Voices
From Silence to #MeToo
Not everyone, however, is taken in by #MeToo. Some women feel that they shouldn’t have to make a public show of their pain for their suffering to be acknowledged. For others, sharing their story in such a public fashion exposes them to further online harassment from those who think of the hashtag campaign as a sympathy-seeking movement. Then there are those who are downright unimpressed, feeling that it unfairly casts sexual harassment as a man vs. women problem.
By Divya Swaminathan
November 1, 2017
Never Say Dye? Indian Queer Movement Responses to Ageing and Ageism
The articles also reflected the ‘fear of old age’ among younger gay men – not just in terms of what the future would hold, but also in terms of insecurity around ‘losing ground’ in the here and now. The articles reviewed did not quite explore in detail what the ramification of such insecurity was on the mental health, and by extension the sexual health, of younger gay men, but it could not have been positive, especially with the backdrop of the HIV epidemic. The articles did, however, talk about suicide and suicide attempts among gay men, and this did not seem limited to any age bracket.
By Pawan Dhall
November 1, 2017
A time to #metoo or not to
Time and sexuality, neither is one-dimensional, neither is neat and both have a way of being always in a state of movement, whether we like it or not, flow with it or not.
By Shikha Aleya
November 1, 2017
General and not so General
The relationship between caste and sexuality has always been a complicated one, one that is performed through socially sanctioned practices,…
By Aiman Khan
October 16, 2017
Veiled Desires
I still remember my early childhood days when we used to get lessons on caste in our day-to-day lives. Coming…
By Prarthana
October 3, 2017
Queer Women in Aranyani’s A Pleasant Kind of Heavy and Other Stories*
Aranyani’s writing most certainly has a sensory charm and no two people are going to experience her narration the same way. I wish you a happy and gloriously gay reading of this fleshy collection of erotic stories!
By Swati Vijaya
September 1, 2017
Reflections on accessibility and sexuality
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
From the periphery to the core: How can we hear more women’s voices from rural India?
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
Accessing Safer Sex – what does it mean to have access to exploring and enjoying your sexuality safely?
The discourse on safer sex is usually couched in medical language– protection from STIs and unwanted pregnancies are what supposedly…
By Unnimaya Kurup
“Do You Get What I’m Saying?” – Discussing Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Indian Regional Languages
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
Queer Pride in India: Creating Space for Intersectional Queer Identities and Other Marginalised Voices?
There are many ways to be queer. Apart from the fact that queerness encompasses a wide variety of sexual expression,…
By Sonia Dhawan
The United States of Indian-Americans
It is very easy to fall into the trap of believing that the survival of the larger group is more important than the rights of an individual. This is especially true in diasporic communities, where people are constantly struggling to keep their cultural identities intact while simultaneously assimilating to the majority culture just enough to survive.
By Sonia Dhawan
July 15, 2017
On Being Gay and Muslim
My entire life has been a struggle of confused identities. I stood at the intersection of gay, Muslim and economic privilege.
By Aersh
July 15, 2017
Hum Aapki Hain Samdhan*
Let me begin with a confession. I have always loved the idea of marriage. What is one to do when…
By Manak Matiyani
July 1, 2017
Early ‘Love Marriage’ and the Big, Bad Internet
In fact, the Internet actually allows adolescents access to a wide range of information including on sexual health. A 2015 study by Marie Stopes International[2] (an organisation that provides contraception and safe abortion services) found that the main source of information on sexual health among adolescents is the Internet.
By Shubha Kayastha and Indu Nepal
June 1, 2017