Desire and Sexuality

Editorial: Desire and Sexuality
Picture of a dog lying on a carpet, staring at a bar that's stuck under a sofa

Sexual desire is a potent force – it can and has led to all kinds of mayhem, but at the same time it can be a powerfully liberating and transformative force.

By TARSHI
August 14, 2018
Editorial: Desire and Sexuality
Interview: Paromita Vohra – Part II
Picture of Agents of Ishq founder Paromita Vohra . She has glasses and short hair

In a two-part interview with TARSHI, Paromita Vohra tells it to us as only she can: frank, articulate and free of male cow poop!

By TARSHI Team
August 14, 2018
Interview: Paromita Vohra – Part II
Of Tinder, Sex And Colonial Hangovers – Is Desire Political?
Desire and Sexuality: Symbol of the Tinder app (shaped in the form of a white candle flame against a red background) and the words "no fats". "no asians", "no blacks", "no asians" written on it.

The point is not to lay the blame on women or assign them responsibility for patriarchy. It is to encourage a deeper introspection of our desires. My first boyfriend, whom I got to know in 2010, was in the habit of asking me (and other women he had previously dated) whether he could kiss me, before doing so. Every time any sexual activity was involved he would always ask beforehand and continuously check in if I was comfortable throughout.

By Feminism in India
August 14, 2018
Of Tinder, Sex And Colonial Hangovers – Is Desire Political?
इच्छाओं की अभिव्यक्ति – शरीर और फिल्में
A still from the movie 'Imitation Game', featuring actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley dancing with each other

अंत में, मुझे तो फिल्में विषयों और परिस्थितियों को एक अन्य अंदाज़ से देखने का अवसर देती हैं। मैंने फिल्मों को देखकर शरीर और इसकी इच्छाओं के बारे में बहुत कुछ जाना है – मैंने समझा है कि दर्द जो कुछ लोगों के लिए दर्द होता है, वही दूसरों के लिए आनंद के स्रोत बन सकता है। मैंने यह भी जाना है कि पैसे का लेन–देन करके किया जाने वाला सेक्स हमेशा अपराध नहीं होता और यह कि सभी लोग आनंद का अनुभव करते हैं और कर सकते हैं।

By Geetanjali Misra
August 14, 2018
इच्छाओं की अभिव्यक्ति – शरीर और फिल्में
Mid-Air Between Heaven and Earth

The concluding chapter reiterates the aims of the book, i.e., “to start critical conversations within the disciplines of psychology, social work, childhood studies, and family studies in India and to think about exclusions inherent in these disciplines.

By Madhu Kewalramani
August 14, 2018
Mid-Air Between Heaven and Earth
Love, Desire and Disability: The Heart Knows No Handicap
Picture of a woman in a wheelchair. Her hair is tied back in a bun and she is wearing a white saree and makeup.

“Disabled people are treated like children,” says Nidhi Goyal, founder director of the NGO Rising Flame, a disability rights activist and comedian. This identification makes the non-disabled — a term Goyal prefers using — feel entitled to decide for them.

By Curated Content
August 14, 2018
Love, Desire and Disability: The Heart Knows No Handicap
एक आकांक्षा, कुछ कश्मकश और संतुष्टि का एक अजीब तरीका
Picture of a large bubble against the backdrop of a clear sky and trees

सच्चाई इस सब से परे थी; सच्चाई ये थी कि मैं एक किशोर लड़की थी जिसके मन में अनेको आकांक्षाएँ थी, वासना थी, लालसा थी और इन सब को पूरा करने के तरीके ढूँढने की ललक भी थी।

By Anonymous
August 14, 2018
एक आकांक्षा, कुछ कश्मकश और संतुष्टि का एक अजीब तरीका
Interview: ‘Desire is Never Straightforward. In Fact, there is Nothing Straight about Desire at All’
Picture of author Madhavi Menon. She is wearing a yellow saree.

Desire is never straightforward, and it cannot be straitjacketed – in fact, there is nothing straight about desire at all. Any issue dealing with desire, therefore, is wasted if viewed through a monochromatic lens.

By Curated Content
August 14, 2018
Interview: ‘Desire is Never Straightforward. In Fact, there is Nothing Straight about Desire at All’
How Popular Culture is Changing to Bring Women’s Desires to the Forefront
Cartoon illustration of a cupid shooting his arrow

Female sexuality isn’t in the closet any more. If you look at the spate of films that have been released in the past couple of years, they seem to tell us that women mouth expletives, watch porn and don’t mind talking about orgasms—things taken for granted when it comes to men.

By Curated Content
August 14, 2018
How Popular Culture is Changing to Bring Women’s Desires to the Forefront
Issue in Focus – Desire and Sexuality
Picture of a woman's mouth, with her lips and tongue painted in rainbow colours

Any desire, not necessarily or narrowly sexual, but perhaps related to sexuality, such as independence, equality, gender role-bending, controlling your own finances, eating the food you’d like to eat as opposed to the food your spouse desires, wearing the clothes you’d like to wear, birth control, choosing to have or not to have children … any of these desires would have only that importance that the individual concerned is able to apportion to it.

By Shikha Aleya
August 1, 2018
Issue in Focus – Desire and Sexuality
Exploring the Rape Fantasy
Picture of a pair of heels and a steel handcuffs , along with black silk gloves lying on the floor

I am a feminist, sex-positive and LGBT affirmative Clinical Psychologist. Having that openly and publicly stated means that my clients feel very safe discussing some of the more taboo topics, especially ones that we are made to feel ashamed of. One of these is the topic of the rape fantasy.

By Vizla Kumaresan
August 1, 2018
Exploring the Rape Fantasy
Interview: Paromita Vohra – Part I
Picture of Paromita Vohra, she has short hair, wearing a pink saree and black blouse with a flower in her hair

In a two-part interview with TARSHI, Paromita Vohra tells it to us as only she can: frank, articulate and free of male cow poop!

By TARSHI Team
August 1, 2018
Interview: Paromita Vohra – Part I
Video Page: #PuranaPyaar
A picture of veteran actors Mohan Agashe and Litlette Dubey, walking through the middle of a forest. The text below them reads "Purana Pyaar"

The short film, “#Purana Pyaar”, by Gorilla Shorts, starring veteran actors Mohan Agashe and Lillette Dubey, evocatively highlights how age is no bar when it comes to love and desire.

By Curated Content
August 1, 2018
Video Page: #PuranaPyaar
The Good Boy with ‘Unspeakable’ Desires: The Queer Testimonio of ‘Nacher Chhele’

In Nacher Chhele, a 38 year old Avijit stands outside himself, takes a long look at his past, and writes an intense testimonio, which would resonate with many middle class Bengali queer men who grew up in the pre-global, pre-Internet city of Calcutta in the 80s and 90s.

By Kaustav Bakshi
August 1, 2018
The Good Boy with ‘Unspeakable’ Desires: The Queer Testimonio of ‘Nacher Chhele’
Sex in the Times of Menopause
A series of abstract drawings in pink and green, with the cutout of a dancing girl towards the left

I am single and successful in the city. My general health is under control. I can still pull off an all-nighter maybe once a quarter. My sexuality and desire have evolved and matured with my age. Heck, in my eyes, I am Mrs. Robinson. But the eye candy at the bar sees me as Miss Havisham.

By Sashwati Banerjee
August 1, 2018
Sex in the Times of Menopause
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