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Rain

@reetaloi

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Rain Reeta Loi
Storyteller, Music Artist, Founder of Gaysians
Speaker @krugercowne Model/Actor @crumbagency Currently playing Marlow @dipseastories

POSTS STORIES REELS

As a child, I feared disownment. As a teen when I faced the truth that I was a lesbian, I kept it a secret and it took me ten years to finally tell my parents. My greatest fear came true when I lost my family and I was heartbroken for many years. When I started to use my voice to speak out for women, girls and LGBTQ+ South Asians, we weren’t on TV or in magazines, I didn’t see us walking down the street or even in queer spaces, that’s how invisible we were. I felt alone. I spoke out to help us see that we exist and that we are not alone, because I had been out to myself for 20 years and was still waiting for someone to show up for me. My greatest pain of losing my family became a privilege, because losing them meant I had nothing to lose by speaking out and being visible, while so many others couldn’t. This is how I found my strength again and I committed to self-compassion and cultivated a deep self-love. I am incredibly proud of myself, because I know the steps it has taken to be here as this version, that made a lot of brave choices along the way. Learning to love myself has been the greatest reward of all!✨As has embracing my non-binary identity as I continue to learn to love all parts of myself. What a gift ☺️ It’s a joy to see so many more people that are able to be visible and embrace themselves in all facets of their lives. How far we have come! Now my work is focused on the future and how we build a new world, using all that I’ve learned along the way. Thank you to everyone that has supported me and my work 🙏🏽

Credits
1. & 12. 📸 @ellenkydd
3. 📸 @leonie.mcquillan
4. 📸 @stephendalyphotography @margatepride
6. 📸 @gabrielmokake @wjconnolly @gaytimes
7. 🎥 @rehmatphotofilm @gaysiansorg
8. 🎥 @cosmostudholme @viceuk ‘gay marriage scam’
10. 📸 @kirangidda @rahul.puri5 @amandafordycephoto @converse @bbemusic @stereofox
11. @londontranspride

#lgbtq #lesbian #nonbinary #explore by @reetaloi

I chose this life ✨

As a Buddhist, my faith is my foundation and reminds me of my North Star; that a better world is possible and it lives in my imagination and I can make it real. This is a reminder to keep imagining and to remember to dream. Because once, we were a dream our ancestors had. ❤️

#poem
#healing
#lesbian
#nonbinary
#explore by @reetaloi

This body I’m in… ❤️

#poetry
#nonbinaryartist
#trans
#healing

K♠️ by @reetaloi

she’s a libra ✨

#poetry
#lesbian
#healing by @reetaloi

September = fun, deep and sexy 🍒🌊🦋
The past, the future, all colliding in the hopes and dreams of now ✨ by @reetaloi

this is why I chose this life ✨

#storyteller
#dalit
#buddhist
#trans by @reetaloi

Look at this stunning collection of dykes photographed and captured in an exquisitely produced deck of cards by El Kydd. Last week was the launch at The Photographer’s Gallery where I said a few words. The London Dyke Deck is inspired by Catherine Opie’s original deck, who along with El is featured as a Joker. When I was invited by El to feature as the King of Spades, I couldn’t think of a better way to stand proud in my nb identity. The suits all represent the community in the form of butch ♣️, femme ❤️, nb ♠️ and trans ♦️dykes. The deck for me represents so much of what I love; playfulness, creativity, sexiness, confidence, taking up space and the physical element of something we get to keep and share in real life, with friends, loves and community. The limited edition pack is available @thelondondyke who have kindly offered to donate £2 from the sale of each pack to Gaysians. We have thought long and hard about how best to use this donation. We’ve never received funding and our goal for the last decade has been to act as a bridge between support services and end users, whilst celebrating our stories, fighting for our visibility and our rights. We launched a crowdfunder some years ago which helped keep our website live and providing support to people all over the world. However we’ve decided to use this donation to create a product that we can hold and cherish and pass on. We’ll be sharing more on this soon. For now, thank you @ellenkydd and every dyke that took up space to shine in this fabulous gift for us all. ✨ by @reetaloi

Thank you Lesvos!
A beautifully curated retreat for trans creatives.
This was my first time travelling out of the UK in three years when I was in India and had an experience that left me unsafe because of my trans identity. When I was invited on this retreat I wasn’t sure I would attend but I’m glad I said yes and allowed myself to have a disconfirming experience. I was met and heard and valued and loved and cherished in ways I hadn’t allowed myself to dream were possible. I listened and learned and shared my wisdom and found the safety, connection and joy I was seeking. Thanks to Jennifer and @librolevibridgeman for bringing us together to create magic ✨ by @reetaloi

A joy watching this incredible project from El Kydd take shape this year. The perfect combination of creativity, play and celebrating ourselves in the shape of a deck of cards featuring a gorgeous array of trans, nb, butch and femme folks in London. Join us at the launch tonight and grab your pack and maybe a lezzer to snog in the Photo Booth 💋
I’ll be sharing a few words about Gaysians and an exciting new project. See you at The Photographer’s Gallery at 6:30pm ❤️‍🔥

#lesbian
#nonbinary
#trans
#butch
#femmelesbian by @reetaloi

a week we ate 😋 by @reetaloi

I’m 25, Brixton, 2003. Performing spoken word poetry, singing in jazz bands and the singer in a trip hop band called Lo Freq. I loved performing live. We gigged and released music. Converse sponsored a vinyl release and tour and one of our tracks got picked up by BBE alongside artists I love including Cinematic Orchestra, Sia, Meshell Ndegeocello and Mark Ronson. I’d bump into Amy Winehouse and saw her perform live during the industry tour of Back to Black in Europe and America. Amy once mistook me for her boyfriend in Sainsbury’s in Camden. A singer in Basement Jaxx said I was too old to be signed. I was asked to be in an Aerosmith music video where I’d kiss a girl but I said no because I wasn’t out to my folks yet. Wish I’d said yes but I respect myself for saying no because of the repercussions it would have had on the people I loved. So many other stories from this chapter of my life. I find music comes to me in cycles of output, because survival has not always permitted a more consistent practice, or perhaps it’s just how I work. My next cycle after this one is when I learned how to produce and established my own music practice, in 2014, sampling Bollywood vinyl I grew up listening to and self-released an EP which was playlists by the BBC. Then I released a track on indie label Stereofox where I brought more of my voice and production style together. My current cycle has me producing a body of work that brings a depth and expansiveness that I’ve cultivated through my life. As artists we get better with time, finding our voice and translating our inner worldview and experiences into expression to share with others. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise💋

📸 @daraghsemporium

#musician
#musicproducer
#southasianartist
#lgbtartist
#transartist by @reetaloi

Love you ✨ The part about friendship is something I wanted to share as an intersectional person that finds the increasing disconnection between communities deeply concerning. How far can our love extend? To ourselves? Those we share identities with? Those we share seemingly little with? I say this all much better in the full speech at the link in my bio.

London Trans+ Pride 2026 ‘Our Future, Our Fight’

See you at the fundraiser on Sunday. More info @londontranspride

Thank you to the team for an incredible experience throughout. 🙏🏽🏳️‍⚧️💗

#lgbt
#nonbinary
#hope by @reetaloi