Monica Dogra opens up about her pansexuality, gender crisis, molestation and more

Mumbai (Maharashtra): Actress and singer Monica Dogra has an undeniable talent, be it her singing or her excellent acting chops. The Dhobi Ghat actress recently talked to Hindustan Times about her pansexuality, being ashamed of her gender, facing molestation and more for the first time. The actress revealed that she was not aware of the term pansexual until five or six years ago and felt ashamed of her gender while growing up.

Monica said, “Growing up, I was ashamed of my gender for the most part. I remember when I first started showing signs of having breasts I just wept thinking my life was now over. No more freedom for me. I was becoming a woman. I was molested by my cousins in India and touched inappropriately by a family friend in my sleep. I think I am just another story amongst many stories similar to mine. My biggest outlet for truth-telling and exploration has been my art. If you look at my music videos and listen to my lyrics, I’ve been revealing my soul for a long time.”

She even opened up about her struggle with her gender identity and revealed that she enjoyed dressing up as a tomboy somedays and somedays, she loved embracing her hyper-feminine side. Recalling a past incident, she said, “I was drunk at a party. It wasn’t until much later, that I felt I had fully fallen in love with a biological female who was masculine presenting. That really screwed with my head. Up until that point, I identified as straight. Suddenly, I had no idea who I was. I had a bit of an “aha” moment when I figured maybe I’m bisexual. At that point, I still didn’t know what pansexuality meant. But I knew I liked feminine energy men and masculine energy women. This was 6-7 years ago. Soon, I came across several verbiages around pansexuality, and now I think that’s the most real fit for me. I am surprised all the time by what I find beautiful.”

Kudos to the actress to be able to speak up about a personal topic with so much sensitivity and inspire others to embrace themselves as well. Workwise, Monica was last seen in the ALTBalaji web series ‘The Married Woman’ which traced her journey of love, self-reflection and self-recognition with Ridhi Dogra.