# Shamakami

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***Shamakami*** was an early organization of [South Asian](/source/South_Asian_People) [lesbians](/source/Lesbian) and [bisexual](/source/Bisexuality) women based in the United States.[1][2] They published a newsletter of the same name between June 1990 and February 1997.[3][4][5]

## Founding

According to co-founder Sharmeen Islam, *shamakami* is a [Bengali](/source/Bengali_language) term meaning "love for your equal or same."[3] [Willy Wilkinson](/source/Willy_Wilkinson) describes it as a [reclaimed word](/source/Reclaimed_word) describing a woman who desires other women,[6] and Monisha Das Gupta describes it as an "excavated indigenous term" meaning "those who desire their equals."[7]

Wrote Islam in *A Lotus of Another Color* in 1993:

"Shamakami was formed with two visions in mind: the creation of a structured way of networking for South Asian lesbians and the creation of a forum in which we can express our sexuality and feminism in our own cultural context. In 1990, Shamakami had no funds, an initial membership of about 40, and a collective of about nine women. Today the organization provides free circulation of newsletters in South Asia, has a membership of 230, and has an active collective of about twenty women. This year, a woman from Assam, one of the more remote parts of India, connected with two lesbians in different parts of India through Shamakami and thus broke her isolation. In June 1991, a contingent of South Asian lesbians participated in a gay pride parade, marching joyously behind the Shamakami banner during the gay pride festivities at San Francisco."[3]

## Newsletter

*Shamakami* was one of the first South Asian LGBT magazines in the United States, after *[Anamika](/source/Anamika_(newsletter))* and *[Trikone](/source/Trikone)*.

In 1991, *Feminist Collections* described *Shamakami* as a "ten-page publication [which] offers news of relevant conferences and resources, poetry, lengthy editorials, and various personal essays."[8] In 1992, *[Gay Community News](/source/Gay_Community_News_(Boston))* described it as a "Forum for South Asian Feminist Lesbians."[5][9]

The newsletter was published initially in [Cambridge, Massachusetts](/source/Cambridge,_Massachusetts), and later out of [San Francisco, California](/source/San_Francisco).[5][8][10][11][12]

Subscriptions cost $10 per year,[13] and were offered for free to subscribers in South Asia.[3]

Issues:

- June 1990: Volume 1[5][14]
- January 1991: Volume 2, #1[14]
- June 1991: Volume 2, #2[14]
- February 1992: #4[14]
- June 1994: special edition[14]
- November 1994: #7[14]
- February 1997: #9, special edition published by Khuli Zaban[14][15]

## Events and actions

In addition to the newsletter, Shamakami participated in South Asian American organizing. According to [Trinity Ordona](/source/Trinity_Ordona), there was an in-person group in San Francisco from 1992–1993, which organized meetings, fundraisers, and social events.[5] It also worked with other South Asian LGBTQ organizations, endorsing a 1991 action by the Emergency Coalition to Stop HIV/AIDS in India,[16] and co-sponsoring the 1995 Pride Utsav conference in San Francisco, organized by [Trikone](/source/Trikone).[17]

## See also

- *[Anamika](/source/Anamika_(newsletter))* newsletter, 1985-1987
- [*Trikone* magazine](/source/Trikone)
- *[SamiYoni](/source/SamiYoni)* magazine
- [Timeline of South Asian and diasporic LGBT history](/source/Timeline_of_South_Asian_and_diasporic_LGBT_history)

## References

1. ["Magazines and Journals"](http://orinam.net/resources-for/lgbt/magazines-and-journals/). *Orinam*

1. Roy, Sandip (2006). ["Desi Queer Datebook"](http://archive.berkeleysouthasian.org/lgbt.html). *Berkeley South Asian History Archive*. Retrieved 28 May 2015.

1. Islam, Sharmeen (1993). "Toward a global network of Asian lesbians". *A lotus of another color: an unfolding of the South Asian gay and lesbian experience*. Ratti, Rakesh (ed.). Boston: Alyson Publications, Inc. pp. 41–46. ISBN 1-55583-171-0. [OCLC 26855093](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/26855093)

1. *Shamakami*. [OCLC 24646926](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/24646926). – via WorldCat.

