Elsa Marie D'Silva, Author at In Plainspeak

A black and white photograph of an infant’s hand resting on an older individual’s outstretched palm.

The importance of family

·November 2, 2020
·Elsa Marie D'Silva
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Family, immediate and extended, is usually who you turn to. They are the ones who provide stress relief and reduce anxiety by boosting self-confidence and self-esteem and providing a protective shield. There is a sense of belongingness in good times and in bad.

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Nothing Lasts Forever

·October 5, 2020
·Elsa Marie D'Silva
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These two films were refreshing because they didn’t have the fairytale endings of girl-meets-boy, they fall in love, overcome difficult challenges and live happily ever after. Instead, they were set in everyday reality where life takes over and choices have to be made.

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A poster of Netflix’s documentary film ‘Seeing Allred’

Title: Movie Review: Seeing Allred – The fight for equality goes on

·September 1, 2020
·Elsa Marie D'Silva
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Allred’s story is important because it shows us how an individual used her knowledge, power, and position to challenge the legal system in demanding rights and equality, especially for women and LGBTQ+ people.

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Hot Girls Wanted – Keeping up with the times

·August 3, 2020
·Elsa Marie D'Silva
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Because the Internet is an integral part of our daily lives, it is important that young people are given the right information so that they can explore the world around them, access information without violating legislations, know their rights in the virtual and physical world and have enjoyable and consensual relationships with whoever they choose.

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A still from the Netflix series Jeffery Epstein – Filthy Rich

Dismantling a sex-trafficking pyramid

·July 1, 2020
·Elsa Marie D'Silva
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Every Friday my organisation Red Dot Foundation hosts a SafeCircle, an online space for listening and for sharing experiences of sexual violence. Last Friday, as we were sharing stories, it suddenly dawned on me that many of us were still traumatised by some of the relationships and experiences we had when we were between 16…

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Review: Private Life

·June 1, 2020
·Elsa Marie D'Silva
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What makes a family? In the month of May, we celebrated Mother’s Day on the 10th and the International Day of Families on the 15th. I find both these days interesting because as a single woman, one of the initial questions I often get asked when meeting people for the first time is, “Do you…

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Review: The Last Summer

·May 1, 2020
·Elsa Marie D'Silva
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Last weekend, after a very hectic week, I was looking for a light and easy movie to watch and came across “The Last Summer”. The movie was nominated for the Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer Movies 2019 and is set in Chicago. It tracks the lives of several young people over their final summer…

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Gerald’s Game – A Story Of Resilience In The Face Of Metaphorical And Emotional Bondage

·April 1, 2020
·Elsa Marie D'Silva
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This movie had instantly called out to me because the book had made a huge impression many years ago when I was going through a Stephen King phase and consuming as many of his novels as I could. It is a story of resilience where a woman had to rescue herself from a dangerous situation of metaphorical and emotional bondage as well as the physical and sexual kind.

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एक ख़त मेरे नाम जब मैं १६ की थी

·February 17, 2020
·Elsa Marie D'Silva
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इसलिए, तुम्हारे आज के स्वः या अवतार के रूप में, मैं तुम्हें अपनी क्षमताओं में विश्वास रखने के लिए प्रोत्साहित करती हूँ, अपने सपनों पर केंद्रित रहना, एक स्वाभाविक मूल्य प्रणाली विकसित करना जो हठधर्मिता से मुक्त हो, हमेशा जिज्ञासु बनी रहना और निरंतर सीखने की अपनी इच्छा का पोषण करना, और अपना जीवन स्वतंत्र रूप से और पूरी तरह से जीना।

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