Editor’s Note
I loved soccer and I dreaded having to play it. The headmaster, who was also the PT teacher, used to divide the boys into teams and to distinguish the two, he would have one side play without shirts. I was a husky child, nourished beyond daily nutritional requirements, and I dreaded, just dreaded, being assigned to the shirtless side. I connived to be the goalie. Not because I was particularly good at it, but because it is the role of minimal jiggle.
I empathised with Imaan’s narrator not because soccer used to evoke mixed feelings in me, but because I am now a writer. I wait, like the goalie, to catch the word, the thought, the way of showing that I need. One misses more than one catches. The writing life draws blood. It crowns you with uncertainty. It estranges you from the living in the name of bringing you closer to life. It just bloody sucks, man. And yet.
I think I’m trying to say Imaan’s story, which is not just a story, should resonate with anyone who cannot but love what they do, unconditionally.
—Anil Menon
The Bombay Literary Magazine
Acknowledgements
Image credits: Keystone/ Getty Images.
Author | Imaan Hegde
In their words:
“Imaan Hegde (he/him) is a trans comic artist and writer based in New Delhi. Currently a student, he is creating a full-length, autobiographical, interview-based nonfiction graphic novel as part of his Master’s dissertation. As a trans man, Imaan is deeply passionate about exploring themes of gender, sexuality, and representation in his work.
“An avid football enthusiast, Imaan often focuses on the experiences of transgender individuals—especially trans men—navigating public, gender-segregated spaces and institutions, as seen in his work “Football is a Pleasure that Hurts,” which explores his experience with the sport.
“Through his stories, Imaan strives to create characters and narratives that young queer and trans individuals can look up to—something he never had the chance to experience while growing up.”
