Alok Vaid-Menon: Beauty Norms Are a Colonial Hangover

In a recent interview with the German newspaper Der Freitag, non-binary author, performance artist, comedian, and activist Alok Vaid-Menon discusses how colonial power structures are deeply embedded in gender and beauty norms. Vaid-Menon argues that queerness disrupts these systems and reclaims South Asian culture. For Vaid-Menon, clothing is not merely a matter of personal style but part of an artistic and political engagement with gender, beauty, and societal norms. Their work, spanning books, stage performances, and lectures, critically examines the intersections of gender, beauty, racism, and the legacies of colonialism. Vaid-Menon challenges the notion that clothing must be clearly assigned to a gender, highlighting how beauty ideals and gender norms are intertwined with colonial power relations. The interview appears in the current issue of Der Freitag, and the article is titled 'Kolonialer Kater' (Colonial Hangover).