Accessibility and Sexuality

“Do You Get What I’m Saying?” – Discussing Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Indian Regional Languages
Photo of a strip of small black plastic packets of contraceptives.

Language is central to how we think about concepts and ideas, and rights-based language matters enormously when we talk about sexuality. However, much of what many of us know about sexuality-related topics is constructed, explained and communicated solely in English.

By Vani Viswanathan
August 3, 2017
“Do You Get What I’m Saying?” – Discussing Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Indian Regional Languages
चुनौती पहुँच की – इच्छाएँ, कल्पनाएँ और विकलांगता के साथ रह रहे लोग
Still from a Hindi film 'The Dirty Picture' (2011). A brown woman has open black hair, is wearing a black bindi, and a bright-coloured, deep-neck blouse. A man behind her is touching her waist. There are piles of oranges in the garden around them. They both are singing a song.

प्रत्येक फैंटसी या कल्पना एक बेहद ही निजी अनुभव होती है, भले ही यह मन में ही रखी जाए या दूसरों को बतायी…

By Shikha Aleya
August 16, 2017
चुनौती पहुँच की – इच्छाएँ, कल्पनाएँ और विकलांगता के साथ रह रहे लोग
Three must-watch documentaries about disability
Two women riding a scooter. A younger Indian woman wearing a low pony-tail and a suit is on the wheel, with an older woman who is wearing a saree with which she covers her head, is sitting at the back facing sideways.

The First International Film Festival for Persons with Disabilities was recently organised by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment…

By Curated Content
August 16, 2017
Three must-watch documentaries about disability
The Editorial: Accessibility and Sexuality
A few men knocking the door of an old Indian house. A few other men are trying to peek into the house through a very low railing.

We can speak of many situations in terms of access or its lack for all kinds of people, and it will always give us insight into the society we live in in two interdependent ways: one, it reveals a polarity between who is given and who is denied access, and two, it determines the big-picture human value given to the commodity that the access is contested for.

By TARSHI
August 16, 2017
The Editorial: Accessibility and Sexuality
Striving to get information about my body
A poster. Two pairs of feet in black - one facing towards us, another away from us is in the centre. Words "SAFE LOVE" and "LOVE STORY" are written on wither side. On the top left and right are drawn man-man couple, and woman-woman couple respectively. On bottom left is a man-woman couple. On bottom right is drawn a finger on a lip, in a "shh" gesture.

As a 17 year old who grew up in a relatively liberal Indian household, I should probably be proud of…

By Zoya Achanta
August 16, 2017
Striving to get information about my body
Smart Bangle that Raises Maternal Health
Two thick bangles are placed on a table. One is balanced in a vertical position as if to roll, the other is placed horizontally. One has red boundary, with thick yellow strip of colour in the middle, and a circular design in golden colour. The other one has golden boundary, and has traditional Indian design in blue and red in the middle.

Researchers have developed a high-tech bangle that notifies women of toxic fumes, in hopes of boosting maternal health in South…

By Curated Content
August 16, 2017
Smart Bangle that Raises Maternal Health
Review: TARSHI Talks About Sexuality and Relationships
Cover of an audio book. "TARSHI talks about sexuality and relationships" is written at the centre with each word in black and red ink alternatively. Below in small letter is written, "Audio book DVD format to be played on a computer with headphones or speakers."

TARSHI Talks on Sexuality and Relationships is such a welcome sea of information about sexes, sex, sexuality and relationships in an objective and ‘non-taboo’ manner.

By Shalini Khanna
August 3, 2017
Review: TARSHI Talks About Sexuality and Relationships
Reflections on accessibility and sexuality
A woman in a wheelchair, smiling, conversing with another woman who is also on a wheelchair. She has long hair pulled to one side, is wearing frameless specks, and is wearing a red and black top.

I thought of myself as a feminist activist much before I formally entered the development sector space. I participated in…

By Shreshtha Das
August 16, 2017
Reflections on accessibility and sexuality
Queer Pride in India: Creating Space for Intersectional Queer Identities and Other Marginalised Voices?
Photo of a vibrant queer pride march. There is a huge crowd, lots of rainbow-coloured umbrellas, flags, drawings, and writings on placards. One placard reads "ab toh angrej bhi maan gaye" in Hindi.

There are many ways to be queer. Apart from the fact that queerness encompasses a wide variety of sexual expression,…

By Sonia Dhawan
August 3, 2017
Queer Pride in India: Creating Space for Intersectional Queer Identities and Other Marginalised Voices?
Pyaar Plus: The Story of Nisha and Chetan
A photo of a woman on a wheelchair in her bedroom. She has shoulder-length hair, is wearing blue sphagetti and pink pajamas. Behind there is an award trophy sitting on a table. On the other side is some hanging exercise equipment.

In this video, Nisha and Chetan set the record straight about love, attraction, and disability. Nisha’s life changed after a spinal cord injury that led her to use a wheelchair. She thought romance was off the cards for her – until Chetan came into her life.

By Curated Content
August 3, 2017
Pyaar Plus: The Story of Nisha and Chetan
Poem of desire and (dis)ability
A brightly coloured abstract painting consisting of painbrush lines going in all directions.

they say my body is broken they look at me with pity but little do they know when i scream…

By Curated Content
August 16, 2017
Poem of desire and (dis)ability
Issue in Focus: Beyond Ramps and Restrictions
Still from a Hindi film 'Lipstick under my Burkha'. A young woman wearing blue-coloured lehnga is dancing merrily in an Indian wedding. She has one hand on her hip, another behind her head, and is tilting upwards with her eyes closed, and lips pout.

Accessibility begins with access, enabled or denied, to concepts and ideas. At the core, beyond the architecture of the real and virtual worlds, it is about the architecture of the ways in which this access is broadened, to not only accommodate, but to nurture, the myriad expressions of human minds and bodies.

By Shikha Aleya
August 3, 2017
Issue in Focus: Beyond Ramps and Restrictions
Growing Up In A Bengali Household, How My Language Failed My Queer Identity
A still from a 2010 film 'Just Another Love Story'. A middle-aged man dressed in brown kurta-pajama is bowing as if in courtsey to a woman who is wearing heavy jewellery. She is holding a glass of wine or water in one hand, and chinese fan in another. She is wearing a big red bindi, dark mehroon lipstick, and kajal.

By Anonymous for Cake: A while back, when I was toying with the idea of coming out to my parents…

By Curated Content
August 16, 2017
Growing Up In A Bengali Household, How My Language Failed My Queer Identity
From the periphery to the core: How can we hear more women’s voices from rural India?
Several young Indian rural women sitting in a row on a carpet. Some have raised their hands, as if in answer to a question. They are wearing bright-coloured sarees, and bangles. Some are wearing bindis too.

Neha is a proud, beaming 16-year-old. Standing on the lawns outside Delhi’s India Gate, she speaks to the camera about…

By Gram Vaani
August 16, 2017
From the periphery to the core: How can we hear more women’s voices from rural India?
Brushtrokes: Queering Bombay’s Public Spaces
Couples sitting and kissing by a beach-side of an industrailised smoggy area, with palm trees and its' leaves waving in a strong wind.

This article/photo essay was originally published in Gaysi Family. In a society that heavily restricts expressions of sexuality, openly asserting…

By Curated Content
August 16, 2017
Brushtrokes: Queering Bombay’s Public Spaces
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