Zahra Noorbakhsh

​​Zahra Noorbakhsh is an Iranian-American comedian, writer, and actor. She was also a co-host of the Good Muslim Bad Muslim (2015-2020) podcast.

Noorbakhsh was profiled in the New York Times anthology Love Inshallah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women (2012). She was also featured at the first-ever Muslim Funny Fest in New York City. Much of her comedy revolves around her growing up as a second-generation Iranian-American Muslim.

In 2016, she came out to the world as bi on her podcast. She had already been out with her husband since their first date.

She went on to write about her experience of coming out publicly, discussing her motivations and anxieties. Her essay examines many common fears surrounding coming out, especially in a monogamous relationship.

In June, I decided I needed to come out to my parents as bisexual. I’m 36 and married to a man, so it felt a little late in life to be coming out. But for me, it suddenly felt crucial. For years, it didn’t feel like a big secret that I was bisexual, and it didn’t feel that pressing to come out about it — especially after I got married. Since my husband and I are monogamous, my bisexuality became pretty much invisible. But that felt okay to me.

Noorbakhsh goes on to explain why it was still important to be seen and come out, even after years of allowing folks to assume that she is straight.