Under the aegis of Bodhi Stree, this session featured Ritika Gupta, an autistic queer artist, illustrator, media creator, and disability rights advocate, whose art and research interests revolve around the intersections of disability, gender, and sexuality. 

The conversation explored how Ritika 

• – uses her art as a means to process information, organize thoughts, and express feelings, initially for de-stressing and grounding in a large joint family where privacy was scarce. 
• – went from being punished for doodling in school to finding acceptance in college, which was a turning point for her art.
• – managed challenges of navigating the professional world (media and filmmaking) as an autistic individual, in the absence of disability-conscious practices. 
• – during the pandemic, used this struggle to shift to digital art and connect with online communities of queer autistic people who guided her towards a professional path in the art of illustration.
• – focused on her experience of navigating intersecting identities as neurodivergent and queer. 
• – highlighted how, at different times, one identity might take center stage, especially when dealing with the immediate need for survival, education, and employment. 
• – spoke about the difficulty of finding truly inclusive spaces, as many queer spaces lacked understanding of disabled access, and disabled spaces often perpetuated heteronormativity. 

The conversation culminated in an exploration of “access intimacy” and true belonging, emphasizing the need for spaces and people to be genuinely open to understanding and adapting to diverse needs, even if complete accessibility is a long-term, iterative process.

Some important insights from the conversation are as follows-

• The Power of Art as a Coping Mechanism and Advocacy Tool: Ritika’s art began as a private method for stimming, relaxation, and emotional processing in an environment lacking privacy. It evolved into a professional career and a powerful medium for activism, allowing her to voice opinions and advocate for causes dear to her, specifically disability and queer rights.
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• Navigating Intersectional Identities and the Struggle for Holistic Space: As an autistic and queer individual, Ritika found that one identity often took precedence, particularly the struggle for educational attainment and livelihood, which sometimes delayed the full exploration of her queer identity. She emphasized the difficulty of finding communities that understood and accommodated the nuances of intersecting identities, noting that single-focused queer or disabled spaces often failed to fully include her.
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• The Importance of “Access Intimacy” for Belonging: True belonging is fostered not just by relatability but by people and spaces providing a sense of safety and openness to understanding diverse needs. This concept of “access intimacy” means that even if all needs cannot be met instantly, there is a genuine commitment to listen, learn, and adapt to make spaces more accessible over time, making individuals feel heard and included.
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• Workplace Inclusion Strategies for Neurodivergent and Queer Individuals:
  • – Workspaces must provide a safe and secure environment for employees to participate inclusively, leading to better work-life balance.
  • – Organizations should acknowledge unique stressors related to personal and societal struggles that can impact work performance.
  • – The responsibility for accommodations should not fall solely on the individual; organizations must make structural changes by re-evaluating policies, communication forms, and notions of productivity.
  • – Leadership capacity building is crucial for understanding oppressive structures like ableism, patriarchy, and casteism, and how these intersect to create marginalization within the workplace.
  • – Practical accommodations like flexible work-from-home policies, alternative meeting formats (e.g., written communication for auditory processing difficulties), and negotiated, flexible deadlines are vital for fostering inclusion.
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• Sustained Advocacy Beyond Tokenism: To truly advance queer and disability rights, organizations and individuals must move beyond tokenistic gestures (e.g., “rainbow washing” during Pride Month). This requires continuous dialogue throughout the year, engaging with and commissioning queer and disabled artists and professionals on an ongoing basis, and a mindful consumption of art that sensitizes people to the lived realities and struggles, rather than just serving neoliberal or capitalist purposes.