1. Ordona, Trinity Ann (2000). [*Coming Out Together: An Ethnohistory of the Asian and Pacific Islander Queer Women's and Transgendered People's Movement of San Francisco*](https://www.proquest.com/docview/304584929). [University of California, Santa Cruz](/source/University_of_California,_Santa_Cruz)

1. Wilkinson, Willy (July 2010). [*Culturally Competent Approaches for Serving Asian and Pacific Islander Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations in California*](http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/622579/9749966/1291847975870/Cult+Comp+Approaches+API+LGBT+Populations.pdf?token=sCLbWZkTv1ptl1oxPNK1WPGzlys%3D). LGBT-TRISTAR. p. 2.

1. Gupta, Monisha Das (2006-10-10). ["Subverting Seductions: Queer Organizations"](https://books.google.com/books?id=e1nSfsMRkFcC&q=shamakami&pg=PA169). *Unruly Immigrants: Rights, Activism, and Transnational South Asian Politics in the United States*. Duke University Press. p. 169. ISBN 0-8223-8817-0.

1. ["New and Newly Discovered Periodicals"](http://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/21788/FC_12.4_Sum1991.pdf). *Feminist Collections: A Quarterly of Women's Studies Resources*. University of Wisconsin Women's Studies Librarian. Summer 1991. Retrieved May 28, 2015.

1. Chan, June (Jan 12, 1992). "Fighting Asian Stereotypes". *[Gay Community News](/source/Gay_Community_News_(Boston))*. **19**: 5.

1. ["Samachar"](http://www.rungh.org/issues/Rungh_v3_n3.pdf). *Rungh*. **3** (3): 38. 1995. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150924092719/http://www.rungh.org/issues/Rungh_v3_n3.pdf) 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-05-28.

1. ["Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Periodicals"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180129140402/http://www.library.northwestern.edu/libraries-collections/special-collections/printed-materials/glbt-periodicals.html). *Northwestern Libraries*. Northwestern University. Archived from [the original](http://www.library.northwestern.edu/libraries-collections/special-collections/printed-materials/glbt-periodicals.html) on January 29, 2018. Retrieved December 22, 2016.

1. Kole, Subir K (2007-07-11). "Globalizing queer? AIDS, homophobia and the politics of sexual identity in India". *Globalization and Health*. **3**: 8. [doi:10.1186/1744-8603-3-8](https://doi.org/10.1186/1744-8603-3-8). [ISSN 1744-8603](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1744-8603). [PMC 2018684](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2018684). [PMID 17623106](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17623106)

1. Trikone. ["South Asian Gay and Lesbian Resource Listing"](http://www.qrd.org/qrd/orgs/TRIKONE/south.asian.glb.resources). *Queer Resources Directory*

1. ["Shamakami: forum for South Asian feminist lesbians."](http://nucat.library.northwestern.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1439798). *NUCat*. Northwestern University Library. Retrieved May 28, 2015.[dead link]

1. ["khuli zaban - legprints"](http://www.geocities.org/westhollywood/9993/legprints.html). *khuli zaban*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140808042834/http://www.oocities.org/westhollywood/9993/legprints.html) 2014-08-08 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-03-23. February 1997: khuli zaban publishes a special edition of the Shamakami newsletter, the first internationally distributed publication for South Asian lesbian and bisexual women.

1. "Stop AIDS Coalition Plan Demonstrations". *[India-West](/source/India-West)*. August 2, 1991. p. 50. – via Ethnic Newswatch.

1. "Pride Utsav '95". *[India Currents](/source/India_Currents)*. **9**: C10. June 1995. South Asian lesbian and gay groups from around the country and Canada are co-sponsoring this conference. They include: Atish (Vancouver), Khush (Toronto), Khush (Washington, DC), MASALA (Boston), Sangat (Chicago), Shamakami (nationwide), SALGA (New York), SALGA (Philadelphia), Trikone (Atlanta), and Trikone (Los Angeles).

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