Alok Vaid-Menon

In 2019 they advocated for the complete degendering of fashion and beauty industries.

Vaid-Menon grew up in College Station, Texas as the child of Malayali and Punjabi immigrant parents from Malaysia and India. Growing up they were bullied for their race and gender expression. They felt that they were unable to come out on their own terms because as a visibly gender non-conforming person they didn't know they were different until they were punished for it and told who they were. They developed their art practice at a young age in response to this harassment. “Making art gave me the permission to live. I needed somewhere to put the pain.” They began to use poetry and style to interrupt other peoples’ assumptions, challenge shame, and declare themselves on their own terms. Because they weren't able to express themselves visually for fear of safety, they began to share their art online and received supportive responses.

In 2019 Alok returned to College Station to host a Pride celebration with local LGBTQ community in honor of the 50th anniversary of Stonewall.

There are several themes that reoccur in Alok’s work. They unpack the dynamics of transmisogyny, reflect on the continued attack on trans and gender non-conforming people, and shift the representation of TGNC people. In 2017, Alok released their inaugural book of poetry, FEMME IN PUBLIC, a meditation on harassment against transfeminine people. They toured a show associated with the book across the world, partnering with local trans artists and organizations, to advocate for trans justice. In VICE they write, “the majority of people still believe that trans is what we look like, and not who we are. We are reduced to the spectacle of our appearance.” Alok advocates for transfeminine people to be regarded in their full personhood: “There is a long history of trans-femme bodies being reduced to metaphor, to symbol…and seen as stand-ins for ideas, fantasies, and nightmares.” They draw attention to the fact that even though gender non-conforming people are the most visible in public, they remain the most neglected by the mainstream LGBT movement.

Alok is committed to challenging what they call “the international crisis of loneliness” by creating public spaces for processing pain and establishing meaningful connection. This work includes re-imagining and deploying technology as a conduit for intimacy. In 2019, Alok completed an artist-in-residence program at The Invisible Dog Art Center, where they performed a piece entitled "Strangers are Potential Friends” and hosted a “Valentine’s Cry-In” to create a space for public grief and explore alternative forms of intimacy and interdependence. Alok facilitates “Feelings Workshops” across the world to develop transformative ways of interacting with ourselves, one another, and as a way of promoting emotional justice and wellness.

2019—Keynote Performance—OUTShine EGALE Conference Fredericton, New Brunswick

2018—Keynote Performance - Transgender Europe Conference, Antwerp

2018—Keynote Performance - Gender Unbound Festival Austin

Alok is a highly sought-after public speaker; among hundreds of festivals, universities, and conferences they have spoken at the Oxford University Global Scholars Symposium (2016), Creative Time Summit (2017), the NYTimes Global Assembly (2019), South by Southwest (SXSW) in 2019, the Tribeca Film Festival (2019), and the Business of Fashion Voices Conference (2019).

2015, 2016—Public Theater Under the Radar Festival Festival

2014—Queer New York International Arts Festival

After leaving Texas Alok attended Stanford University where they graduated with a BA in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, as well as a Masters in Sociology in 2013.

Alok Vaid-Menon (born July 1, 1991) is an Indian-American writer, performance artist, and media personality who performs under the moniker ALOK. Alok is gender non-conforming and transfeminine and uses singular they pronouns.