Arjun Sinha’s* dad had found out he was gay through a family friend whom he referred to as “aunty” and who tried to sexually assault him. “I used my gayness as a way to tell her to back off,” he said. The 35-year-old woman had threatened to reveal his sexuality as a way to entice the then 18-year-old Sinha.

Sinha, who is now a junior studying theatre and economics at New York University, thinks he has already done himself a favor by moving to America, away from the conservative Asian mindset of Dubai and India. Given a choice, Sinha wishes to continue living in America where it is safer for his community to breed.

An analysis in the Gallup News article published in January 2017 suggests that Asians have observed the largest increase among other racial and ethnic minorities in identifying as LGBTQ living in America (3.5 to 4.9%). That estimates a count of 325,000 Asians who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender. But search for recent articles written about them in the New York Times and you will find none in the past 12 months.

“There’s not much out there at all, if any! Right now we are having a hard time trying to get into mainstream media,” Sinha said. He might not be the only one to believe so.

Hollywood- the world's largest entertainment industry- often portrays Asians as computer geeks and nerds who have an easy and introverted family-oriented lifestyle. It is easy to imagine a South Asian man like Apu Nahasapeemapetilon from the Simpsons’ convenience store having an excruciatingly long last name but it is difficult to imagine him without a wife, playing into the never-ending stereotypes attached to South Asians.

“If the media had spoken more about it, there wouldn’t have been a stigma attached to it. Coming out to my dad would have definitely been easier,” Sinha said. “Women’s rights movement happened that way and so should have the Asian and homosexual one. Right now, it’s like babying white people to believe that black people exist and they are slowly rising up the ladder,” he said.

The Los Angeles Times featured a story about the first gay South Asian Prime Minister of Ireland last June; its headline read, “Ireland appears close to its first openly gay prime minister and the first of South Asian descent,” but the article failed to address the complexities of being both, South Asian and at the same time- gay. Despite now having an openly gay South Asian Prime Minister, the Ireland media has not addressed the fact that such an advancement may change how the South Asian community has been viewed so far.

Sinha, who understands the struggle of being a South Asian homosexual today also points out the fact that Asia has been running behind America for almost half a century. “If you take a screenshot of right now, American homosexuals have it easier than the Asian homosexuals because they have had this for a while,” he said. The thought that South Asians can be gay is still fairly new.

“The national acceptance in America is more even if societal acceptance is not. Because Asian homosexuals are still primarily oppressed, they understand the struggle of being gay,” he added.

Sinha whose passion revolves around acting and theatre said, “My job is to give a voice to someone who doesn’t have one.” But how good a job has the media done in raising the concerns of a voiceless group like Sinha’s?

The UK media provides key insights into the problem. An article published in BBC last year read “Gay British Asians being 'forced into heterosexual marriages.'” The article in correspondence with the West Midlands Police and the UK’s forced marriage unit identified that 30 such cases of forced marriages had been reported in a year.

Smaller media outlets in the United States tackle these topics more comprehensively because they microscopically scan through minor communities. Outlets like Vice, Buzzfeed, and Outsmart magazine have published various articles on how racism is interlinked with homosexuality and how gay Asians may have a completely different perspective and voice.

Not just in South Asia but in the entirety of the large continent, homophobia has led to a lot of media outlets not recognizing the need to step up and voice the concerns of a community that is dealing with unexplainable emotional trauma. When Taiwan decided to legalize same-sex marriage, most Chinese newspapers chose to not report on the advancement. According to the Economist, “Just one state-owned, English-language newspaper took notice of a decision that would be the first to legalize gay marriage in an Asian country (not counting New Zealand).”

In 2016, the Chinese government had banned any depictions of the LGBTQ community on television and in 2017, online streaming became their new target.

CNN, less than a year ago published in its article, “Strapped into chairs and electrocuted: How LGBT Chinese are forced into ‘conversion therapy’,” an analysis of the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report that highlights the dark truth of conversion therapies- still not deemed illegal- in a China where homosexuality is considered a mental illness.

What CNN failed to do, however, was gather its own sources; the news agency did not consider it necessary to include the voices of American Asian homosexuals who have faced the same issues at home and in the States, contributing to the ignorance by news outlets all over the world.

Gay Asians like Andy Lim*,21, born and brought up in America may also feel as imprisoned. “Oh Andy, I think you should see a psychiatrist,” said his mother when he first opened up to her about his sexual orientation. His parents who had immigrated to the United States in their 20’s, had a difficult time accepting their son broke off of all confines he was supposed to remain within.

Lim never painted his nails at home, but at school (NYU) he does. Lim’s Chinese American best friend and roommate’s parents had advised his roommate to stay away from Lim after learning he was gay. “It has however still been easy for me than for several friends of mine who haven’t come out yet because they think their parents will disown them,” he said.

Glenn Magnanty, the executive director of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), in a Huffington Post blog article said, “My mom said, “There are no gays back home, so how can you be gay?” The only LGBTQ people that she saw on TV were all white. She deduced that being gay was an American thing, a Western influence, like divorce, teen pregnancy, alcoholism, and college hazing.”

NQAPIA’s campaign includes the development of ads that depict more Asian homosexuals so Asian parents can be more aware of the existence of homosexuality in their community.

This would finally answer Lim’s plea who argues, “I might have only come across maybe one article talking about Asian homosexuals but that too I can’t recall. Expressing his concern over the little representation and depiction of his community he says, “I think it’s a red flag; there should be a more accurate depiction of gay Asian Americans not just to express the concerns we have but to in part play a more prominent role in the media.”

The HuffPost did a 10-part series in 2015 showcasing challenges faced by the LGBT community in South-East Asia but hasn’t carried out a similar project ever since rules in China got stricter. The media outlet is yet to report upon the LGBTQ Asians residing in America.

“Even if I got 100 job offers in Korea, I would not go. Because in Korea it’s even worse. Even on live TV they don’t like using the word "gay," Lim said.

*name changed for privacy