Mongolia, a country with a relatively small population of three million people who maintain very close relations, has a vibrant LGBTQ+ community. Yet, for them, living an openly queer life can be so challenging that many consider exile the only viable solution. As several reports indicate, queer Mongolians who step out of a hidden, often underground life and come out to their families, or publicly at work and in public spaces face rejection, abuse, verbal and physical violence in a vast majority of cases. To unpack the reasons for homophobia and transphobia, Global Voices spoke to Otgonbaatar Tsedendemberel, who is a co-founder and former executive director of the LGBT Center of Mongolia. Currently, he is a PhD candidate at Doctoral School of Sociology of Corvinus University of Budapest in Hungary, exploring the notion of shame and how it characterizes the lived experiences of contemporary Mongolian queers. The interview has been edited for clarity.