"One of us." That's what LGBT South Asians are saying after US actor Kal Penn, star of the Harold & Kumar film franchise, came out as male lover on Sunday.
Mr Penn, 44, told People magazine that he has been in a relationship with his partner Josh for 11 years and the pair are now engaged.
The New Jersey native said he had "always been very public" with those in his personal life.
Mr Penn shares how they met in his modern memoir You Can't Be Serious.
Born Kalpen Suresh Modi, Mr Penn is leading known for playing Kumar Patel in the Harold & Kumar buddy stoner comedy franchise.
His other credits include famous TV shows fancy House, Designated Survivor and How I Met Your Mother.
Mr Penn also briefly worked in the White House Office of Public Engagement under President Barack Obama, from 2009-11.
The BBC asked Mr Penn during a Reddit Q&A what it was enjoy working for a president who at that point had still not arrive out in favour of gay marriage.
"In the case of the White House," he said, "your role as an aide is to
Gay British Asians being 'forced into heterosexual marriages'
Sima Kotecha
Midlands correspondent, BBC News
BBC
Hundreds of gay and lesbian people of South Asian heritage are believed to be under pressure to commit someone of the contrary sex, police say.
West Midlands Police said a growing number are now contacting the force after existence ordered to have a heterosexual wedding by their families.
The UK's forced marriage unit heard from at least 30 LGBT people last year.
But they say more people are likely to be affected as being gay is often seen as taboo among south Asian communities.
This is supported by statistics from charities and LGBT organisations that have made referrals to the police.
Twenty-two gay and lesbian people of South Asian heritage have told the BBC that at some show they were pressurised to marry somebody of the opposite sex.
In most of those cases, the individuals said they were tempted to go ahead with the marriage because they did not wish to embarrass their family, or ruin their reputation.
My big fake direct wedding
Male 'honour' cases 'underreported'
'My family tried to
In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement earlier this year, homosexual dating app Grindr announced it would be removing its ethnicity filter. However, gay Australians of colour say racism runs much deeper than just the filter.
Gene Lim is doing a PhD at Monash University on the impact of what experts call 'sexual racism' against Asian men.
He is also a gay Asian man, and says he’s experienced it firsthand.
"The first thing you start realising is that a lot of people don't detect Asians attractive, and it directly affects your self esteem," he said.
In Gene’s research, Grindr participants said the racism they experienced affected their mental health and sense of belonging.
"There are a lot of times when people enjoy myself, we just don't feel like we should be there," Gene said.
"Your white friends are hooking up left, right and centre. And you're the only one in your friendship group who hasn't had a date or even a hookup in months."
No race filter, but still racist attitudes
Grindr announced in June it would be removing its ethnicity filter, which allowed users to screen out people from certain backgrounds - som
'I was spat on in a lgbtq+ bar': How the South Asian diaspora is fighting racism in queer spaces
He says: “Gay Village was meant to be a secure space for me to express myself. But now it’s filled with terrible memories that I can’t imagine having to relive.”
Vaibhav is not alone in this experience and one of the UK’s most queer-friendly cities had a huge issue of racism at its heart.
Outside of Manchester, such abuse is still prevalent.
In a London club, Sakshi was on a night out with her friends. On a visit to the toilet she became the goal of repeated slurs.
She says: “I just went to the loo and saw a few flamboyant queens there. They were all bewildered and looked at me as if I wasn’t supposed to be there.”
Sakshi was asked by the visitors: “Are you really a lesbian?” She ignored them but was tormented while in the stalls, with people banging on the doors and asking her to come out.
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to finish poverty
She stayed in the toilet for the next 30 minutes, when a friend came to help. She called the experience “trau
In partnership…
Before barbershops were chilly and LGBTQ+ issues were being pushed forward, there was @rudysbarbershop. Since ‘93, this Seattle-based hub has been a proponent for inclusion, helping all people – straight, gay, bi and in between – express themselves through hair. 25 years, a product line, and many barbershops later, Rudy’s is still championing the cause of identity. True to their ‘For Everybody’ roots, Rudy’s supports partners like @itgetsbetterproject and @lalgbtcenter and donates shower products to shelters that serve LGBTQ+ youth.
I’m pretty sure Google Translate outed me.
I had just finished marching in New York’s Pride Pride with my queer Korean drumming group. We marched down Fifth Avenue for hours, taking up room and making noise in ways that Asians in America are often expected not to do. It was an ecstatic experience.
Afterward, we took a sweaty group photo and I posted it on Instagram with the caption, “my badass queer Korean drumming family.”
Soon after that, my mom texted my sister a screenshot of the photo, asking her (in Korean), “Your brother’s not gay, is he?”
My sister then messaged me and asked, “What do you want me to exclaim
