Episode 18: Sivagami “Shiva” Subbaraman on Bringing Together Who We Are (Part 1)

This week on the Warrior Queen Podcast, Swati Bhise speaks with Sivagami “shiva” Subbaraman. Shiva was the Founding Director of the LGBTQ Center and Executive Director of the Women’s Center from 2008 to 2021 and is now an Adjunct Faculty member and Lead Advisor in Performing Arts at Georgetown University. As a long-time LGBTQ activist, Shiva shares with Swati the many personal events that shaped her life and career. After immigrating from India, Shiva eventually found herself in the midwest of the United States, where she was met with the unexpected conflict of white academic politics. Faced with another hurdle of racial & social prejudice, Shiva lost her beloved teaching position because she was an Asian woman teaching African American Literature. Years later, in an unexpected turn of events Shiva applied, and was chosen to be the Founder of the first LGBTQ Center in a Catholic Institution. Swati and Shiva discuss the continuing struggle for LGBTQ acceptance in India and the at times, necessity to find “home” and safety outside of your given family. To be continued in Part 2!