Information is power, and in the control of information lies the control of power. Power over events that impact the whole world and power over our individual lives. We see, everyday, firsthand, how information is withheld, manipulated and distorted. Sometimes it becomes difficult to sift the sense from the nonsense. But try, we must.
Ayesha Susan George brilliantly exposes the nonsense that forms the content of Indian medical textbooks. Here’s a gem: Flabby breasts? That means you are ‘habituated’ to sex. Ayesha invites us to question whether information is indeed fact, and what that means for the ways we see our own and others’ bodies, behaviours and practices.
We search for meaning, even if that meaning is built on shaky foundations. Prarthana Pai learned about bodies, sexuality and relationships “not through honest conversations but through what nobody said.” What is never talked about becomes a huge hole, and that hole gets filled with shame, guilt, half-baked ideas and rigid beliefs that we mistake for facts.
Antara Buzarbaruah compares the flows of information now with those in 2005 when she was growing up. Much has changed, but young people still get most of their information about sexuality from their informal social networks. Young people are not passive consumers of information; they make meaning of the information they access be it through their friends or AI chatbots.
Other people’s experiences can be a source of information and making meaning of what life offers us. Love, Sex and India: The Agents of Ishq Anthology put together by Paromita Vohra gets a glowing review from Anant. A book of essays, poems and personal accounts, for Anant it challenges conventional notions of thinking about the many ways we love, live and have sex.
In Hindi, Imran Khan writes about sexualised deepfakes – images and videos of women made with AI technology that are used as digital weapons against women’s autonomy, dignity and safety. A possible defence? More digital literacy and an awareness of digital rights.
We also bring you a translation of Rohini Banerjee’s article on the issue of responsible representation in the news media and popular culture because whether we like it or not, the media subtly and, increasingly, not so subtly influences how we think about sexuality and much else.
Go gently. Sift the sense from the nonsense.
Cover image by Olga Mrozek for IPPF x Fine Acts on The Greats
