sh*t: Understanding the Invisibilization of Queer South Asian Women in Pride Toronto. University of Ottawa Research Repository (Thesis). Archived from the original on 2022-02-06. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
- ^ Patel, Sonali (2024). "Theorizing A Denial Reaction to Coming Out: Revising Goffman's Stigma through a Sexual Identity Process Model". Sociology Compass. 18 (7). doi:10.1111/soc4.13246.
- ^ CSA. "Best Student Paper Awards". Canadian Sociology Association. Archived from the original on 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
- ^ UBC, Sociology. "Graduate Students: Sonali Alyy Patel". University of British Columbia Sociology. UBC Sociology Department. Archived from the original on 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
- ^ Yanchus, Kathy (24 May 2016). "Halton Pride 2016 about education, awareness and offering LGBTQ+ youth a safe place". InsideHalton.com.
- ^ Potylitsina, Veronika (17 February 2017). "ALYY PATEL: EQUITY HEROINE". Her Campus. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ "About QSAW Network". QSAWnetwork.com. Queer South Asian Women's Network. Archived from the original on 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
- ^ "Amazon Canada celebrates Pride Month With #ProudToBe and the Prime Video #NotJustForShow Campaigns, in Partnership With Pride Toronto and Other Local 2SLGBTQ+ Groups" (Press release). CISION. Archived from the original on 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
- ^ "Alyy Patel | LGBTQ Trailblazer". Sonali (Alyy) Patel. Retrieved 2026-03-07.