In the midst of an international wave of authoritarianism and anti-queer sentiment, Indian lawmakers not-so-quietly passed a bill rescinding the right for people to self-identify their gender and requiring trans people to get certified by medical boards and local health authorities before getting gender-affirming surgery. Hundreds of protestors gathered in Mumbai to protest the March 2026 Transgender Persons Amendment Bill.

Just over a week later, on April 4, 2026, a different kind of gathering took place in New York City.

At the Queer Fake Shaadi, LGBTQ South Asians shook off cultural norms by visualizing their own weddings, also called shaadis, and customs. Dressed in full wedding attire—embroidered lehengas, saris, sherwanis, and pagdis—and embellished in gold from head to toe, brides and grooms of all genders proudly marched into 3 Dollar Bill in Brooklyn’s East Williamsburg neighborhood on a rainy Saturday night.

They were determined to banish the heteronormative status quo of South Asian wedding culture.

It’s not an entirely new idea: Fake shaadis have been around in the United States and in South Asia for years. BBC explains the fake wedding trend as a “wedding-themed party night,” making their mark in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.

But New York City’s Queer Fake Shaadi—which, according to the event’s organizers, drew nearly 400 people—was more than just an excuse to celebrate. It served as a symbol of queer visibility, chosen family, and inclusive tradition.

Desire, marriage, and acceptance in South Asian cultures

Being queer and Desi are identities that often feel at odds with each other. In a culture heavily influenced by centuries of British colonization and casteism, queer livelihood has become second in priority to maintaining the status quo.

After the 1871 British penal code, Section 377, criminalized intercourse “against the order of nature,” the aftershocks rippled through the next two centuries of South Asian cultural norms. In 2013, 87 percent of Pakistanis surveyed by the Pew Research Center said homosexuality should be rejected. Similarly, in 2020, a separate Pew Research study found that only 37 percent of Indians say homosexuality should be accepted by society. That’s up from 2014, when 15........

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