Voices

A Space of Belonging
Close-up shot of a leaf with its veins forming an interconnected pattern

My sexuality had to somehow find people and a space to belong, just as my collaborators and friends needed something of that sort. We found this together in part with Matai Society.

By Kumam Davidson Singh
October 17, 2022
A Space of Belonging
The many hues of connections
A photograph of a mosaic pattern in hues of red and one streak of green. At the centre of the pattern is a circle surrounded by a semi circle.

Connection, to my mind, is one of those profoundly entrenched concepts manifesting itself throughout our lives. It is difficult to let go of.

By Adsa Fatima
October 17, 2022
The many hues of connections
Where do we begin?
An office space with rows of desks. At the forefront are two desks with monitors, chairs and desk lamps. There are knick-knacks like a wooden statue of a cat, plan, a bottle containing amber-coloured liquid and cables.
What does it mean to extend acceptance and support in one of life’s most crucial areas – the workspace? How do we unpack the concept of positive discrimination and affirmative action at the level of the organisation.
By Shikha Aleya
September 19, 2022
Where do we begin?
When the Game is Set Against You, Why Play By The Rules?
A photograph of multi-coloured flower bouquets.
When working with clients at the margins, the effort is not just to find out what intersections they are at and what systems alienate or harm them, but also the internal factors that affect them in the process of exclusion and violence.
By Simran Kewlani and Vasudha Ramani
September 19, 2022
When the Game is Set Against You, Why Play By The Rules?
The Chronicles of the Changing Room: Reclaiming the Cubicle of Doom
A row Multicoloured scarves or dupattas tied in a knot and hanging from a bar.
The idea of a “desirable” body, sewn in my brain from the threads of Instagram reels, weight-loss ads, and the women on this store’s website, stitches the clothes I wear so that they become coloured in every shade of rejection. I wonder if the women I see outside the changing room, admiring themselves in the communal mirrors, seeking validation from their accompanying shoppers, feel the same way as I do inside their cubicle of doom.
By Sanskriti Bhardwaj
September 19, 2022
The Chronicles of the Changing Room: Reclaiming the Cubicle of Doom
Obedience, the Greater Good and Self-Exploration
On a peach background is the illustration of a girl who is reaching out backwards towards a heart-shaped mirror with one hand. The other hand rests elegantly on her shoulder. Beside her are flowers in different colors, seemingly growing from the ground.
Years of control and suppression made their presence felt emotionally, mentally, and even physically. I would walk hunched up and was extremely conscious of how I should present myself physically, so as not to displease others. Those were very stressful days.
By Taniya Mondal
September 1, 2022
Obedience, the Greater Good and Self-Exploration
Nightmares of Being Chased by an Angry Mob
An abstract illustration of swirling patterns and splotches of mustard yellow, black, pale blue, deep orange and pale crimson. The patterns look like galaxies.
Someone like me, who was always vocal about sexuality, would feel invalidated speaking frankly about sex. Most doctors themselves weren’t comfortable discussing anything remotely pertaining to be a challenge in the sexual wellness area.
By Pooja Priyamvada
September 1, 2022
Nightmares of Being Chased by an Angry Mob
Queer mental health and therapy
Rows of Pantone swatches hanging from the ceiling.
Several outcomes of minority stress were observed in this study – feelings of guilt and shame, internalised homophobia, experiencing queerphobia, lack of acceptance, and family-related stress.
By Anuckriti Garg
September 1, 2022
Queer mental health and therapy
High Heels and Loose-fitting Clothes: Movement Unfettered
A rack of clothes from where T-shirts of different colours are hanging in a row.
How should I walk, what should my gait be like, what kind of clothes can I wear that will sort of cover me up…? This indecisiveness and the burden of, “What will others think?” are some of the worries, that I carried for a long time while making decisions like: “Is this going to expose too much skin?”, “Is this going to look a certain way that I may not like to present myself as?”
By Taniya Mondal
May 3, 2022
High Heels and Loose-fitting Clothes: Movement Unfettered
Shouldn’t The World Be Big Enough?
Three people are seated at a wooden table - two are reading and one is writing.

We live in a world where resilience is celebrated and given priority over attempting to resolve factors that force one to be resilient. Campuses shouldn’t aim to merely be inclusive of diverse individuals – they must strive to not only affirm them but also celebrate them.

By Mythili Menon
April 18, 2022
Shouldn’t The World Be Big Enough?
Public Sex and the Police in Urban Spaces
A photo of heterosexual couple sitting cross-legged on a rampart beside the sea. The man is wearing a blue shirt and there are shopping bags beside him. Beside him, only the mid-length hair of the woman can be seen. In the horizon is the city skyline of Mumbai with skyscrapers and other buildings at golden hour.

While sex workers face repeated harassment by the police, many young couples face threats in a one-off incident if the police finds them with their partner/lover. They may face police surveillance of expressions of intimacy and affection in public.

By Shruti Arora
April 1, 2022
Public Sex and the Police in Urban Spaces
The Gendered Muscle in Gym Spaces
A photograph of a person in a gym holding a barbell, his arm and leg visible in the frame.

I can recall my experiences in the washrooms of different gyms that I have been a member of. A men’s washroom is an interesting place in terms of how sexuality manifests itself in its various aspects. It was not unusual to see men of various kinds with strange energies in these washrooms.

By Shiva Chauhan
April 1, 2022
The Gendered Muscle in Gym Spaces
The Construction of Women as Spaces
A photograph of the silhouette of a woman with long hair with the horizon of an ocean in the background and a sky at sunset with purple, pink and yellow gradient

This article explores how women are constructed as a ‘space’ manufactured by men to seek comfort, but void of having any active agency or participation in that space itself. I seek to bring this out in this article by drawing a parallel between the nineteenth century ‘Bharat Mata’ (Mother India) and the depiction of the twenty-first century ‘heroine’ in Bollywood movies.

By Tanvi Chattoraj
April 1, 2022
The Construction of Women as Spaces
Refusing the weight in waiting
Multicoloured psychedelic circles of varying sizes with tiny bubbles inside

As a girl, I was made to believe that pleasure was something that existed outside my body, something that I had to seek out, something that was necessarily a product of a partnered experience. I don’t think I was even allowed to want pleasure, especially in its sexual forms.

By Aathira Gopi
March 15, 2022
Refusing the weight in waiting
The Time Machine – 5 In Plainspeak Articles that Celebrate Sexuality in its Diverse Forms!
Artificial golden stars against a blue background

The In Plainspeak team decided to time travel and re-discover previously published articles that explore the multiple ways in which people find joy and pleasure in their sexualities.

By TARSHI
March 15, 2022
The Time Machine – 5 In Plainspeak Articles that Celebrate Sexuality in its Diverse Forms!
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