“I discovered DIVA on the shelves of my family’s newsagent”
REETA LOI SHAW ON BECOMING A VOICE FOR BRITISH ASIAN LGBTI PEOPLE
REETA LOI SHAW
There it was, staring back at me from the hundreds of magazines in our family newsagents. The distinctly queer and androgynous cover had me transfixed. I was 16 and read the papers on my daily paper round, but had never seen anything quite like this.
I sneaked the only copy on the shelf up to my room. I leafed through the pages, excited by this world where girls with other girls was normal. I wasn’t alone. Maybe fancying girls was ok. So, inside Hip Hop magazine I tucked away my copies of DIVA but felt unable talk about my feelings with anyone, least of all my parents. How on earth would I explain this? My riding a BMX and refusing to wear dresses was weird enough for them.